Our UK Wedding Reception

As you know, My long suffering partner Karen and I got married in South Africa back in March. Not everybody could come and so we thought we would throw a UK Wedding reception for those who couldn't make the 5000 mile journey.

After the usual issues of sorting out a party, We set the date, Sunday August 5th, ordered the caterers - we went for a Hog Roast as just about everybody likes that (and a good friend of our provides catering etc) and sent the invites out.

As it happened, this was the hottest day of the year and luckily our friends Donna of Why Not Jewellery and Steve her hubby arranged a rather odd shaped but very effective marquee for us.
I must say the day started off really well - so great to see so many friends and family turn up - the usual suspects Neale and Sam James AKA Breathe Pictures, Paul and Cathy Rosier. Adam (what no Emma? - she was in hospital having just had their new daughter!) Hillier AKA Verbatim Call Centres , Nigel Morgan of Morgan PR(minus Diane due to holiday), to mention but a few....

As the day moved to evening, after the Hog Roast had been reduced to a bag of bones (this was probably the best Hog ever!) it was time to cut the cake kindly supplied by my Mum.

After this, things get a little blurred for yours truly - we made a big fire on the patio and all the "die hards" sat around talking the usual bull and getting slaughtered - Louis was pouring my drinks (he worked for me as a work experience the week before and Neale James picked on him everyday on his breakfast radio show) and so got his revenge - "Doing me Ugly" on the Brandy and Cokes (not much Coke me thinks!) until I passed out.

The next day I was done for. I don't think I have ever felt so ill on drink - I still can't touch a brandy after 4 weeks!

What a great party - can't wait until our anniversary now!

Picture 1 - The strange but useful tent




Picture 2 - The Catering Team hard at work!



Picture 3 - Cutting the cake - well on the way to being drunk!

Mega House Clearance!

I had a call from one of our commercial customers which went along the lines of:

"We have 3 cottages we need you to take a look at - I think they might be a bit overgrown, but I am sure you can sort them for us".

So I popped over to take a look.......Well I have a Landrover and I struggled to get into the gate way as the grass was so tall!

Normally, this would be a case of just getting a tractor and paddock swipe and off we go, however access was a total problem as the 3 cottages all had small access and low trees etc making this a real problem.

After walking around the site - hoping not to be captured by some tribe that might be lurking - I came up with a solution to this problem - our awesome Etesia Mower with the windrow attachment and our trusty strimmers!

I was advised that the Etesia would not cope with grass so long, however with limited options we just got on with it. Luckily we had a good break in the weather and so the sun had dried out the grass otherwise I would have thought twice. So Ric D was set off on the Etesia, Pete was dispatched to the hedges (again so overgrown you cant believe it) and I set off with the strimmer to uncover paths and cut the roadside banks and boundaries.

After 5 days, we did manage to get this job completed - and the transformation is simply amazing - the pictures, whilst good, do not show the real difference but they will give you some idea.

We have just gone back and undertaken the first maintenance visit and I have to say that it is really looking great with the new green grass growth coming through - now we will be on a fortnightly visit to maintain the hard work.

Picture 1 - The Orchard - What no trees!




Picture 2 - Spot the Patio (and Path)!!




Picture 3 - An English Country Garden - well it is now!



The only casualty was a damaged drive belt on the Etesia which under the circumstances was pretty much expected - a truly great machine all round.

Its been a while.....

It s been a while since I have posted on my blog - we have been totally mental busy as well as taking a week off with the kids so time has just run away with its self.

On the good side, we have done some cracking jobs - all of which I will up date you on as I get the pictures sorted out.

These include:-

• A massive rockery which had totally over grown and we tamed
• A fish pond which was just simply unbelievable - now you can see the water
• A garden clearance to end all clearances - this nearly killed us but now amazing
• An overgrown hedge on a busy road
  

All this plus:-

• Our big UK Wedding reception
• Our Holiday
• Our YTS (Youth Training Scheme as was - now called work experience) Experiences
• Our Dog Attack victim - poor Ric D!

I hope you enjoy reading the next few blog postings..

What a horrible week!

This week has been a disaster.

