I did some work in the grden yesterday. My mint, the stuff that i nurtured so carefully for years on the chalk hillcreep soil at my last place, need to be uprooted from a large part of my herb bed. Later I will sink barriers to contain it. The rosemary died (but I can collect one from my old garden) as did the thyme, two plants, one older one new. The sage has done very well, but I'm going to transplant it to the area near the bird feeder, to keep the pigeons from trampling the ground there. I will probably put the rosemary there as well, as the lavender there is doing well.

Men came to reduce the height of the neighbourhood privet hedge yesterday, so I will be getting more sunlight on the veg patch.

I lifted some more flags from the paved area, over last year's mouse nest, and it was interesting to see where the runs went, and the toilet area. There was no trace of a nursery space, or bedding, so that may lie somewhere else. This area, outside what will be my study window, is to be a rockery. The previous owner had left a selection of what appear to be very large geology specimens, and I have some of my own, so it will be a rockery which does not look like a natural outcrop, unlike my last. I have a few plants for it already, but it will be fun to get new stuff in.

I potted up my dwarf peach into an old wooden tub from my dad's garden. This had lost its base, but I had found a pizza tray in Morrison's, reduced because it was bent, which fitted well. The peach did not move well, as all the compost surrounding its roots dropped off as soon as I lifted it from the pot, so i hope it survives the move well.

I've collected some timber from an old neighbour, as i was taking stuff for the dump from my old flat, and then did not dump it as I can use it to surround raised beds. She has offered me the bed heads as well. This will be helpful in extending the border on the shady side, where I am going to move bulbs from the veg area.

Penny