Brain freeze...

Bloody hell, over three months since my last blog, that's shameless that is. It's not like I've been overly busy, just lazy as far as this is concerned. Shocking really.

In the past three weeks I have been mainly up to my ankles in compost, digging it over and loading up wheel barrows full and transporting all round the four main gardens I work on. It's been a delight really, especially this week when it's actually been cold enough to be winter. However, I did give up on Monday afternoon, digging a vegetable plot in a blizzard (sort of), but back there tomorrow to finish it off.

Did I ever mention I like compost? Especially when I have made it - not literally of course, but from rotting leaves, grass cuttings and the like... 

It's been sooooo cold recently, but I have been able to keep up the work on the four major gardens in Berkhamsted (Pat's place), Quainton (Rebecca), Dancer's End Tring and Julie's at Buckland. And, just as a reminder, if only for myself, this is what they look like in nice weather!

Pat's place last Spring - remember Spring? Apparently it was
20 degrees warmer at this time last year

The kitchen view at Quainton. It looks very different this year, I've
managed to move even more plants into this bed and got rid of the arch,
it was intrusive and fell apart when I attempted to take it down! I
have moved 17 rose bushes from the driveway too - as soon as the
weather gets more conducive to nice photography I am going to take
new shots of the garden prior to a major re-vamp, ie getting the lawns back
from the builders!

Dancer's End House in Tring. This garden keeps me very trim (ish...) it's all hills and dales
and enormous. Been tidying all the beds recently after weeks of sorting out the compost and
chopping and trimming and pruning. Burnt a lot of stuff

...same at Buckland. Tidy, tidy, tidy... Dug over
the rockery around the pond in a vain attempt
at getting rid of the mare's tail. Watch this space!

Anyway, I aim to get back into regular blogging again. I think the weather has got to me in such a way as to freeze not only my fingers but also my brain.

Keep warm... Peace and love, Simon x

I knew it! There was a reason I'm doing this now...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2232056/Gardeners-florists-named-UKs-happiest-workers-90-horticulturalists-enjoy-going-work.html

OK, it's from the Daily Mail so perhaps one would doubt the voracity of this story, but yep, I have never been happier at work. Every day brings something new and every day I end up having done something I can see the results of my labours - and it's always appreciated too.

Working at Argos on that brick they call a catalogue, I would flick through it thinking, "18,000 products in here, I don't want one of them..." Whereas, I can look back at my days work in any one of my lovely gardens and think, "Ahhhhh, that's nice!"

I think the following pictures from this year are tantamount to that statement:

I do have such fun you know. Take today for example, on my way to Quainton (see below) I got stuck behind a cab that kept speeding up, slowing down; speeding up, slowing down. I assumed he was looking for somewhere, the home of his next fare for instance. But no. Oh no, this cab driver was in front of me for five, going on 25 miles - that's what it felt like.

We got to the new hideous estate just the other side of Aylesbury (see this link: http://simonmurraygardenservices.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/i-promise-not-to-mention-weather-part.html) where there is a single track road with road works and a set of traffic lights. The lights turned red and said cab driver stopped in such a place as to make it near on impossible for the traffic coming from the opposite end of the road to get passed him. Stand off.

After a couple of minutes two rather large blokes got out of their cars and asked him to back up. Nothing. I got out and tapped on his window. He put his hand up and refused to even look at me. He was Indian, so unfortunately the two blokes got a tad racist.

I said,"He's a fuckwit because he's a fuckwit, not because he's Indian." The two blokes looked like they were going to take out their frustration on me, so I went back to my car. Thankfully the cabbie did back up enough for the on-coming deluge of cars to get passed. 

Of course, after this protracted interlude, the lights had not only changed to green from our way, they had changed to red again, so we couldn't move. I say we, but the cabbie decided he would go anyway, meeting yet another line of on-coming traffic halfway. More stand off; more shouting; more I was thinking that I would never get to Quainton, a mere mile or so from the "beauty" of Kingsfield Park. He backed up, very slowly, after one of the workmen from the building site had "had a word".

To cut a very long story short, we eventually got through the road works, on to the estate and he indicated that he was going to turn left into an unfinished road with about ten unfinished houses. He stopped. I hooted. He waved his hand at me again; my blood pressure started to rise - I mean I can take a joke, but fuck a pantomime!

He moved on at about 6mph and then indicated right, stopped, an on coming car full of kids and an irate looking mother nearly hit him. Then he moved on nearly hitting them. I was now beside myself with something akin to tourettes-a-gogo and would have stopped and let the bugger do whatever he was trying to do , but there were about 20 cars behind now. 

Finally the cabbie turned right at the next road and I put my foot down. The last I saw of him was in the rear view mirror with one of the 20 cars chasing after him flashing his lights and hooting like a walrus on heat.

The legend on the back of the cabbie's car? "Serving Aylesbury for 25 years - exemplary!" Whatever that means...

Quainton, Spring this year

...again Spring, just cut the grass. Below, Quainton today
13th November 2012, a pretty good replica of the Somme...

Anyway, I'm happy, are you?

Spike Milligan, fairies, pond cover cleaning and early lawn mowing...

This really is a quickie, as I must get some sleep!

Today at Pat's place in Berkhamsted I actually cut the grass - light touch of course this time of year - and found evidence of fairy activity. The latter was rather poignant for me as today was the 10th anniversary of Spike Milligan's passing on.


When Spike's kids were little there was a rather magical exchange of notes, placed in a little tin box, at the bottom of the garden. The fairies wrote to the children and the children wrote back. Spike always said he preferred the company of children over adults, basically because he always had a little child "inside"; he never grew up. Too sweet for words and as I brush away a little tear in the knowledge that I too have that little child just under the surface, here's some pictures of today's activities:

The grass always looks good when cut...

And finally, undeniable evidence that fairies exist!

It says, "for fairys. Queen sits on fowler (flower)"

The petals of said flower were definitely showing signs of disturbance, so there you have it, fairies do exist... A few of my mates already know that.


Don't know about you but I am chanting, "I do believe in fairies, I do, I do..."


Happy fairying about!

Garden heaven...

Our compost, some of which is at least 6 years old - it's lovely I think you'll agree

Hellebores at Pat's place - my favourite flower, they give you colour all year round just about

The Volvo - I call it the Belgrano, 'cos it' big and grey and never been anywhere near the Falkland Islands. Must tidy it up soon...

A new diddy lawn at Tom & Vicky's - she wanted somewhere to lay in the sun!

The rockery at Julie's - not a fan of tulips, but they looked so nice at the top there!

Can't beat a good daff at it's zenith

And there you have it. A lovely week in amongst the flowers. Pruning, trimming, mowing and hoeing - just a shame I couldn't go out with the TUC on Saturday, what fun and japes was there!


No cuts here - not of that kind anyway...


Happy chopping!

The new year arrives...

...and it was mild enough to get out and tidy my own garden - what a novelty!


The garden looks sad, but at least we can see it now. Lots of seed heads to gather still, must dig out the old clematis and prepare the ground for the new grape vine in Spring. AND, most importantly, make plans for the allotment, I will not neglect it at all this year!


First proper blog, I hope someone sees it...