A hive of industry

We’re on Day 5 of the bathroom refit, and are starting to get a little weary of the crashing and banging overhead.  We’re using a small local firm, and on the first day the two twin brother directors were both here.  Yesterday the ceiling was plastered by the chap who did the hall ceiling for us: a father and son business with identical names.  Today’s work seems to be the installation of the new equipment: the new shower tray went in first thing this morning.

We went and collected the tiles during the week: since we’re having tiles from floor to ceiling, we needed both cars!  Fortunately, the chap at the shop did most of the loading, since the boxes are bloody heavy.  The tiler is starting on Monday, and the tiles will just stay in the cars until then.  We are neither of us keen on wrecking our backs.  Had we had the tiles delivered, we’d still have had to schlepp them from the kerbside to the garage, so storing them in the cars is probably the best solution.  

We’ve had some heavy rain in recent days, and the garden has profited.  The potatoes have grown about a foot, the sage is flowering beautifully and the roses are starting to flower. We’re rather over-endowed with woodland geranium and iris sibirica, but they provide some colour and ground cover while we slowly populate the new flower bed.  Of the tagetes seedlings I planted out a few weeks ago there is no trace.  I guess the drought or snails will have done for them.  Last year’s rudbeckias, on the other hand, are starting into strong growth, so we may not bother to plant this year’s seedlings.  We have decided to bite the bullet and get gardeners Ben and Duncan in for a couple of hours once a fortnight.  The place already shows the benefit of their first visit.  In addition, we’ve briefed them to come and dig out the box stumps in the front garden and replant with something less vulnerable in the autumn.

The four viable tomato seeds out of the six in the packet have yielded good strong plants that are now fruiting heavily.  In addition we have rooted a couple of dozen plants from side shoots, so ought to have a succession of fruiting - at least if, unlike last year, they don’t succumb to the blight.  The four originals and the first three cuttings are growing in the conservatory alongside a tray of small plants of the next generation.  Another nine from the mini-greenhouse are potted up outdoors.  Our success with growbags last year was limited, so I’m trying chrysanthemum pots this year instead.  And I’ll try to remember to feed and water them this time.