My Little Willow Weaver

Back down the allotment this weekend. We carried a 3m scaffold board down the high street on a Saturday morning, one of us at each end. What were we thinking?! Actually we were thinking big raised bed, that's what. I wangled 3 slightly battered and bruised scaffold boards from the roofers as they were dismantling a few weeks ago and we've only just had time to get them off the front path and down t'llotment (well only 1 so far, but it's a start). We have to cart them by hand/foot as they're way too big to get into the car even with the roof down and if I try and haul anything else gardening related in the motor B might just kill me, especially as last weekend I packed an ancient baby blue carpet in the boot and the stinky rubber backing flaked off all over the shop. Mind you it does look grand on the allotment and will definitely keep those weeds down.

Talking of prettying up the allotment, B's turned into a willow

weaver and is making a fence. I'm totally impressed as I'm usually the one who happily sews and darns away. I think she's just showing how she earned that sewing badge at Guides!! While B was busy creating, I was busy destroying. I was digging through the pile of earth that'd been heaped up against the fence when the original growing beds were created forming a solid, bramble-ridden ridge between us and next door. I decided to dig it through and use the sifted soil to build the sides of the raised beds up to ground level. Not sure how successful I was as all I seemed to do was create a mess (typical!). The rhubarb's settling in nicely and we've also ordered some garlic and overwintering onions to put in.

Bless all folk who work allotments - one of our neighbouring allotmenteers, Helena, left us a lovely sage plant that looked quite lost sitting in amongst all the carpet, weeds and empty beds so I've commandeered it for the herb box at home.

LxXx