Our first job this week was to do a garden clearance in Beedon near Newbury. When we arrived the poor house owner was trying to clear up the 2 foot of water which flooded off the field and into their house. Despite this, she still wanted us to do the hedges and borders that we had agreed to do a few weeks earlier for the party they had planned for this Saturday - nothing damps the spirit really!

The next few days were a washout, Tuesday we couldn't do anything so I helped the local horse farmer Cliff Percy of Snelsmore Sheltand Ponies collect some hay from Swindon - hay is in very short supply and nothing will be made much this year. As we left Swindon, Cliff noticed there was oil on the back of the car. I couldn't see where it was coming from so we limped home.

Wednesday morning I went to Lancaster Landrover in Thatcham, where I was presented with a bill for £850 for the repairs to an oil seal from the 4WD transfer box. Luckily no other damage found. We did manage to cut one lawn before the heavens opened.

Thursday was rained off once more - my machines have never been so serviced and cleaned!

Friday was good - we managed to cram in about 10 jobs from last week and caught up on a few from this week - I even did my own grass before it got too dark! We did manage a curry with Adam and Emma and Neale and Sam - the ciders did flow as we all had terrible weeks - Adam had his car written off due to flood damage.

Today, I am going fishing - I could work but enough now - time for some relaxation. We haved no kids this weekend so me and the wife Karen will go into town and check out a few bars -maybe go to the Corn Exchange and probably end up in the Madagascan Gin Palace for a meal - get the table ready Richard!!

Next week has to be better - the forecast is for a heatwave over August - I cant wait!!

Rain DID Stop Play!

Normally, we still do a certain amount of work in the rain, however yesterday was something else - rain on a biblical proportion.

We live about half way down a hill and so would expect not to ever get a problem with rain, floods or anything else like that. There are several springs in the woods above us and many large ditches and water courses which flow from the woods, through the surrounding fields and off to catchment and soak-away pits at the bottom of the hill.

Yesterday morning first thing I had to drive into town to do banking etc and got soaked just walking around the town. When I left home there was a few puddles etc, but on my return at about 10am, it was a different picture all together with loads of laying water and large areas of the road covered.

I was due to pick my daughter up from school at 12:30 and was amazed at the roads. We have 3 ways of getting to our house - the normal way was probably about 4 foot deep and was flowing like a river, the 2nd way has a large dip in the road - also completely full to about 6 foot and the final way is a gravel track through the woods, which without 4WD would have been impassable as this was basically now a fast flowing river too.

Luckily, one of the mums from school gave my daughter a lift to Donnington (which was also under water) and I collected her from there. Meanwhile Daughter nos 2 was stranded also but made her way to a mates house on top of the hill behind us. On arrival, his house was flooded so I spent the next few hours digging out trenches to move the water from his house and ease the flow from the drains.

All roads around us were flooded, the New Oxford Road, the A34 and the B4009. Karen the wife was on a course in Oxford and was stuck on the A34 for a few hours but managed to get off at Wantage and come the back roads - again thankfully she has a 4WD too otherwise she would not have made it through the back roads which were full of abandoned cars.

Now will the government see that people who live in the country NEED 4WD vehicles and stop persecuting us!!

I know people in Thatcham and Newbury suffered a load more than us, but I have never seen anything like this - and hope never to again.

Today its bright sunshine and you would never guess what happened yesterday - whats happening to the world - I think we should be very concerned for the future and our effects on nature.

No pictures unfortunately as my mate was due to return my camera yesterday - I'm glad he didn't even try!

The Dreaded Wasp Nest

Yesterday we took on a new contract in Highclere near Newbury for a very large house with loads of grounds. The family moved in about 3 weeks ago and so the grounds have not been touched for some while.

As with all new contracts, the first visit is the worst as you do not know the ground, the grass is long and thick and the edges have been neglected - so it takes ages. The owner had asked me to destroy a few wasp nests around the garden and outbuildings.

We found 3 pretty much straight away as there were high levels of wasp activity around the property - one particularly nasty one at the base of the house, one in the roots of a willow tree and one in the shed.

