Bradford Lad: The Pain Of Gardening
Mike Coatesworth tries to take the pain out of gardening, only to encounter more pain.
Another warm and sunny day in which I can enjoy my garden. I enjoy siting in it on warm days, looking out across the city to a golf course and woodland.
At the moment the garden is a bit of a mess. It's not getting sufficient care. We asked our family to help us look after it, but after a hard day earning a living all they want to do is relax.
My wife and I decided we needed a low maintenance garden. We planned to make the borders narrower, just one foot wide, grassing over what had been flowerbeds with new turf. That sounded simple. We could not foresee any problems. We would require approximately thirty square yards of turf. (I can't get the hang of measuring things in metres, can you?) I phoned a company and asked them to quote a price for doing the work. They did so, and the quote seemed reasonable.
I asked my elder brother if he thought our plan was feasible. He said it would not be practical to use a Rotavator. There were lots of stones and rocks beneath the top soil in our garden. A landscaping firm would charge a fortune to dig them up and remove them.
So there we were. To establish a low maintenance garden all our bulbs would have to be dug up, then a huge quantity of rocks and stones removed. This is going to take quite a while. My brother has agreed to move the bulbs, and my son will shift the rocks, though where those rocks will be placed has yet to be decided. We already have a large rockery.
And here was I, thinking this was a simple job that would take just a couple of days. My relatives tell me it could take a couple of months, and there is going to be quite a mess, though when it is all completed I will have a garden to be proud of. Seems as though I am going to have to wait until next summer to enjoy it.
How I wish my Aunt Chrissie was still around to offer advice. I like to think she would have solved my gardening problems in quick-sticks.
