Well it is all over for another year.  The sun shone but the wind blew and blew. I asked the vicar if there was a message in this as last year the garden was dashed to the ground by the rain consistently before we opened and this year it would appear that the wind was trying to blow the garden into another county!  So many of the people of the village turned out to look at or to help with the garden.  The gardening club members came and manned the plant stall and we raised nearly £900 for the National Garden Scheme.  The down side of all this is that I have felt like a zombie for the last few days. I have very evidently fallen off my adrenaline mountain.  Well I am sure tomorrow I shall be back in the saddle and when I look at the plants still waiting to go into the ground I know I must get my skates on.

With just over a week to go till we open I hesitate to say but I think we are on track.  Friends and neighbours and bringing extra plants for us to sell on the day, and offers of help and cakes are coming thick and fast.  Non of these offers are declined.  The difficulty with the plants is that I invariably find a few that I rather fancy myself and end up putting quite a lot of money in the plant kitty towards those I have purchased. This is something the under gardener is quite in ignorance of. Hope he does not read this. 

I am busy filling holes left by plants that have gone over.  I have grown on a good number of Dahlias for this purpose.  I also grew from seed a lot of grasses.  In the past I have stayed away from these but this year I am using them to fill in as and when necessary.  Extra plants are waiting to go into the gravel garden and I have spent a good deal of time weeding the woodland!!! crazy I know but some areas have just go to be kept under control.  Other patches I just took the strimmer to them and then raked up the debris.  Unlike last year the weather is on our side, in fact a little rain now would be useful but I am afraid to mention it as last year when I said this it never stopped raining.

We have just spent a very pleasant afternoon showing the garden to Martin Ford of the Shropshire Star paper.  He had been here before when we were lucky enough to get to the semi final of the "Best Gardener in Shropshire" competition.  This time he is doing an article for the paper to appear on the Wednesday before we open for charity.  The sun shone and I have to say the garden had some of its best clothes on!  After tea and cakes ( got to bake many more cakes in the next few days) Martin left and the under gardener and I can rest easy, till tomorrow!