Rather than gas these whilst we are still working and risk getting stung, we set to work getting all the grass cut, Rick on the Etesia ride on and Pete and I with strimmers. All was going well until Rick went flying past me on the mower and disappeared down the drive at full speed - arms waving about in the air.

I switched off my strimmer, lifted my ear defenders and shouted to him - It appears he found another wasps nest in the orchard - with the mower! Not only did he go over it once but then reversed over it to get a better cut of the grass, hence making the Jaspers even more angry.

Wasps do attack - I have no idea how Rick didn't get stung as he also managed to suck up a load in the collector and dumped them on the grass heap too.

Unfortunately I have no pictures or video of this event but it was pretty funny. Needless to say it made my job of wasp control even more difficult as the wasps were highly aggressive and not prepared to have any further invasions.

I did give all the nests a really good treatment and will revisit later in the week to check all the nests are clear.

More Turfing

On Monday, we did a garden clearance and turfing job in Oxford for a good contact of ours, Andy Foulds of 0800 Handyman. If you have never come across 0800 Handyman before, its a really great idea for people who don't have time to do the little jobs around the house like putting up pictures, shelves etc.

We don't normally go as far as Oxford, but as it was Andy we made the exception. Andy did the survey for me to keep costs down of travelling and I must say his measurements were spot on (as you would expect from a tradesman I suppose!).

I was warned it was a little weedy, but with all the rain etc this garden was something else. Anyway, we did a load of hand pulling of weeds - approx 2 cubic meter bags full to be exact, then got stuck in with the rotavator to break down the thick clay soil. The development we were working on was typical of getting as many houses on the estate as possible, then the designers realising that access needs to be made to get into the garden so they put a tiny pathway down the back. This causes major problems with getting equipment and materials to the garden.

Despite this, we got the ground prepared and the turf laid and changed a jungle into a beautiful lawn. Good job the rain has been pretty constant since then as turf needs tons of water in the early days to ensure root growth.

What did I let myself in for!

Neale James and me (the handsome one) warming up the crowd!

I made a bit of a wise crack on the phone to Neale James of Reading 107fm when I called into the show last week about taking him to open a gig at Wellington Country Park on Sunday as he would probably be too drunk to drive....as it turned out, it was the other way round!

Usually on a Friday night, several of us have a few beers just to end the week off - this week being no exception. Neale and Sam, Adam and Emma and Me and Karen all had a few when Neale suggested that it would be a good idea to introduce a few of the Breakfast show characters over the coming months and it would be a good idea for me to come to the gig and get a feel for it - obviously I said yes (as you do after a few!).

It only really dawned on me on Saturday what I had actually let myself in for - the warm up act for Marvellous 07 in front of a possible 3000 people!

Now I am game for a laugh, but have never been in such an environment before - my role was to be introduced as "Gardener Graham" off the Radio show and help Neale to whip the crowd into a frenzy - me carrying the prize bag whilst Neale did his stuff and got the crowds going.

On the way there, Adam and I had a couple of Ciders just to calm the nerves - Adam was taking the photos for the event for Neale's Blog at 107fm.

When we arrived, the guy in charge, Pete, and Phil the stage manager ushered us into the back to run through what was going to happen and the bands who were to perform - then Phil tried to get me hooked up with a microphone etc - I politely refused his kind offer as you can expect!

Our time arrived and Neale launched into his much practiced and polished warm up routine which drew the crowds to come to the front of the stage - we then went down to the front to ask a few quiz questions so the crowd could dip into the "Prize Bag". The prizes consisted of a swede, leek, carrot, cauliflower and a spud of course!

Unfortunately, our time was cut short as the act Voulez Vous, an ABBA tribute band was ready to go on and we only had chance to get one winner - but never the less it was a brilliant experience, even if it was totally scary.

Big thanks to Neale - you really got me this time!


The expectant crowd

Pictures by Adam from Breathe Pictures

A funny thing happened.....

....on the way home to the office!

Today I was forced to spend a large portion of the day in the office with the accounts. Not the most thrilling thing I want to do on a Friday but these things have to be done.

