Sunday 23 August 2009

Put to good use

This week we're going to do a bit of recycling.

We have some bits of furniture that are too good for the tip and not good enough for Freecycle, if you get my meaning?  I was racking my brain, trying to find a use.  The bits I have are a rattan wardrobe and its bedside drawers, plus a couple of square, deep, birch-effect wardrobe topper cupboards.    The rattan stuff is lovely really..but the mogs got their claws on them and they look terrible now:o(  Anyway, I have too many wardrobes so this one is destined.....for the garden.   

I'm going to lay it on it's back, take the doors off and use it as a raised bed for our veggie garden bit.  The bedside drawers will be used just the same and the wardrobe doors could be used as edging or climbing support.   Rattan is...rattan...right?  So there shouldn't be any issues with chemicals leaching from it...I hope.    All I need is a ton of compost to fill the things!  lol  And, some piping and heavy duty polythene to construct a poly tunnel cover for when the weather is bad and to keep out the neighbourhood mogs.  I've also got some heavy duty banana boxes from the move.  Shall use these the same way for smaller crops like salads and stuff we want to experiment with.  Get them off the ground via some well placed bricks.   Anyway, this all should save my back and joints from unnecessary digging. 

The previous owners of the house, in their wisdom, went OTT and planted LOTS of plants  in the back garden, mainly ornamental grasses and these are taking over, so they'll get thinned out.  As I get older I find that I'm more into useful plants (and herbs) and not the ornamental stuff.  We have some peonies.  They're lovely for the couple of days that they flower for but the rest of the time they bore me.  So they can go.  I like colour; varying shades of green just don't do it for me.      

In this garden, where there aren't plants there is pea gravel( laid on top of the obligatory weed suppressing membrane).  All very nice, but a pain to walk around on when your ankle and knee joints are wonky!   I think the original garden theme was low maintenance and drought proof.   Fair enough, but it's like a giant cat litter really..the gravel.. (not that my mogs use it, they don't 'cos they are inside).  Anyway, shall have to get landscape gardener Son No 2 down here to shift some of it and thin the plants out.  They can be Freecycled.   

I hope all this works because I'm looking forward to eating home grown food again and gazing out and walking around a productive, scented patch of land without breaking my ankle!  lol  So is Junior.  She loves getting stuck in and organising stuff.....  She's the Fruit Queen.....loves strawberry and blueberry fruits.  Whizzes 'em up to make a delicious, pink smoothies:o)  I'm lucky in that she loves fruit and veg.  Feel sorry for those people who struggle to get their kids to eat their 5 a day.

Today we made a vegan stew for tea.  Ratatouille basically, made with onions, diced aubergine, mushrooms all sauteed for a bit; add tin of toms,  chickpeas, sweetcorn, tomato paste, crushed fennel seeds, ground cumin and coriander, dried basil, parsley, salt and pepper.  Simmer on low heat for about 20 mins.  Was very yummy.  Since going mainly vegan I've noticed that the old arthritis isn't as bad nowadays, which is all good.  Might be able to get my heels on for summer yet, or what's left of it:o)

Boring. No flowers for the bees, so this is getting a thinning out.

This grass has really sharp edges!! Notice the crap gravel.

More. We have loads of this one.  It's a bit more interesting than the others, being variegated.  We have a pampas grass, too but it's been chopped down (before we came here).  Am not going to encourage it 'cos they are a pain to trim and dig up, I hear.

Fuchsia. Don't mind this because of the colour, but it's rooted next door through the fence, so isn't technically ours. Shall have to take a few cuttings incase next doors decided to dig it up.

1 comment:

stefndawniy said...

my word Min it sounds very busy over at yours!!