Another garden update 6/6/10

wow,looks like my garden(pics in my blogs),but i didnt take up the paveing stones as under them is crazy paveing,i may go for it one day but im by myself and its such a big job for me,im lucky i didnt have that many nettles mines all brambles,you did a brill job,what are you going to do with all the stones,sorry about the sunburn

Careful now, Ian! You said you were going to take it easy - now look what you're doing! I can understand that, after all the hard work you put into your previous garden, you want this one to look good - but the garden's not going anywhere, it will all still be there on any other day. Make friends with someone who has a small digger then HE can dig - instead of "Ian Digs!" ;o)

Hi Ladybug, I think ~I'm going to make an alpine or rock garden of some kind I'm not sure yet. I'm hoping I can find the rest of the statue under there!

Nariz, I do keep doing a bit and then having a break. Yesterday started out with an easy job but then it turned against me! Lol

Wow, wow, wow :-/
And 'i' thought 'i' had stone problems !
Mine are nowhere near this bad ..... i think you need one of those mini diggers Ian :-(
Doesn't it make you mad when people 'do' this ..... leave the problem buried underground for the next people to sort out ? GRRRRRRR.

I'm so glad you are a member of the 'One persons tip is another gardeners opportunity brigade'. I think the alpine or rock garden sounds like a very good plan. I dread to think how much it would cost to buy stone like that at a garden centre. You could advertise it for sale if you find you have too much. Raised beds are also an option. We used stone we had to go round the patio making what looks like a sunken garden. The opportunities are endless. Best wishes for a speedy recovery and do wear a long sleeved shirt next time you are in the garden.

Hi Louise, I did think about a mini digger but the cost to hire one is a bit out of my range so it's down to the Ian-digger! Lol

Hi Scotsgran, Carol calls me a hoarder but you and I both know it will come in useful one day! Lol anyway it would cost a fortune to hire a skip to get rid of it. I'll find a use for it somewhere or other.
I don't think I could put any kind of shirt on today! Lol

Blimey Ian it never rains but it pours as the saying goes !!! you could have done without all that extra work, just take it slowly. i recon a rockery might be the easiest option, good luck. xx

Thanks Tulsa, it will sit in a corner until I finally decide what to do with it!

OMG.....I'm knackered just reading all that!

What a nightmare but as others have said, might be a blessing in disguise with some of the options that have opened up to you. Just would have been nicer if it was all above ground beforehand!!

You certainly live up to your name, my man...........

Keep up the good work BUT, take it easy. I know how easy it is to get drawn in to it once you get started but as long as you are taking regular breaks, you should be fine:o))

Why, oh why do people grass over paths/stones/bricks etc. ? Well, sheer laziness on their part which has made so much work for you Ian, one day at a time is the only way. Could you not get help from voluntary organisations ?
Poor Carol, 'riddling' must be a swear word for her by now !

Hi OB, it is a blessing really, if the council had done there job properly the whole lot would be in the land fill by now! At least this way I get to re-use it all.

Shirley, I did think about asking for help but decided that they probably wouldn't do it the way I want it done! (It's a man thing! Lol)
I asked Carol if she fancied giving me a hand again this morning but if I told you what her reply was I might get kicked off the site for it! Lol

Hi Ian, this is a great blog, and can see just how incredibly hard you have worked, back breaking stuff or what?!! Love your humour too! Hope sunburn eases very soon~ouch! :~((

Blimey Ian thats what you call hard work.

Hi Floribunda, Sunburn doing fine today, I even managed to get a shirt on! Lol

Carol, I am having a day off today, did a little veggie planting and not a lot else but I'll be back at it tomorrow!

.........and you thought you just had a huge garden full of grass, weeds and nettles Ian! Who knows what treasures are laying there waiting to me discovered and placed in the 'Digs Pile of Useful Things'. lol You can be sure that if you don't want something some nice person from Freecycle will come and take it away for you can't you?
Take it easy, you deserve that day off. :o))

wow you have been busy fancy finding all that under the grass.......must have been a lot of very hard work.... you are certainly living up to your name... : O ))

Hey you might find a hoard of Roman treasure under there or something! Well done Ian - heck of a task. There's me whinging over 15 ft square of concrete!
Nic
PS Aloe Vera's great for sunburn ;o)

Hi Lily, I'll have you know my pile of useful things went to the tip when we moved (well some of it did anyway! Lol) So much for me bragging about having a day off! I went to plant our grape vine this afternoon and that turned into a full blown excavation as well! (blog coming soon)

Holly, for once I wish I had picked "Ian_sleeps" for a username! Lol

Nic, no such luck. I'll probably find a Hillman Minx or something similar. Thanks for the tip about Aloe Vera, I don't think I'll be doing what one of our neighbours teenage kids did, He used vegetable oil as suntan oil! He has literally fried his skin! Ouch.

You've got enough there to start your own reclamation yard young man! Or do you feel about 92 after all that diggering!!

Wonder what your garden looked like years ago when all this stuff was an actual feature?!