My Accountant Sheila Tompkins of Summit Office Services and I have had a long standing relationship where we have worked together on both large and small companies and systems and as a Sage person she is fantastic. Over the years we have had quite a few laughs over my attempts to challenge accounting practice and her company initials SOS are usually very appropriate when she has to come in and rescue my accounts.

Today was no exception - how she finds out the things I have done on this system is a mystery - but thankfully she does, then spends the day putting it all right for me.

Sheila also comes in to sort out the Wife Karen's Accounts for The Best of Newbury and Webbuildpro - Newbury too so she generally spends a whole day with us.

Anyway, today my accounts were finished in good time, so off I went to get some machines from Paul at A4 Hire in Hungerford for a job on Monday. I was just finishing off with the guys, chatting about the Shalfest Beer Festival which seemed high on the agenda this weekend, when the phone went.

It was Karen asking me how long I would be as we had a bit of a problem with Sheila's car. I said I would be home in 10 mins and so set off.

As I pulled into the lane, I was greeted by a very red faced Sheila who whilst reversing out of the drive had hit the accelerator and not the break - ramming her Mini Cooper up the bank and into the hedge!

Now I have to be honest, I did titter -actually I almost manured myself !

Picture shows me getting the car out of the hedge for her - I didnt trust her to try as she would probably take out a gate post as she shot forward!

Luckily, no real damage (only to pride) was inflicted to car or driver - but it did brighten up what was a pretty ordinary day!

New Machine added

This week, after lots of investigation and research, I decided to add a new machine to the fleet.

I read loads of articles on the web and also in magazines like NFU Countryside's mag, which features very good reviews on machinery, before finally going to see Neil at Kalehurst Machines in Hermitage near Newbury.

The great thing about going to Kalehurst is they actually know what they are doing - not only for domestic customers but commercial and trade as well.

After spending several hours chatting through requirements, advantages and disadvantages of various machines, I decided that the John Deere X540 was simply not suitable for the type of work we do - even though it is a superb machine and would eat the jobs we have, it is simply too big to go into most of our customer's gardens.

I settled on the Etesia Bahia, which is basically the Hydro 80 commerical machine without lights and a horn (but significantly cheaper!!). I know it looks a little strange and not like a tractor as most machines look like now but its really well built and very strong - essential for us as its on and off a trailer several times a day.

This 80cm cut machine is perfect to go through normal sized garden gates, but definitely man enough to cope with long and wet grass. We opted for a collector type mower, rather than a mulcher as most of our customers want the grass collected.

Yesterday, we tackled a lawn which we had to cut a few weeks ago with a tractor and swipe. The weather has stopped us getting back on this lawn until yesterday. When we pulled into the drive yesterday I did think that the swipe would be required again as the grass had grown to about 6 - 8 inches long.

As we unloaded the mower, I thought it best to tackle the shortest area first, but Ric just put it in gear and ploughed straight into the main area - I was mistaken as the Bahia simply ate the grass and popped it straight into the collector. During the whole day we never had a single grass jam - most impressive on such long and wet grass.

The customer actually called me later in the day to say how impressed she was with the finish - she never believed her lawn would ever look good considering the mess it was in - another happy customer!

So far I have managed to use it once (on my own lawn actually) - the guys simply wont let me near it and squabble amongst themselves as to who will be using it!

Big thanks to Neil at Kalehurst for his advice and his team for getting it ready so quickly for us.

A Great way to start your day!

Over the years I have listened to many breakfast radio shows on the way to work.

There are several things that are important to me: news, weather (not more rain!), traffic jams etc but most of all to get you energised for a long day digging or mowing.

I have tried national and local - but over the last few months I have been listening to Reading 107 fm.

Whilst reception in Newbury can leave a lot to be desired, I am willing to live with the cracking and occasional loss of signal so I can listen to Neale James's show. It's hilarious.

Me and the wife have know Neale and lovely wife Sam for a few years but have never really seen the alter-ego broadcaster (well only after a few Magners or Brandy and Cokes!).

