Round & Round The Garden #3

This week's Round & Round The Garden seemed to involve a lot of work for no completed results! We spent all of Sunday painting the undercoat on the decking. It didn't look like it would be a huge job but in the end with the spindles and various nooks and crannies it took us eight hours!

Before & After Basecoat

In between that time I managed to spray paint five of the nine tyres for my recycled flowerbed project and plant up some of the plants I had received from Bents Garden Centre.

I have been a regular visitor of Bents since I moved to the area in 2004, particularly at Christmas when we visit a few times to wonder at their beautiful displays and the little village scene they set up. My mum even requests a trip when she is visiting! In the last few years they have built a huge conservatory on to expand their café and created a huge play area for the children which includes sensory experiences, a climbing wall and adventure towers. Throughout all this they still focus heavily on the garden centre and stock a massive selection of plants, all of which are well-cared for by their knowledgeable garden team.

When I contacted them about my project I wasn't sure if it would really be something they would be interested in so I was thrilled when they said they were, invited me for a tour of the centre and then let me select several plants to include in the project.

Next door's garage wall is part of the partition of our garden and I have to say, it is ugly. I knew straight away that I wanted to grow Ivy up there, as despite many people hating the plant, I have always associated it with pretty chocolate-box cottages and love the romantic feel of a house covered in greenery.

I also decided a while ago that I would love to have some scent in the garden, and Jasmine reminds me of many an evening sat on the veranda in our villa in Spain, laughing the night away. Finally on my list of desired shrubs was a Buddleja. My dad had a huge one in our garden when we were very young and watching the butterflies gather there is a rather magical experience that I wanted to recreate in my own garden.

Bents very kindly sent me all these plants and over the weekend I managed to get the Buddleja and Ivy planted up. Already, despite them being relatively small and not yet established, they have changed the feel of the garden and brought in some much needed greenery. The plants I received were of top quality, I really cannot fault them. For pot-grown plants they are well-established, the leaves bright and strong, with little to no dead foliage. I knew the plants I had chosen were pretty hardy so I am sure we will see some progress in them pretty quickly. Keep your eyes peeled for more on them and further products in the coming weeks!

Whilst Mummy and Daddy were busy painting and planting, we needed something to keep the little ones amused. Kiddicare kindly provided the answer with their Buzzing Brains Workbench. After watching Daddy hammering and measuring, the little ones were quick to pick up their own tools and do some DIY!

The bench was so easy to put together, even I could manage it! It all slotted together and within a few minutes it was ready to go.

I set it up outside so the children could enjoy some outdoor building and they soon found a use for all their new equipment. A big favourite was the hammer, although I had to watch J as he tends to be a bit brutal with these kind of toys. H happily worked out how to use the screwdriver and wrench whilst the little man caused havoc around her.

For £29.99 it is a little on the small side and I was slightly disappointed that there wasn't any thread inside the holes for the screws as they only slotted in and out so the screwdriver became a bit redundant. It does however come with a large selection of parts and is great for helping develop your little one's hand and eye coordination whilst also tuning their fine motor skills. Best of all they felt like they were helping Daddy and had a lovely afternoon in our new garden playing side by side, for a change!

Baby J + Hammer = Danger!

That's all for this week's Round & Round The Garden, head back next week for a tutorial on the recycled tyre flowerbed and hopefully to see a finished decking complete with Jasmine and lights!