A friend asked if I missed gardening since moving onto the boat. I did miss it at first, when I didn’t have a proper mooring – harder to come by than hen’s teeth in Oxfordshire – because without one you are meant to be “continuously cruising”, that is moving the boat at least once a fortnight and “engaged in a genuine, progressive journey around the network”.
In other words, continuous cruisers are not meant to have time to make gardens. In practice, people sit on illegal moorings for years, but if they grow flowers, that’s taking the Mick, and they risk bringing down the wrath of British Waterways.
But now I am more or less legitimate (the mooring isn’t mine, but I have official permission to sit on it), I can till the soil to my heart’s content. The rightful moorer probably won’t complain – if she ever comes back. In June last year Purple-haired Emma gathered up her cats and headed north on her boat, leaving the mooring to me.
I didn’t think of taking a “before” picture until after I had already done some clearing up and moved in my chiminea, but here are a couple of almost before pictures from late August last year when I finally let out my house and moved onboard. I wanted to throw away the bicycle bits and other detritus, but in the end I just piled it all together at the one end of the mooring space.
August 2009
August 2009
Here is the garden today, very much a work in progress, but coming along nicely. I brought some plants from Hedges, and some were here already, though badly overgrown with weeds. There isn’t much colour yet because our spring is very late after the coldest winter in 30 years. I’ll post more pictures as I go along.
early May 2010
early May 2010
early May 2010
The birds are at the feeders all day long and the ducks come and clean up the seeds the small birds scatter.
Ducks clear the birdseed
Meanwhile, I bought myself one of these.
Duchess powered
It is Duchess powered. The Grumpy Mechanic asked me where I got that antique, but Ratty asked if I would come and cut his grass, which I did.
Ratty
Ratty paid me in towpath currency – a drink down the pub.
Well, I’m really not into gardening, Duchess, but I do love a nice garden (as long as somebody does all the work!) It looks like you will have a very nice garden, judging by the early pictures. And isn’t Ratty lucky to have you as a neighbour, and not some slattern who strews bike bits all over the place!
I hope you managed to sort out your voting rights, btw, and will be voting early, voting often tomorrow!
Comment by Tessa — May 5, 2010 @ 2:14 pm
What a lovely mooring place that will be made even lovelier with your gardening skills. I think the mower is great but I’ve never seen one with a green cylinder but just think of the health benefits of powering your own mower!! 🙂 I’ve been doing a little gardening today and while I love the “after” I don’t love the journey getting to the “after”. Lazy? much.
p.s. I hope Ratty sprang for more than one brew and if not…..work that out BEFORE next time. LOL
Comment by Midlife Slices — May 5, 2010 @ 2:50 pm
It looks lovely there. I didn’t realize you lived on a barge. All I know about that life is “Young Adam.” (joke)
Comment by Hattie — May 6, 2010 @ 4:06 pm
Gardening is something I STILL miss so much. I can’t do it now without my right arm. But I hope to again one day …..
Comment by Twenty Four At Heart — May 6, 2010 @ 7:56 pm