We call in to the show most mornings depending on our final destination, but as we do quite a bit of work in Reading we usually get him for long periods whilst sat on the M4 carpark. We generally chat about the places we are going that day - or relay a funny story - but most of all to guess the mystery year - which we pretty much get most of the time!

I keep trying for the money quiz but never seem to get through on this - come on Neale I need to money and I get most of the questions right!!

The new Reading 107 website has allowed Neale to create a page to outline the shows characters - mine is Gardener Graham and the Spuds - we have our own tune "Can you dig it".

I urge you to give the show a try - 7am - 10am Monday to Friday - contribute and email or phone in to the show and try to get a character for yourself.

Garden Clearance like no other....

Picture: Spot the madman on the tractor!

We try our best to help customers out. We move heaven and earth to fit in jobs which must be done for one reason or another. This weekend was no exception.

I had a call late Thursday from a customer who we have a large garden clearance job booked with us in a few weeks time. This customer manages some very large properties in the Newbury area and most are, or are about to be renovated.

Anyway, the call went along the lines of "Can you pop and see a really urgent job for me - we need to get the Walled Garden cleared before next week". So I was given the address and off I went Thursday evening. Now I am pretty good at finding places, but this one was a challenge - luckily the local gamekeeper was passing and pointed me in the right direction.

As I pulled into the drive of this massive house, the Walled Garden was easy to spot as it was surrounded by a 10 foot high wall - hence the name I suspect! I walked over to the gate and pushed - nothing happened - so I pushed harder and it slowly moved a few inches, just enough for me to see a wall of brambles and nettles at least 8 feet high!

A feeling of dread washed over me as I squeezed in. I have never seen anything like it. I beat a retreat and walked around the side, where luckily there was a full sized gate. Nothing short of a serious tractor and brushcutter would cope with this.

So Friday morning I sorted out a tractor and swipe from the guys at A4 Hire in Hungerford for collection later in the day.

The picture above shows me on the tractor during my first pass - the area itself was about 1 acre - full of Horse Flies, wasps, mosquitoes and other nasty flying objects and the ground was littered with rocks, branches and tree stumps - driving blind on unknown ground is very scary as many people turn tractors over when swiping - so progress was slow.

I don't think I have every been stung and bitten so much.

Anyway, job done, customer sorted and area restored to normal.

Fencing Marathon Ends in Hungerford

The Morgan Project is completed.

The really great thing about a large project is the before and after pictures are really radical.

During the job, you don't have time to sit and look too much - you are focused on making sure you are on time and doing the best job possible, overcoming the myriad of problems that get thrown at you, making sure the materials are on site (and correct!) etc etc.

I often puzzle at some tradesmen. When I have had work done at my house by electricians or plumbers etc, they seem to spend most of their time at the wholesalers getting parts and bits. These are not generally "odd bits" but the run of the mill stuff like switches, tee joints, elbows etc - every day bits that you must have to do any job - a real mystery. Most tradesmen have a large transit van or the like - surely a bit of on board stock would be better rather than a ton of rubbish which generally fills them?

This would drive me mental as I do not want to leave site to get materials. I always plan and get everything delivered to my office - or have them ready for collection the night before or at least early in the morning on the way to the job. Sometimes you have to leave site if you run into a problem, but generally you make a plan.

The only problem we faced with materials was a few hinges believe it or not! I tried 2 suppliers and couldn't get any - so Nigel popped down the town and found some for me whilst we carried on finishing off.

The before and after pictures were kindly supplied by Nigel - I hope you agree the new fence makes a big difference to the look of the garden.

Day 3 of Fencing project in Hungerford

Today was our final day at Nigel Morgan's home.

Having really gained time yesterday, we hoped to be away in good time today, however I jinxed the job by wearing my summer shorts, and so we had bad weather - rain, thunder and high winds - as well as finding every conceivable problem we could at every turn. The only thing we didn't find was a UXB! (Un-exploded bomb for those who didn't know!) but I did think we probably would.

As part of my fencing team, my Dad really loves to do the tricky work. He is quite a character and always has the "During the war" type stories and always says things like "You don't want to do it like that" and "When I was a boy" which has the lads rolling about. I do like working with him and so do the lads - cheers Dad you are a Diamond Geezer.

