Fruit-Cage-171218I have finally had a dry, bright day to remove the fruit cage roof netting. This will prevent any damage to the cage frame from any heavy snowfall that may lie ahead. A lot of the tie wraps that were used to put the netting up were easy quick release ties, but after a time the fingers do start to go numb in the cold. Eventually after a couple of hours of up and down the trusty niwaki ladder the roof netting was off and in a short time the robins were in the cage finding tasty bugs to eat, I am sure they where watching from the hedging.

I find this time of year, work starts to quieten down in the garden so it gives me the opportunity to get jobs done that were been pushed to the bottom of the list and with the weather we have had this year I am trying to catch up with everyday tasks too.  I am still clearing leaves that have fallen on paths and borders, although most of the trees are now bare the oak tree is hanging on to the very last.  Also because the mild weather had continued until recently, the weeds have carried on growing. There is nothing better to keep you warm on a cold winter’s day than to do a couple of hours of weeding and cutting back. There is also nothing more satisfying than stepping back at the end and seeing how tidy the herb garden looks ready to go into the new year.

Ofcourse another satisfying job to do when the rain stops you gardening is clearing the potting shed. I like this opportunity to have a good tidy up, it is surprising what you will find lurking at the back of the shelf that is well overdue for the bin and it is amazing how much space you find once you have sorted out all the pots  plastic trays and containers.