Digging for Norton! Norton Conyers, 22nd March 2018

Spring has seen more than its fair share of false starts this year. I suppose it usually does, but then this year, there have been several heavy snow showers - interjected by mild sunshine - in March!! However, as I drove up to Norton Conyers today, I recognised a difference in the tone of the sky that suggested that this was Spring sunshine. Blue skies in winter tend to be slightly paler and cloudless, and the light offered by the Spring sky is unmistakable.

As we greeted each other this morning, the mood was cheerful and relaxed - all of us commenting on the lovely weather, and what a difference it would make to the day's work. It is true: good, mild weather is liberating for the gardener. Less layers to worry about; your whole body is more relaxed; there is no dread - or danger - of getting soaked to the skin before you've done half an hours' work.

Wheelbarrows, spades and forks were needed for our first task. Alyson and I hauled multiple full barrows of compost from the heap, and spread it generously over a huge, empty border. We had soon emptied the compost bin; quite a feat, having seen the quantity in the pile at the start of the day!

As she plunged her spade into the compacted earth, Alyson told me of the toads that had made the compost heap their habitat in years gone by. There were none today though!

The improved weather was good news for the garden's flora; the warmth had brought a few bees out of their slumber. We had been planning to aid the pollination process the previous week, but in the absence of a suitable brush hadn't been able to do so. Giles commented "Perhaps we won't have to use Shandy's tail after all!" Nevertheless, he thought the bees would still need some help, so in the afternoon volunteer Sue borrowed a brush from resident artist David and went about pollinating the peach stamens.

Next, Alyson and I dug up shrubs in the adjoining bed. They had spread, leaving the middle of the plants dead. Splitting the plants would rejuvenate them, and help them to thrive. A layer of compost was turned into the earth, before replanting. We then weaved supports - like inverted baskets. They were very attractive in their own right.

The afternoon: more digging. In the vegetable patch, 'Green Manure' had been planted to act as a natural fertiliser; in order for it to do this, the row had to be dug up. I began to tire - the cumulative physical effort was beginning taking its toll on my back. However, I finished the job, turning over the plants and digging them back in.

Giles had ventured out to collect timber planks earlier on in the day. Transporting these across the garden was the penultimate physical effort of the day. Giles and I carried them - around 30 - from the middle garden gate to the vegetable garden. We placed them approximately where they would be finally installed for the raised beds.

I finished the day digging up exhausted lettuce plants; the massive roots were heavy. I wheeled them over to the compost heap, and the cycle of decay and growth continued.

Although I felt physically exhausted, the mental effect was invigorating. This had been another extremely productive day, and we had all worked very hard to make this substantial progress.