A clean sweep

Now the garden is all planted out… well mostly so it’s close enough, and the sector system is working well.  I was able to whip around today’s sector in no time at all, leaving the afternoon free for something else.   There are a lot of ‘something else’s’ to choose from.   I have loads of cool projects ruminating in the back of my head, but before I tackle these – there are the chores.  Now the demand is no longer on the greenhouse, I should give it a tidy up.  The pots need cleaning and you really don’t want to look behind the shed.  I originally designed the gap between the shed and the fence to be wide enough to get the lawn mower back there.  Unfortunately, it has become a bit of a dumping ground for old bamboo poles, trellis and miscellaneous bits of wood that may or may not come in handy for something.

But the something else for today just had to be to tidy inside the shed.  It also became a bit of a dumping ground in the race to get everything ready for the season.  I’d just open the door at the end of a long, cold and exhausting day and just lob everything I’d used in there.  Tools, bits of string, surplus trellis, empty compost bags, fertiliser packets, empty cups and the odd nail or two.  It all became a bit of a death trap to be honest.  I raced in there last week to get something and stood on the rake and in that comedic style thwacked myself fully on the head.  I was a tad dazed and confused for a bit but carried on as the garden needed my attention.

So aside from health and safety, I had another exciting reason to clean the shed.  It needed to be worthy of cool new things.   Historically I have been a poor, yet resourceful gardener and as I mentioned before my tools while not the cheapest in the store, were near the low end of the budget and broke easily and often at the hand of Hubby the Un-Gardener.  I would end up persevering with broken tools or nipped up to the garden store and replaced it with another one that was destined not to last long in my garden.

This has now changed.  I am now the proud owner of some fabulous Gardena tools (gifted to me by the lovely people at Gardena) that should even withstand the efforts of Hubby the Un-Gardeners destructive gardening technique and I couldn’t possibly allow them to find themselves in the squalor that was the current state of my shed.  Sometimes a reorganisation is what is needed to make effective use of space in a small area like a shed, and clever storage solutions can make all the difference.

I had a table across the end of the shed to store my pumpkins on – there are a few left, but the space under the bench was dead as only what sat on the floor was under there.  So, I moved the table under there and created an open space where it was, that was quickly filled with the resources for exciting projects in the waiting.  These were currently just dumped behind the door jumbled up with the tools.  But it made sense to keep the tools there behind the door as they are handy to grab when needed. So, I created a dedicated tool corner.

The great thing about the new Gardena tools is the combisystem that comes with a rack and when you want to use them the tools just swap between the wooden handle or telescopic handle so they are up off the floor and there will no longer be any more rake to the head incidents in the shed.   In this system is a rake, hoe, cultivator – which is fab because mine is broken, and even a broom!  I’m still undecided if I’ll let hubby the un-gardener use my shiny new tools – maybe I’ll let him sweep, there can’t be too much to go wrong with that.   There are also a great pruning tools which will be perfect for looking after my orchard this winter.  Normally I put the pruning off because it can be a tad daunting, but this season I’m already looking forward to it.

Now if you are in New Zealand and would like to get your hands on one of these amazing combisystems, with the great storage rack and all the cool tools, pop over to the Gardena website > Here <  and enter the competition to win one of 40 sets.   The competition closes on the 11 December so don’t miss out.

I am looking forward to using these tools in my garden and working from a tidy shed.  Going from poor tools and a messy shed to great tools organised well is going to feel wonderful.

Come again soon – spring cleaning for summer feels like we are getting ready for something amazing!

Sarah the Gardener  : o)