Cleansing in the garden....

In the past, tending to the garden was Glenn's (my boy's Dad) role within our relationship.  Then, when Glenn and I separated, my Uncle who was living with us for 3 years up until May of this year, took over the role.  However, with neither of them here to do it, and Mark and I trying to just get through with the many hurdles we have been facing, our poor garden ended up being neglected...up until today that is!  Thanks to a little bit of a kick up the bum from my Mum! 

Actually, she pilfered some bulbs from our garden but because she had to remove some weeds first in order to get to them, I then had no choice but to finish the weeding, as it would have driven me completely insane being part done; and as I don't do things by halves of course, one garden bed just kept leading to another.  Whatever the reason, our beautiful garden was finally given the TLC she desperately needed. 

We are a long way from being finished, as unfortunately whilst having a large block is a blessing, it also means more garden area to maintain.  The rest will have to wait for another day as we ran out of daylight and to be completely honest, I can barely move *Ouchies!*

The above photo is of a section I worked on whilst Mark took the boys out for an hour.  I have to admit, I was completely overwhelmed by the task ahead of me.  Gardening really is not something that I find enjoyable, however the more I cleared, the more inspired to finish I grew.  The peace and quiet whilst I was working was so relaxing and I realised that it wasn't only a cleansing process for the garden, but also for me.

I am so excited to now have an area that we are going to turn into our home grown vegetable patch!

As much as I really liked the purple daises, they were suffocating my other plants and so they had to be cleared from this garden bed.  

While we were pulling them out I said to Mum, "It's a shame because they are so pretty", to which my Mum replied "Just because they are pretty, doesn't mean they are good for the garden".  I share this conversation as it dawned on me that it can relate to many areas within our lives. Just because the cover looks good, it doesn't mean it is good.

Whilst the pretty purple flowers weren't any good in the previous garden bed, they were perfect for this spot.

I found some succulents growing wildly in the front yard and so, I took a section and planted it inside my old stump.  Looks so pretty! I also discovered that I had rosemary and a jade growing in this garden bed.

It's amazing the things you find when you remove the weeds!  We are growing lettuce, spring onions and strawberries.

Even though we still have so much more to get done, what we accomplished today feels so good and it has inspired me to get the rest done.

Here are some more Before and Afters

(I managed to get a sneaky pic of my Mum)