On our last job, he managed to rip one sole off his boot and had to tape it all up etc - he looked a right plonker - that was until the other sole fell off too and he had to walk around with two sole-less boots for the day - classic!

Nigel provided the bacon sarnies again, but this time saved some for himself - he is a quick learner - and also kept us supplied with tea and cakes all day:
Note to other customers, the precedent is now set and my terms and conditions now reflect bacon sarnies and cakes for every job in the future......!

Anyway, this job was finally completed - on time allowed and within budget - despite a few minor "additions", but the results are quite stunning - both Nigel and wife Diane are very pleased - and so are the neighbours too by all accounts.

The lads are knackered, but on to the next job - tomorrow we are cutting 9 lawns and digging a few borders - weather permitting of course!

I have done my second Pod-cast and I must admit it is really powerful and effective - I have had a few calls from readers and mates who really like the idea and want to know more about it - Nigel has got this off to a fine art now and once my camera returns, I will be doing some more - yes I am hooked!

Please see Podcast attached - any comments would be appreciated

Day 2 of Hungerford fencing project

Picture: It's just stopped raining on day 1

Today we were back in Hungerford working on Nigel Morgan's mammoth fencing project. As projects go, it been a really nice one - a virgin fence IE no digging out old posts etc and just digging new holes on our line rather than trying to follow "Blind Pew's" existing fence.

The great thing about virgin fencing is that it looks amazing from the before and after shots and really gives a huge impact to the overall look of the garden. The other good thing is you can easily use a hole boring machine.

These machines are fearsome. You need to be totally alert and "feel" what you are drilling - or it will throw you about like a rag doll. Believe me I have the bruises to prove it - especially where you don't want to have bruises.

One of my guys, Rick, is pretty small in stature, but very strong and so goes into battle with the dreaded hole borer on virtually every fencing job we do. I liken it to David and Goliath. Today Goliath had his revenge. It was spectacular and so funny I almost had an accident.

Nigel had just persuaded me to do my first Podcast and I must admit I am not a lover of video, but I am always prepared to listen and learn from my marketing guru, so went along with it. I dispatched the boys to the furthest corner of the garden so they would not distract (or worse take the mickey!) and did it on the first take.

The great shame is that Nigel had just gone in and missed Rick's tango with Goliath - which would have been far more entertaining to watch! Basically, Rick pulled the starter cord and the machine literally jumped into action - throttle wide open and off it went - with Rick holding on to the starter cord dancing around the garden - this thing has a 9" auger drill which revolves really quickly and jumps about all over the place. I couldn't do anything for laughing - the look on his face was legend!! Finally it fell over and Rick dived on the stop switch - but how funny was that - if only it was on video we could have got £250 from You've been Framed without question!

Today we had gourmet bacon sarnies - Nigel just appeared with them and I must admit they were very good - shame he used all the bacon on us and forgot himself - live and learn mate!

Tomorrow is our last day and its just the fiddly bits to do and finish - these are the important bits that make the difference between a good and a great job - we pay a lot of attention to this as its so important to us the customer is truly happy - and it gets us our money quicker too as well as good referrals to other customers.

I am going to try and post my Podcast and a few pictures of the job for you. Ps Nigel has put it on his blog too www.morganpr.blogspot.com if I get it wrong!

Rain doesn't stop play!

Yesterday we started a major fencing job in Hungerford for Nigel Morgan of Morgan PR.

We finally got the long awaited panels after close on 8 weeks, and with jobs building up, the start dates were fixed in stone for this week - come hell or high water.

The rain was torrential virtually all day - we did enjoy the 15 mins of sunshine which just gave us enough hope to carry on.

Nigel made the customary offer of help - the sort of offer we all make when you see anybody struggling against the odds - but I would not subject any normal person to this kind of abuse. This is reserved for the slightly deranged, or the clinically insane - I am not sure yet which category we fall into!

Big thanks to my intrepid crew who carried on all day with hardly a complaint - and of course to Nigel for the tea and cakes throughout the day, which we consumed under the gazebo which acted as shelter during the heaviest downpour.