Hope your shoulders recover ...can you sleep standing up lol??!! :o)))

Well Ian just can`t wait to see where all these finds are going to end up - could make a second great wall of china - well it would be something different, just pace yourself and dont end up with a hernia, sunburns bad enough.

Hello Fluff, 92 is a conservative estimate! Lol We think this garden MUST have looked gorgeous at some time in it's past but the grass hasn't been cut for at least five years so.........

You're not kidding Stroller, I had an awful night last night, Carol kept trying to cuddle me in (as you do) and I kept rolling onto my back!

I think an alpine/rock garden is on the cards perhaps in the front garden!

WOW! What a lot of bricks, slabs, etc! You will do well not to increase it any more. You really ought to take more care with sunburns - they can be easily prevented by wearing an old shirt. I got my arms sunburnt down on the allotment - twice, once in April then again in May. I now use sunblock on them. I noticed the backs of my hands look 20 years older than the rest of me!

I know what you mean Balcony my hands belong to my dad! I've always worked outdoors or driving lorries and sunburn was a constant annoyance. I must be slipping because I would never work for so long without covering up.

What a nightmare to find all that - but you are v.v.v.naughty to do all that work, Ian - we all keep saying 'Take it steady'... and you MUST!! Tsk, tsk.

For another idea for your pile do look at Davids blog "Gardening Scotland 2010 - Part 2" There is a 'wildlife motel' photo which would use up quite a lot of your recycleable material.

I AM Spritz, honestly I ......OK I did do a lot but no more than anyone else would with a new garden to play in! Lol

Thanks for that Scotsgran, I have lots of "stuff" I can make into a Wildlife motel and it can go with my hedgehog house behind my shed out of the way.

Well I'm amazed at all that stone, what on earth was it originally? Let's hope you don't come across an old bedstead and rusty bike as time goes on, Ian, best left buried if you do, I reckon! I know my grandfather's generation frequently buried large defunct items in their gardens to get rid of them, lord knows what you'll find next. maybe you'll lend up with an archaelogical dig...

I think, at one time, it had something to do with a fish pond or two Bamboo. I can remember a neighbour (from way back when I thought girls were put on earth for us boys to tease! Lol) burying stuff in his garden. I don't remember what it was but I was fascinated that one man could dig such a deep, wide hole in the ground!
By the way I have found several bits of carpet, springs (off a bed) and lots of angle iron (not sure what these used to be!)

Oh lord - just a thought, but did the man you recall digging such a deep and wide hole have a wife left after he'd finished, or did she disappear....

Lol Bamboo, I don't remember but it is a scary thought!

Tee hee, was only joking, but I'm fascinated as to what else you might find out in your garden. Trouble with digging it all up is you've then got to dispose of the rubbish.

This is very true but when it comes to my veggies ...............!

Just don't disturb the inhabitants of the "lower realms" we have one "devil" enough to cope with now! ;-)

Lol Balcony!

you and yours are amazing,i would have just sat down and cried.

Hi Suey, don't tell anyone but I did bite back a few tears when I saw it! Lol

I'm slowly but surely making a ramped path up the left hand side to take our wheels for when we can't get up there on foot.
I am ...... HOLD IT! that's the next blog update! Lol

oh Ian,its both exciting and terrifying at the same time.lol.i have alot of steps in my garden and quite a big slope.my mum became paraplegic seven years ago,and can no longer get up my garden.its such a shame.
i await your next blog with bated breath,lol

Unfortunately things are at a stand still at the mo but I'll let you know as soon anything changes! Lol

I have enjoyed these pics as it takes me back 10yrs.We have a large plot that was entirely weeds and a dumping ground,.Could have built a skyscraper with the rubbish unearthed. Just started looking through the blogs and I am finding it difficult to get my bearings but will keeping looking and posting
Sheila

Hi Sheila, it can take a while to find your way around but keep persevering. Lol

I have five chickens now and they are doing wonders at digging everything up!

Hi Ian,great blog mate,and BTW it's not boring.
It certainly sounds like there was a pond there at sometime as you say.
They probably just buried the fish and all seeing the state of it all.
I know how heavy that sandstone and granite is as I got a load for my pond and waterfall.

An idea if you want to get rid of it is put it on ebay,it will get snapped up!
That is where I got all my sandstone from and it cost me 1p,honestly.
All I had to do was collect it.
You could do the same with soil if you have too much.I had approx.20 tonnes I dug out by hand and put a lot on ebay for 1p,people soon came to collect.
It will only cost a pound or two to advertise it,and better to go to someone that wants/needs it rather than landfill as you have mentioned previously.

One of my nightmares when I started to do my first project on the garden back in 2005,was to find the previous owners had built a rockery using concrete and not much else over top a sewer manhole cover,and then filled it with soil,unbelievable!
It was only when my pickaxe hit something really hard that I realized something wasn't right,thats because I hit the metal sewer cover!
Some people eh?

The angle iron you mention was probably the rest of the bedstead along with the springs!

Well best of luck Ian,I know what your up against mate.

Thanks Richard, I'm getting there. :~))