Stuff to do in the garden

 Just as I start planning what I need to do in the garden, the weather turns! We had some rain yesterday and it is forecast for the next couple of days. What I was going to do in the garden today will have to wait until next week. Anyway, the above photo shows the progress made with the tortoise enclosure. I thought we only had about 3 rocks lurking in the undergrowth at the bottom of the garden but look how many my husband found (he said they were VERY heavy). We have decided that the best way to keep them penned in is with decking boards attached to posts at each corner. We will then use some mesh to fit over the top, which can be removed when I need to get in and put them to bed at night. Once this is all set up, the tortoises can stay outside during the day but they will have to come back inside at night time as there is still a chance of frost. I think they will be quite happy roaming around in their new enclosure. They have already tested it out during the day and it was lovely watching them eating the leaves straight from the dandelions I planted the other week.

 My next job is to weed this area and get it level. This is the opposite end of the decking to the patio doors. We decided a while ago that we would pave this area to keep it low maintenance. Luckily, we were given these paving slabs absolutely free. You can't get much more of a bargain than that!

 Obviously, when these slabs were offered to us, we had no idea what they looked like but we couldn't turn down free stuff and we decided that whatever they looked like, we would find a use for them somewhere in the garden.

 They really are fantastic and will come in very handy. We just need to chip off the mortar that's left on them and they are ready to use. We are going to get some membrane to lay along the edge of the decking, lay these tiles on top with about a 3-4 inch gap between each one and fill in the gaps with shingle/slate chips. We have a bamboo plant that we will either plant in the ground (still in its container so it doesn't spread) or buy a nice pot to plant it in. This will give us/our neighbours some privacy as we can see straight into their dining room when we are stood on the decking!

And just so you don't think my garden is completely covered in weeds, here is a spot of colour. I did take some photos of some grape hyacinths too but they were all blurry. We seem to have hundreds of them though - obviously a previous owner of the house loved blue as we will also have hundreds of bluebells in about a month's time.

My daughter's sleepover party went really well - they managed 8 hours sleep which I think is remarkable for ten year olds! Lots of giggling, face packs, make up, decorating pillowcases with fabric pens, making shrinkies key rings, singing, dancing and eating went on. We supplied food and drink and let them get on with it. In hindsight, we would rather not do a sleepover the night the clocks change and we lose an hour (!) but on the whole, it was a great success.

My crochet blanket is coming along nicely, I'm loving using the Rico cotton. I have got the hang of the pattern now and it is quite relaxing to crochet the odd row here and there. I was asked what I wanted for Mother's Day and I think I may be getting some more wool. Possibly. Right, must finish there as I have a hairdresser's appointment to go to. Have a fun week. x