A Day In The Life

 Ok, the blog is called 'A Day In The Life', it's been raining most of the time lately, but we did have one gloriously sunny and dry work day, and so here is a typical, dry and sunny working Friday in it's entirety.

Our first job was on the tip of Sandbanks peninsula, and about a hundred yards away is the ferry to Shell Bay, and on this occasion, more importantly the Haven Ferry Cafe, where tea is purchased! 

 

 

It was nice to just sit and soak up the view, with an autumn chill in the air, and a cup of sweet hot tea to start the day.

 



 

There were, as usual, all sorts of different people heading across on the ferry, all planning to do different things. Workers in their vans, mountain bikers, naturists, fishermen, walkers and day trippers heading to Swanage. We were content on this occasion to just take in the scenery.

 

Twenty minutes later, and some hedge cutting needed to be done. Not a vast amount, but tricky, as there is a six foot high wall to negotiate. Hedges haven't stopped growing this year, and instead of the usual two or three cuts, they have needed up to ten. With the colder weather moving in, this will hopefully be the last one now until next February. Amanda was blowing all of the pine needles and rubbish away, and as we have had some quite stormy weather recently, there were loads.

 

All done, and I work my way back along the wall.

 

 

The next job was the modern house just around the other side of the harbour, but first we had to head back home to drill out the drainage holes in the remaining planters, and then on to the garden centre to get some more gravel for the bottom of the pots, and compost for planting.

 

 

Once everything was on board the van, we returned to the harbour, and another favourite spot for a quick cup of tea.





 

To the left, out of sight is the peninsula, and turning right takes us to the house about five hundred yards away.

 



 

Once back on site, a clear up had to come first, and a thick layer of pine needles covered everything. Amanda started on the front garden with the small blower, while I tackled the back with the big one.

 

 

Once all was cleaned up, the grass was cut and all borders freshened up. One quick check to make sure that all of the tidying was complete, and it was then time to finish the pots.

 

Autumn is most definitely here, with two dumpy bags of rubbish off the front garden alone, and only a weeks worth!

 



 

The pots went well, and keep in with the modern design that the owners like.

 

At the front, the door planters were freshened up, with the introduction of some good old Viburnum tinus in full flower, and some miniature orange bushes. There were two pot bound Kniphofias, and these were removed, the root balls reduced, the remaining soil cleared of some serious root as you can see, and the two Hydrangea 'Blue Wave' that the Viburnums replaced put in their place.

 

 

It had been quite a long session here, and so we were ready for lunch, and the bakery at Canford Cliffs village was beckoning.

 

 

We collected yet more tea, some sandwiches and a newspaper, and headed to Cliff Drive, where we could eat in peace and enjoy the view across Bournemouth Bay towards Sandbanks in the background.

 

All very nice and yummy. I was reading the usual drivel in our newspapers, while Amanda then got us both engrossed in an article she was reading about Witch Hazel shrubs. Needless to say, the newspaper went down and a discussion opened up, with a planned trip to the mentioned grower, and strangely enough also to David Austin Roses. Funny how things move along eh?

 

It was now about two in the afternoon, and hard as it was to leave our lovely lunch spot, we had to press on. Branksome Park was the location of our next place, and another favourite of ours that has featured a few times on this blog. A fairly large place, where there are usually stacks of leaves coming down from now until the end of November, and today was no exception. Amanda handled the major task of leaf blowing by herself, whilst I got on with the mowing. As most of the back garden is made up of four seperate lawns, the leaves at this point can be blown onto the grass for me to mow up, but in a week or two there will be far too many for the mower to handle, and so both blowers will be needed to completely clear them. On this occasion the mower was set a little higher for the autumn, and managed it all fine. To the right of the picture is an apple orchard that produces some delicious varieties. These trees will need pruning later.

 

 

Before we left, we checked out our new planting from earlier in the year to see if there were any replacements needed, and all appears to be doing much better than expected. Next year should be quite a show!

 

And that was the end of our work for the day. It was then time to go home, shower and change, before heading into Westbourne, where a lottery ticket was bought............

...............and a quick 'hello' was said to the regulars at The Porterhouse.

 



A lovely pint of 'Old Thumper' for me, and a large malt whisky for Amanda rounded off the day nicely.

 



 

And as it was now quite late, we finished off with a delightful Indian meal before finally heading home for the night.

 

So there you have it, one whole day in my life.

 

Thanks for taking a look.