Not what I call gardening exactly!

Well done on all your work ...
Ruby is CUTE.

A lot of hardwork there. The shed is looking good and better for not scrapping it. I recycled a rotting 8x6 shed into a 6x4 and love it as there's a sense of achievement much better than my new 7x5. Look forward to seeing the heuchera bed and the replanted hellebores

Thanks Gertrude, from what you've been doing you too have been working hard!

Terra, yes, Ruby makes friends wherever she goes.

What you have done is better gardening than some of the presenters on T/V with their ready grown plants, ready grown shrubs, and all the memorised latin names. I cant ever remember seeing them recycle a shed like you have done.
I have recycled all my potting compost this year with Gerbil litter, Blood Fish and Bone granules, and horticultural sand, and my hardy plants are thriving now. Am just
moving Rasberry Canes using the last of the compost to
line the trench.
Recommend.

Sure that counts as gardening GF - where would we be without our sheds? It must have been rather a blow to discover the earth on the bottom of the wall after all the work on the roof. You must have been pretty tired after doing all that!
Those are all jobs where you can really see the difference - so rewarding! Hope you have somewhere for all those now hellebores as well as the heucheras.

Diane, you've reminded me that I've not tackled the raspberry canes yet! Isn't it wonderful how garden weeds etc can become enriching source of life for the plants!

Stera, you are so right, the one we call the big shed is more than 200 yrs old & is shown on old OS maps. It was the wash house, I believe.
Getting the sheds repaired was one of those necessary tasks that is such a relief to know is now done!
Hellebores are all replanted & I will be digging out some grass to redefine & widen the border.

Definitely agreed, a very special gardener.

Thank you kindly, Diane.

My...what a hard worker you are ! Well done on doing a great job ! Its looking good and I like your new planter !
Oh yes, and Ruby is gorgeous ! She looks like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth !

Rose, you're right there about Ruby, 10 months old & quite the little princess!

I like the green colour on the shed....nicer than some of darker greens I've seen before and that planter is excellent....nice and big to hold lots of soil/compost.
Will you line it with plastic before planting? May help lengthen its life!

Paul, I'm really pleased with the shed colour, it's called Moss. The big shed was black before & very imposing, the moss green is much better & is a great colour to set off all other garden shades. Huge improvement!
There is a picket fence in front that borders my veggie plot which is in need of repair & if I get to it I'll repaint it with duck egg blue (greenish rather than blue).
I had 2 planters especially made to my dimensions (45cm deep) as I couldn't find any ready made. I am planning to line them with black fabric membrane, then a layer of stones before filling to receive 2 clems & some ground cover over surface.
Do you think this is the way to go?
This all faces north.

I found your blog so interesting and am especially interested in your heucheras. I will try that idea in a dry area. After a recent visit to Highgrove where I saw some beautiful big sedums I am going to start collecting those too. Have read that fleshy leaved plants shouldn't go in until spring. The same with grasses and grey leaved plants.

Hi Poppy, welcome to GOY, so glad my blog was interesting for you.
If you are planning to plant heucheras the best conditions are:
Preferred Conditions: Coral bells prefer to be planted in locations with a fertile, moist, well-drained soil. They particularly do not perform well in locations with poor drainage during the winter months. Most Heuchera cultivars will grow more vigorously and have the best leaf coloration when they are planted in locations with partial shade, particularly in the afternoon.
Purple leafed cultivars can tolerate more direct sun; in general the darker the purple coloration the more exposure to sun they can tolerate.
Conversely, the amber and gold leafed cultivars are less sun tolerant; the more yellow the leaf coloration, the less tolerant to sun they are.
In locations with full sun or full shade, most cultivars will usually survive, but they will be smaller and not look as lively.

To have best chance of success run a Google search to find out what plants are best for dry areas.

Hi GF ...when I've had wooden planters, I've always lined with plastic (even old compost sacks can do it) with drainage holes poked of course. Just to keep the moisture off the wood.

I'll line with the plastic then, Paul, got plenty of old compost bags.

Always helped to keep mine from rotting!

I'm working backwards G'fingers playing catchup on blogs, you put me to shame, I have two very large tubs of green stain ready in one of our sheds, been there a few years now it just never seems to get put on the sheds, I know I have a good excuse this past year but truth to tell I hate the painting jobs so never get around to doing them at the right time, I much prefer getting down and dirty in the actual earth, in fact even turning the compost is more to my liking, lol....

I know just what you mean, LL, I've even found rusty tins of paint set solid b4 now! - not that I turn the compost tho...
I'm right glad there both painted now tho!

Well done, I believe in recycling wherever possible, although drawn the line at compost now, unless you can be sure it is free from disease and bugs etc... we were unable to have a large shed, so we had three small ones, and made a feature of them, attracts plenty of comments from our garden visitors!

Where would we be without our sheds, lol. We actually have 3 but the 3rd is the smallest, we call it the Wendy shed because it has a stable door & is under a big weeping willow unfortunately it has gone too far to repair, keep thinking I should take it down but you know how time slips away.....one day maybe.

I know that feeling all too well??

It helps that we can't see it unless we part the willow curtain, lol.