I sometimes compare our garden to tv’s The Crystal Maze. It’s full of different rooms where obstacles have to be overcome to perform certain tasks and reap the reward of a trim and tended green space.
We deliberately turned our south-facing and enclosed rear ‘yard’ into ‘zones’ – having given up on a small poorly producing lawn that had lost its fight with invading moss. So gravelled areas give us a dining zone, sitting zone, revolving washing line zone and contemplation (with the help of a nearby water feature) zone. It’s amazing what you can pack into a postage-stamp-sized outdoor room.
But back to the obstacles. Alongside our water feature – now disabled to withstand the coming winter cold – we have zinc pots of dead summer flowers that need removing to take advantage of our green bin collection. A wheelie bin costs more than £46 a year so we intend getting our money’s worth!
Those puncture holes!
Blessed with a period of calm and dry weather l am out there scooping out dead plants and compost with my bare hands – not realising that the drainage holes that my partner punched in their bottoms. He had punctured from the outside in and one finger made contact with a jagged edge. First blood drip trail on the day into the house to look for a plaster.
Circulatory system suitably patched l return to cut down the tall strands of an ornamental grass. With sharp shears the task turned out to be a doddle. All those giant blades of grass were sheared and just needed gathering up for the before mentioned green bin.
Needles to say as l reached to lift the fallen strands the palm of my hand told my brain not all the grass had been cut through – producing another slice in my biological fabric. At least this time – l knew where the plasters were!! My wounds have healed.
I now know all jobs – however simple they may look should be faced with hands encased in gardening gloves. But based on my recent close contact with a packet of plasters, can l ask why is it that – in terms of the need for prompt first aid as you drip blood everywhere – getting to a plaster is such a difficult experience. They are enclosed in a wrapping that is not easy to break through at a time when you feel your life force is draining away.
Can someone come up with a sterile wrapping for sticking plasters that is easy to remove in time of emergency. Happy gardening.
