Green fingers... I soon will have!

So, this weekend I finally got to work on that allotment that I've been dying to dig my shovel into.

Before: every inch covered in weeds. The plum tree at the
back has the most amazing plums at the end of the summer

It's going to be a lot of work. Every inch of it is covered in some kind of weed: doc leaves, nettles, buttercups, daisies, dandelions, blue bells, thistles and all sorts of grasses. There are strawberries tangled in with everything, just starting to bear fruit.

Strawberries cover two full rows. I'll have to pull some out
unless I want to start selling them at market!

I went down there Saturday morning, armed with pink garden gloves, wellies, shovel and fork and began levering out doc leaves with roots the size of me. Weed after weed, my pile got higher and higher and my plot got clearer and clearer. Before I knew it, my neighbour came out to tell me it was 6pm and hadn't I better get in to my hubby to cook him some dinner?

Dandelions: nice to look at, complete bugger to pull up!

I'd been there all day and only cleared 3/4 of a row!

I say again: it's going to be a lot of work!

But, I enjoyed every minute of it. While I was stamping, and levering, and yanking, and pulling, I had nothing else on my mind. All of the stresses of the previous week were forgotten, all I cared about was getting that one last weed, and then one more. It was therapeutic.

Blue bells, these are far too pretty to pull out so they can stay
right where they are.

It's lovely down there. A nice big plot with a lot of potential, in full sun all day long and soil soft as sand. After Phyllis went in to get ready for Bingo, I stood and admired my work - I'd hardly made a dent on the mini rainforest of weeds, but I'd done it all by myself. I was doing things I didn't think I could do alone, stuff I thought my bones would never allow but I did it. And I felt proud.

Keeping up with the Jones' - I'm going to have to get moving if
I want my plot to look like my neighbours to the left and right!

I also felt achy the next morning, but that's another story. I feel like this is something I can do and I think I'll do it well. I can't wait to see the result of my hard work later in the summer.

This is week one, I'll post back next with my progress! Will you be 'growing your own' this summer?