Nigel did take "before, during and will take after shots" (once completed) so I will get those in due course - and I am sure he will do a blog on this too http://www.morganpr.blogspot.com

Despite the weather, the job has gone extremely well - a bit slower than normal due to the rain but a vast improvement on the previous fence.......will update on progress as it happens.

A Funny Fencing Story

Farmers are a different breed.

During my life, I have met loads of farmers and have worked on several farms too - the one common denominator is that farmers are all the same. Is there a "farmers finishing school" somewhere that train them in funny ways as part of a final exam or something?

Why am I going on about this? Well this week we were working on an old farm house, which was sold off at some point and is not owned by the farmer anymore. I have met the two brother farmers a few months ago when I was doing a big hedge cutting job, and they were very pleasant and bemused by my hedge cutting platform as they had not seen this before - but very chatty etc.

This week we put up a new fence between the old farm house and the farm. We pitched up on Monday morning during the most horrendous rain seen for a long while and started to clear the old fence and trim the bushes to allow us free access for putting up the new fence. There were about 4 old fences behind the old panel fence we were replacing - all at different lines where various fences had been built over the years - we cleared them all to make sure the finished job looked great.

As we were doing this, both farmer brothers came and spoke to us, wanting to know what we were doing, how were we doing it, chatting about weather and farming and all sorts of stuff - very interested etc. We decided to call it a day for Monday as the rain got worse and we could not really do much more. They waved us off as we left.

Next morning, the weather held off so we attacked this job full swing, trying to make up the lost time. Again our farmer friends came over to see what were were doing and chat etc. The farmer brothers watched us mark out dig our first holes and set our marker posts. We then started on the panels - putting up 4 in relatively short time - with two teams digging holes and fixing posts etc you can really crack on.

Then the sting came. Brother 1 - the older one - drove slowly past and stopped. He wound down the window and shouted "You're doing a great job boys - shame its all got to come down".

I stood there laughing - a little nervously of course - then asked him why.
He got out of the land rover and came over. "That's the wrong boarder line" was his comment.

I said that we had followed the line of the old panel fence, he agreed that we did, but said that the old fence was wrong too! He then showed us a tiny post almost buried by dirt 3 inches back from our line "That's the boundary marker" he said. " You will have to take it all down and move it" was the last comment as he walked off chuckling to himself. To make matters worse, the ground in question was a dumping area of god knows what - digging holes in this stuff was a nightmare!

Normally I am pretty laid back and calm, but the boys knew I was about to launch so scattered in all directions. It is very difficult to argue with somebody when you don't know the facts - so we just took down the panels, managed to remove the posts - then set about re-digging the holes and starting again.

Why the farmer brothers didn't say something when they stood and watched us I don't know - that's the mystery about farmers - they all do it!

About an hour later, Brother 2 drove past chuckling and asked how it was all going - how I remained polite and courteous is still a mystery to me (and the boys).

As it happened, this incident re-doubled our efforts and we managed to erect the complete fence in the afternoon (and evening!) and it looked fantastic.

I told our customer the story yesterday and we did laugh about it after the event.
He is just delighted to have one proper fence to keep out the crazy farmers!

Great excuse for no pictures - I have lent my camera to my mate Richard to take on holiday....

Happy Customer

We have recently completed a really nice job which has been going on for quite a few months on and off over at Oxenwood near Hungerford. We have been working with our great friend Annie Nicholl of Annie Nicholl Garden Design who is simply brilliant at getting the planting and design schemes just right - She is so good, she designed my garden!

This job started about December and my first involvement was to dig a trench for a new Beech hedge and dig over some ancient flower beds which had not been touched for about 25 years - the digging was tough - but the weather was worse. Being on the edge of Salisbury Plain, we have seen some amazing extremes of weather including high winds, driving rain, snow and even blistering heat as well.

The customer was great, always on hand to assist and get feedback throughout the job and really hands on at every opportunity - with a project of this size sharing the pain and the success really make the whole job go so much better.

We used our friends at A4 Hire in Hungerford extensively for a range of diggers, rotovators, power harrows and god knows what else over the months and as always they were very helpful and had everything we needed.

