The one problem about spending the entire weekend gardening is that none of the other jobs get done – still reorganising and clearing out the attic and sorting endless piles of paperwork can wait for the long, dark, cold days of winter.

So today dawned pleasant and it was a chance to crack on with some serious ground prep down at the allotment and then nip home and get the last of the winter window boxes potted up.

First a quick inspection of the two beds planted with garlic and onions – nothing showing yet, and something has been trampling my little bamboo stakes which mark out the beds into the earth!

This is what the allotment looked like before I started with the ground prep (right)

A couple of hours later I had most of that removed and in the compost bin.  It wasn’t back breaking work because the soil underneath had been well rotivated.  So the weeds (mostly) came out easily but oh my goodness there are lots of pebbles and flints in the soil!  Still the allotment is starting to look good, though I still haven’t tackled that patch of brambles at the front near the main path.  And I need to sooner rather than later!

At home I finally got most of the poor bulbs which have been sitting on my living room floor into pots.  I have some daffodils, alliums, muscari and a few others that I want to plant down at the allotment (which will have to wait a week or two) plus a couple more pots and hanging baskets to plant up at home.  But the bulk of the pre-winter preparation work is now done.