With the school term break upon me, once I recuperate from the incredibly heavy-duty term and the massive task its been getting through the EOFY (End of Financial Year) this year, I will have time to get a few jobs done both inside and outside. Although, if the weather stays like this it may be mostly inside I think!
I made a start at the weekend mainly because I had a lot of seedlings I started a while ago that should have been tended to. They were looking a bit sad and in dire need to spread their roots, I was determined they would not be wasted so spent a fair amount of time planting. There is a mix of coneflower, various poppies and other cottage garden plants in this lot. 
It’s not the planting that takes the time, it’s all the other jobs you find along the way, such as trimming back perennial clumps (the hedge trimmer is great for this), dividing and thinning out plants, weeding, trimming suckers off the magnolia and feeding and adding compost to the bed.
Hopefully, this bed will be full of cheery, bee loving flowers in spring and summer.
Time to check through the seed packets and plan what I need to use and what needs to be started at this time of year. Any old seed will go in, might only work as green manure, micro greens or chook food. Nothing goes to waste-it’s better to try to get some sort of return from it than to throw it away! All my attempts to be really organised and systematic with seed just seems to head out the window when I see something I like or someone offers to share!
Reclaimed bricks
Our neighbours demolished an old garage and generously offered all the old red bricks to us. They’ve been stacked out the front for a while and needed cleaning, a job Mr ATMT started at the weekend. They are still stacked in the front yard, but mostly ready for using in various landscaping projects we have planned.
A few of the other jobs I have planned for the break are:
- Put new wire on the chook house-small enough so sparrows don’t treat it like a smorgasbord fly through restaurant!
- Set the greenhouse up so I have much better growing space. Thinking of putting a couple of wicking beds in there.
- Clearly mark out fence line around veggie patch-Design gate and fence
- Plan fruit tree planting sites and plant
- Set up new bench in berry house for the strawberries
- Clean up the strawberry pots, plant up runners and top up with good compost etc
- Clean out the old stables/shed
- Sort out back corner of yard where old timber and building stuff is stored
- Build some potato planting boxes
- Succession planting in the veggie patch beds.
- Put more support wire over broad beans
- Give the worm farm a service-take out castings and generally refresh it.
- Clean up the garden shed and give the tools an oil, sharpen and sort out.
Gee, getting tired just thinking about it. Haven’t covered much in the way of inside reno jobs have I! If it’s too crappy outside I will endeavour to get the hallway wallpaper finished ready for painting and work out a colour scheme for the front ‘snug’. Piece of cake really!
Around The Mulberry Tree 
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