Foster Runs

Another weekend passes with no run… there’s definitely a habit forming here!

Once again it was Project Man who got in the way!

Peace on the upper deck was shattered on Sunday morning when Project Man started sizing up the next stage in this autumn’s garden intervention.

Having cut out a slot eight inches wide by about five feet long, I then cut down the middle of the membrane underneath and stapled it to the joist either side.  I then dug down one spade-depth into the compacted clay to create a deep trench.

Although the bamboo that is going to live in the slot is a clumper (as opposed to a runner like me!), I still ideally wanted it to remain in the chosen location so I created shutters for the side of the trough using the decking remnants taken up the other weekend.  Since one of the challenges is keeping pots on this HOT South-facing deck watered in the summer, the trough has no base… the bamboo should thus be able to find some moisture (although potentially a way out) and I shouldn’t need to worry about drainage.

I lined the sides of the trough with a membrane to reduce the likelihood of the bamboo finding an easy way through and filled the bottom with gravel.

Then came the physical bit: amongst the various pots of bamboo that I have grown was a large one that had been living uncomfortably set into the ground… the hard base of the pot meant that it dried out in summer just as quickly as the pots on the deck.

I should have split it last year, if not the year before, so the pot was jammed full of roots and it took me more than half an hour to split it into eight mini-clump that would serve my needs.

Having figured out an order to the clumps, I then planted them into the trough using the compost harvested the other week… I really hope that there are no stinging nettles in this batch!

Experience with bamboo over the years has shown me that using pebbles as a top-dressing has two advantages.  It keeps the moisture in, which is really helpful in such a hot location, but it also serves to stop the bamboo forming into tight clumps, which keeps it visually attractive.

These pebbles are not as large as I would have ideally liked, but they are appropriate for the size of the slot… and were all that the garden centre had in stock in any case!

Clear of the tools and assorted paraphernalia (and absent one glove, which has either been planted or is now waiting under the deck for rescue), peace finally returned to the finished deck, allowing Project Man to relax for another week!

Maybe I’m better off running next weekend… at least that doesn’t (usually) take all day!

As I sit here writing on a now wet and windy Sunday afternoon, I am pretty much totally exhausted… despite the fact that I didn’t muster a run!

Yesterday I cut and scarified the grass, cut the grass on the green and washed the cars.  With a little energy still left, I thought that I would progress the garden project that I started the other weekend.  The first step was to empty the compost heap… the contents fitted neatly into one large canvass garden rubbish collector.  Oh, and six large sacks that I could hardly move.

Kim then helped me to lift the structure out of the way and we dragged the (now giant) Acer into the gap that was left.  In between rain showers we lifted the structure into the space left by the Acer and I put the non-composted material back in it, leaving the six sacks of compost ready for a later part of the exercise.

Buoyed up by the speed with which we had completed this, I decided to make a start on the fence panel.  I removed the prototype panel (an off-cut of bamboo screen that I had rigged up between two posts) and jointed the uprights into the decking joists for extra strength.  I then decided how big the panel should be and laid it out flat on the deck to check where the centre rail needed to sit.  I drilled and screwed the corners and repeated the exercise to create a second identical frame.

I laid bamboo screen across the bottom frame and stapled it into position, then put the second frame on top, drilling and screwing the two frames together.  The resultant panel was then lifted into position and bolted to the uprights.

By the time I had cleared my tools away I was fit for nothing at all!

This morning Kim cut shrubs back and generally tidied the area up whilst I tidied the area behind the panel and moved pots of bamboo around.  This part of the project is now complete but the exertion once again left me comatose for more than an hour this afternoon!

It’s been a really fun weekend, but no chance for a run now… I’m far too exhausted!