Our final day was about a week ago when we did the icing on the cake - the turf. Rolawn Medallion turf is the best and we use this all the time - a bit more costly but nice turf which lays well and looks great from day one.

The customer wrote some kind words which he has allowed me to use as follows:

"We have recently undertaken a significant "makeover" of our largish garden. The team from Garden4You were major contributors to the success of the project. Excellent planning and high quality, cost-effective solutions from a team who were a pleasure to have on site and for whom nothing was too much trouble."

DH of Oxenwood

The Team really liked working here - I can't wait until the next project!

PS Pictures to follow......

Grass & Hedge Cutting in full swing

As well as loads of grass cutting being tackled, we are also flat out on hedges too.

You know when your grass is long when you have to hire a tractor and a paddock swipe to get in the gate! We did two jobs last week where we were confronted with jungles - one was Yogi's owners who needed the front paddock cutting down to size as well as strimming off Yogi's run - the other was a new customer who wanted a first cut.

We hired a tractor and swipe from A4 Hire in Hungerford as Paul and his team are very helpful and priced right and set off to do the jobs. Yogi's house was pretty easy really, but then the other one made up for it. When a 40hp tractor in low range first gear still can't get through the grass you know you are in trouble.

We did manage to finish it and then cleared 2 huge trailer loads of hay off the garden.

As for hedges, one of the best tools I have bought has been the chipper. I devastates all manner of vegetation and reduces the mass to a more manageable level as well as making clearing up much quicker - also it produces really good compost material or wood chips for the garden.

My chipper is a Jobeau, acquired from Neil and Kalehurst Garden Machines in Hermatige (see picture). This machine caters for the mid range chipper market and really does a brilliant job - maximum capacity is about 4" of Leylandii or Willow but in bang for buck terms, really kicks arse against the more costly chippers out in the market.

We have put most stuff through it and I have had no problems to speak of - the blades are a little difficult to change but this only needs to be done about every 30 - 40 hours of use - unless the guys put stones in it!

Before we bought it, Neil said "Bring in a few branches etc and we will show you it working". Rather foolish thing to say when you are half way through a tree clearance job - so we turned up at the shop with trailer loaded up to the brim.

After the shock, Neil wheeled out the chipper and we all set to work chipping the trailer load. I was impressed to say the least and ordered one the next day (Neil said I would!). Since then, its been pretty much in constant use - a good investment.

Building patios

This week has been a real tough one - we are all completely done in.

The week started with a patio in the middle of Newbury. Not only did we have to cope with the normal problems of working in town, but then the added problem of parking and site access added to the trauma!

I recently bought a really great all round flat bed trailer with all the cage sides etc and ramps to cater for just about every eventuality from Reading based Indespension.

I must say, the manager Ron was really brilliant - he knew exactly what I wanted as a gardener/landscaper and also did a good deal. I literally drove to Richfield Avenue, looked at the stock he had (which was pretty impressive I must say), then did the deal. I had to wait about an hour for the PID to be completed but then hooked up and away with it. Great service chaps!

Anyway, before I went off on one, the only issue is reversing into impossible gaps with a trailer....God it drove me mental so I was stressed before the start!

It had been a few weeks since I had seen the site, but I couldn't believe how much it had grown - trees and bushes seemed to be everywhere..so we set about clearing the area.

All went reasonably well but as with all these jobs, things happen to change this once you get started. The main tree we wanted to save as a feature ended up having such shallow roots that we decided rather than dig down to get our area level, we needed to add a small retaining wall to raise the level instead.

This meant getting some bricks. There was no way I was going to attempt the reversing again so decided to send one of the lads up to Jewsons with a wheelbarrow....how they laughed and took the Mickey as Rick trundled through the security barrier with a barrow loaded with bricks! If only I had more time and less stress we all could have had a load of fun at Rick's expense - I could have sent him back for a long weight, a left handed screwdriver, some sky hooks etc.

As it turned out, the patio looked great, we had a few late nights getting it finished on time but the customer was delighted.

I didn't remember the camera for the before - but the after shot looks pretty good.