In the garden again

 The kids went back to school last week - for two days - before another long weekend. I used those two days wisely and got out in the garden to make a start on the veg patch. This is how it looked after day one. There was so much ivy to pull up and lots of nasty weeds with deep roots - they reminded me of those mandrake plants on Harry Potter. Every time I managed to pull one out of the ground, I thought it was going to scream at me! Alas, the veg patch is currently not looking very much different to this photo. A few more mandrakes were pulled out the next day but I ran out of time and ran out of room in the green bin.

 There's quite a lot of weeding to do. I am thinking it will take me 8-10 days in total to get all the weeds out and level out the soil, ready for turf. We will have the border along the side, curving round into a border at the back of this plot too as this then allows us to have a level lawn without the need for a retaining wall (in theory - will get back to you on that one).

We have approx. 12 gooseberry bushes which we were going to pull up as they didn't do anything last year. Surprisingly they are looking good  though, with quite a few berries on so they are mostly staying, apart from the front 4 which will have to go as we are removing the patio in front of the greenhouse and turfing this area too. We don't tend to sit in the back garden, preferring the decking at the side of the house, but we do have a wide concrete path up against the back of the house which is big enough for a table and chairs. I am fairly confident that we will not miss this paved area so it is going. I have started stockpiling gooseberry recipes - gooseberry meringue pie, gooseberry curd, gooseberry and yoghurt cake, the list goes on. I am now guaranteed to get the most measly crop, barely enough for a crumble!

The street party that we went to on Friday was fantastic. The food was all so delicious and we had such a good time, we ended up staying until late into the evening. I really enjoyed the Royal Wedding and I hope the press with leave William and Kate alone to get on with married life out of the spotlight.

The girls went back to school today (begrudgingly) and I have spent the whole day crocheting and sewing - a little project which needs to be ready for the weekend. Will post about it once it is finished - hopefully all will be complete tomorrow morning. The house has really suffered over the Easter holidays - it needs a good spring clean and tidy. I certainly have my work cut out for me this week. No time for charity shop hunting, that's for sure! x