The Bike Shed

Lead panes & lead flashing

Ceiling boards with imitation lime wash

 Last weekend saw work resume on the bike shed and another two Chris Saturday.  After putting in the insulation, Chris screwed up (not literally!) the ceiling boards which I had already painted with a 50-50 dilution of emulsion surplus to requirements.  The idea was to achieve a lime wash effect.  Chris moved the upright sections to accommodate the leaded windows (bought on EBay).  We even found some left over lead which will help prevent rot by keeping out rain.

We desperately need to come up with a plan to disguise the plastic cat flap in the door and, so far, the idea is to cut out a couple of pears from some left over timber and ensure one is strategically placed!

Weekend progress

Of course you do need to imagine the original waney edge boards and lined walls painted in some of Farrow and Ball's best and maybe some scalloped details on the front!

Whilst Chris and I were engaged in shed construction, Chris Pugh set about trimming all the Lavenders, the Yew hedge, Hebes and Spireas.  Afterwards we planted a self set Buddleia, moved an Asplenium to make room for a new fern donated by Chris himself.

Comments from the Coop

We haven't heard much from the girls lately.  Well, all is tickety boo down in the Hennery.  Even the Henclosure has had a major tidy up.  The girls enjoyed our company whilst their Bamboos and Miscanthus had a trim.  It had got to the stage when a machete was needed just to collect the eggs.

Lulu climbs their ladder

Lulu posing

Tosca (in foreground) Lulu & Poppy

Black Betty

June saw the second anniversary of our hens.      We have had to say goodbye to Bluebelle, Priscilla and Amelia over their 2 year occupation but at present, these four are settled and content.  Black Betty is the only original making her the oldest.  From June to June we collected a total of 1281 eggs and I reckon that's pretty good going by anyone's standards.  After all, we only have 4 girls.  The current residents are Lulu (O.I.C. Pecking order) Black Betty, Poppy and Tosca.  Tosca is the biggest but as the youngest is definitely bottom of the Pecking Order.  Lulu is the the most tame and also the most talkative.  When eggs are collected and their newspapers changed, she often comes into the house to supervise the daily mucking out.

Eggsess (sorry!) eggs sell quickly and, at £1 for 6, they're a bargain.  Profits from sales pay for mash, corn, layers pellets and also treats like meal worms.  Half a dozen eggs labelled and tied with rafffia or ribbon make ideal presents and are nice to take to a dinner party.  Sales for 1 year totalled a surprising £71.00!  6 disappeared without payment but maybe some one forgot to put their pound in the piggy bank.

Feed consumption for a year is approximately 3 bags of corn, 2 mash and 1 bag of layers pellets.  All 3 cost about £8 per bag and of late we've been buying from Dodson and Horrell and taking advantage of their free delivery on orders exceeding £40.  That means we're well in pocket and any profits go into the garden - especially vegetable seeds.

June 2011 - June 2012
Total Eggs:  1281
Total Sales: £71.00

New Invention

Blogger's been a tad quiet of late!  Keeping up with the mowing has been the main reason.  I have never done quite so much summer mowing!  The wet summer has meant that, not only has the grass grown at an unprecedented rate but the frequency and severity of the  downpours has meant that the extra lush grass has been longer, wetter and heavier!  A patch of blue sky and it's been mowers on the starting grid.

AGT's Scoliotic Ramp!

Dare I even mention the word weeds?  They have been just rampant.  I still have dead forget-me-nots in borders.  Thank goodness Chris has kept on top of hedge cutting so at least they look respectable.  This Saturday was a major 'weed everywhere' day and kicked off with de-dandelioning and mowing Thyme Square.  It was quite the nicest smelling box of clippings ever.  As fast as Chris and I piled up the weeds around the border edges, Al barrowed it all to the compost heap.  Quite the perfect team effort.  Al was able to test his new invention to the full! A curved and folding compost heap ramp.

Summer arrives at PTC

OK!  So summer's arrived with a bang!!  Late but it's here.  Time to spring clean the summer house and sweep out an entire year's worth of cobwebs and their inhabitants.  Even the floor had another coat of stain.  The bike shed also saw some progress as it's new tin roof had a coat of undercoat and 2 coats of green oxide - even the underside of the overhang had a coat of Farrow and Ball's 'French Grey'.  The floor and also the wooden retaining boards had a coat of preservative in readiness for Chris's next visit.


Despite a whole winter's battle against plagues and infestations of whitefly, sooty mould and woolly aphids, the Brugmansia has come out smiling.  It even snubbed at the advances of sharpened secateurs and in the setting sun, it's easy to see why its name is Angels' Trumpets.

WEIRD GOINGS ON

Looks like a floral tongue!

Weird and strange mutants have sprung up in the Top Lawn Border following all the rain.  Can anyone explain such goings on?

Everything's coming up roses.

Clockwise from top left: Rhapsody in Blue (Al's favourite) Munstead Wood (my favourite), Ferdninand Pichard & Port Sunlight (Chris's favourite)

A second visit to Davis Austin's followed by another crab salad (and, for Chris, a birthday) lunch meant that we came home with enough roses to finish off the top lawn border.  It now comprises of the following varieties:

Munstead Wood
Port Sunlight
The Countryman
Tranquility
Jude the Obscure
Ferninand Pichard (what a great name!)
Gertude Jekyll
Rhapsody in Blue

A James Galway also found its way into the shopping trolley and was planted up the dead pine tree (Chris's idea) which is one end of the hammock.  

The photo was taken during a very rare sunny moment after the rain had spoiled the majority of blooms.  Furthermore; the under-planting of Geraniums Johnson's Blue are hardly visible.  Hopefully and, with a decent summer next year, we'll enjoy boat loads of fragrant roses floating above a sea of vivid blue - fingers crossed!  

The finished border (showing the invisible Geraniums!)

Chris did a spot of very sly shopping and gave us a beautiful Nellie Moser which we planted up the telegraph pole - the other end of the hammock!  A totally unexpected and lovely surprise!

A Two Chris Saturday

BIKE SHED BEGINNINGS

Newly re-boarded base awaiting C treatment

Boards awaiting de-nailing

Just when we thought all major projects had finished, No 1 Gardener rolls up with an unwanted garden shed and, having dismantled if carefully, he managed to deliver whole sections of an 8'x10' shed unaided!  To our surprise, No 1 Builder arrived on Saturday morning and so work commenced on making the shed base and then taking the boards off the sides and cutting the frames to size.  Because we need to downsize it to 6'x8', all the waney edged boards needed removing and then de-nailing. Whilst this was going on, Chris (ie. the other Chris) was digging up Lilies-of-the-valley and moving them to the safety of the woodland border to make way for the shed base.    A Rosa Glauca and a Berberis also required moving.

And, yes it's already been pointed out that it would be cheaper to buy a new shed as we will be constructing a new shed from an old one AND having to take the first one to pieces before re-sizing it.  However, a new one would be just that - new and characterless.  

I'm not at all keen on the UVPC windows and am actively seeking better alternatives - via EBay.  When completed; the plan is to install an exercise bike.  Hopefully, the interior will be lined in ply and tastefully painted in Farrow & Ball paint - also discarded by its previous shed owners!  The only slight snag is that fact that 'Sir' is absolutely insisting that it is also insulated.  Not just any old insulation but insulation to a standard!  Now - how exactly can I tell a very busy builder who's already given up one Saturday??? Any ideas?