The garden just got scary

Hmmm... I accompanied my sister to the council tip late yesterday afternoon, and had a bit of a shock when she got back here. She fished out some stuff I needed from the back of the shed (I won't go in there - just too many spiders too close to my head, gulp) ... and she insisted on also getting the mower out of there and mowing my grass for me. And then I saw the garden through her eyes ...

Notwithstanding that I've spent a couple of hours on it in the past week, it looked very like the municipal tip itself :( Grass thats two feet long, empty saucers that used to have pots in, a few empty flowerpots around the garden, some pots that are full but the original plants have died and they're now taken over by weeds, black bags full of composting leaves left in the wrong place and having grass start to grow over them, clods of grass having been dug up and left in two piles to decompose, not just one, weeds growing at the sides and rear of the many mature shrubs in this garden, loads of slugs pootling about in all that long grass, the slabs of the patio not being repointed and so the weeds and the ants are having a field day in between, patio furniture stacked to one side because it needs to be scrubbed before it can be used, an old table thats meant to be used as the sort of compost bin for the clods still sat on the patio with lots of lovely hardwood that was in the loft just sat on it waiting for something to be done with it. It was absolutely horrendous.

I made a start, at least. I bagged up clumps of the grass that she'd mown, and *while* she was mowing, I made a start on clearing out the shed. At least now, I have a bit of cardboard - leftover moving boxes! - ready to put down as mulch.

Very scary tho. I have to get to grips with all of this. I need to be doing four hours a week or so, at the very very least, just on the garden. I'm not sure I can, but I'll do my damndest.

Just been downstairs to make a cuppa tea. I forgot about the empty drawers from an old chest of drawers, which were used to transport plants from my previous house, the old bricks that were here that will *eventually* be used for edging, the water butts not yet connected (only delivered 2 days ago, I'll forgive myself that one) and the trunk of the dead buddleia, with assorted branches. Oops. Admiring the neighbour's new kitten doesn't quite cut it. A plan is coming up.