I wonder if breaking your first spade or fork is some sort of right of passage for proper gardeners.
The aim was to clear one of the flower beds expecting it to be a relatively easy job. It appeared to be full of small bulbs and perennials, that is until the first stump appeared 5 minutes into the project. It seems the previous owner had the entire bed cleared of small trees or large shrubs and instead of digging the roots up, they just cut the trunks off at soil level. So far the total stands at 6 in the cleared stretch. Instead of being a quick job, it has taken a couple of day and it's not finished yet.
There are three stumps still to go but those may need to wait until we have recovered from actually having to do some proper digging. The cleared area, which gets sun from 9am - 6pm , is going to be this years temporary succulent terrace. It will free up space while we have some building work done after which I can build the permanent beds.
Right now my muscles are telling me it was a lot easier when I had a small garden!
Oh man...what a pain...you just never know what you're going to find when you first start digging a new garden, do you!
ReplyDeleteThe good thing is that with the building works, the builders will dig out some of the rest. If they turn up with digger I may get them to dig up the other side at the same time.
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