Rooko's January Top 10 Tips & Tryouts!! (Not)

 With the current Winter weather conditions here in U.K. being what they are, if anyone is outside doing any gardening they are either a true gardening fanatic, a paddy field owner or a few sandwiches short of a picnic. I've decided not to post my top 10 tips for January in sympathy with all the people currently affected by flooding in various parts of the country at the moment. My sympathy and best wishes for the new year go to them all.

This area of the back garden was an old overgrown rockery by the back gate.

 Christmas is already a long forgotten event, (in my book anyway), with time already seeming to be flying by, accompanied by the usual stream of seed catalogues and other gardening related literature popping through my letterbox. Many thanks to Sally Nex for sending me the free vegetable seeds she was advertising on her blog, a few weeks ago. Speaking of Christmas, a little while before it, I decided to buy myself an early present, consisting of one of those touch screen all in one computer thingies. My old "wind up" one, was well out of date and slower than a garden snail moving through super glue. I've finally got the new one working how I want it to, so for future blog posting and other uses, it should be much easier to use now. I'm not sure about the touch screen bit, lots of finger marks all over the screen, colourful though, paint, putty, adhesive, undercoats etc. saves messing about with screensavers. Should have got a self cleaning one??    Quite honestly I stopped working in my garden a few weeks back, due to the extremely wet, windy and rainy conditions. Only about one tenth of my originally planned re-designing of the garden has been completed so far. I must have a word with my project manager, trouble is I can never remember my new phone number, yet. With only 1 visit to my plots a couple of weeks ago, to collect some equipment for use in the garden and to drop off a lawnmower grass box, for Chris one of my allotment friends, any outside work is currently out of the question until the weather improves, (a lot).

Looking at the patio from the eastern end of the back garden. Borders cleared of weeds and ivy.

 Recently I have been concentrating my efforts on the seemingly endless decorating and updating of my bungalow. Well lets face it you can never get plumbers, electricians or other tradesmen these days, they all seem to be busy elsewhere when you require a job doing. Anyway if you want a job done properly, D.I.Y. Not sure if that's flooding in my lounge or I just whacked a nail into a hidden water pipe? I am currently sanding down walls and door frames and prepping them ready for re-painting. I gave up todays efforts about 15 minutes ago when the last light bulb in my hallway popped its clogs, closely followed by darkening skies, gusting high winds and yet another torrential downpour of rain, making it too difficult to see what I was doing (mainly lack of light, that is, the roofs not leaking, yet)!! Anyway sanding paintwork down is about as interesting as watching grass grow, which come to think of it, the grass in my garden and down my plot is still growing due to the unseasonably mild weather, (along with the daffodils on my plot flowering, at the beginning of November). I suppose the sceptics think global warming/climate change still isn't happening. It won't register until they are up the creek without a paddle.

The old garden shed was dismantled some time ago and having had some repairs done it was re-assembled. After 2 coats of paint it still needed more adding. 3 coats later I await an improvement in the weather to complete its painting.

Do I miss not being able to work down my allotment due to the bad weather, yes to that!! it looks like a late start to 2016's growing season.

This area of the back garden will eventually be decking and a strawberry bed

A HAPPY AND FRUITFUL NEW YEAR TO ALL

There's always tomorrow!!!