Tuesday 5 March 2013

Fence panels

The sky is blue and the sun is shining. After a rather chilly start when we had to double dress to keep warm, the temperature is now around 11 Celsius outside. We actually managed to sit out in the sun to have a cup of tea and a biscuit – wow!

With rain forecast for later in the week, today had to be a gardening day and the annual, sometimes bi-annual task we hate. Painting the fence panels. We have around 18 in the back garden and 9 or so down the drive.

We started on the 10 that line the back left between us and our neighbour and managed to complete 5 before lunch. They are his but he doesn't paint them and we only paint our side. 5 as it turns out, is quite enough for one day. DB rollers them and I fill in any gaps, of which there are quite a few even though he is using a radiator roller.

As we both had chiropractic treatment yesterday, we probably shouldn't be doing it and my back is aching like mad so we have stopped. DB also gave a first coat to the tops of the raised beds as they are in a bit of a state and it may help keep out the rain a little more. The two long trays of pine cones are back outside again, drying off a bit more, almost fully open now so they will be ready to use soon.

Here is a before and after shot to give you some idea of how green they can get despite being west facing. The last two show the panels from either end.



6 comments:

  1. Oh dear, that's a job that I need to do too, not looking forward to it as I have 14 to do, both sides. What colour did you use? it is rather nice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We normally use autumn brown but 2 years ago, inadvertently put red cedar on - ugh, it was so bright! Last year it had autumn brown on in an attempt to tone it down, didn't fully cover it so this year, we have used dark oak, the same colour as all my raised beds. It looks right now. I like the darker colour as when the plants are growing, the green looks beautiful against it.

      Delete
  2. Oh I'm so glad that we don't have fences anymore. I used to paint them, and the summerhouse too. Now we just have to trim the hedges, which doesn't seem anywhere near as bad as painting fences! We've just decided to dig up the front garden and turn it into a veg plot - it gets more like The Good Life here everyday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Back left is the neighbours, along the back is ours (neighbours don't maintain it unfortunately), between the drives is ours also! When we started war rations we also dug up our front garden. Will yours be safe, don't want you in court for injuring any thieves!! The advantage is being able to nip out and harvest rather than going to the allotment.

      Delete
  3. It has been a horrible day here in Doncaster, cold damp and very foggy with no sign of it lifting.

    We don't have any fence panels in our garden just very tall hedge.... nightmare!! this year it really needs cropping, we have such a huge garden its a really big job just getting rid of the spoil. There are horses in the field just the other side of the hedge so we have to pick up every scrap as its poisonous to them. Hubby has re roofed the shed and painted it last week so thats one to tick off the list.

    Take care with your back and have a rest.
    Karen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We don't have a shed so that is a bonus for us! Panels are a right royal pain but do look lovely and help the look of the garden once things start growing in front of them. We have a 10" leylandii hedge in the front plus an even higher archway. We pay for that to be done as we can no longer manage it. A neighbour who is a gardener does it for us at a decent rate (he is the one who also has an allotment and usually gives us some fresh fruit each year).

      Delete

I love hearing from you, will read all your comments and try and answer any questions you leave. Please leave comments in English. Don't forget to come back and read my reply! All comments are moderated so if you try to link it to a commercial web site, it will not be published.