Up the ladder, without a wobble

This is one of those lustful garden posts that I make no apology for. Since we saw the Henchman ladders at the home shows a year or two ago they’ve been on my wish list. But no longer, as we finally took the plunge and bought a six foot tripod ladder with three adjustable legs, and I was probably a little bit too excited about it.

I’m a bit wobbly up ladders you see. But when I nominated MOH to try one out at Grand Designs earlier this year, he was impressed too. So when our existing stepladder became even more wobbly than before (and without any extra help too I’ll add) there was only one choice for us both.

The decision really was, what size and how many adjustable legs.

And in case you’re wondering, we went for 6ft and 3 adjustable legs.

As you can see that gives us quite a bit of flexibility. We probably could have gone for a larger size, but we wanted to make sure it went in the shed. But the three adjustable legs are great. Our garden isn’t flat or level, not many are in reality are they, and with the slate beds around the grass this will come in really handy.

What we should have bought at the same time is the rubber feet, not because we need them for the garden but because we both think this is going to be a useful purchase and it’s more than likely that we’ll use it indoors too.

The lowest step is a way off the ground but it’s do-able, even for me, and the extra stability and confidence in the stability are worth it. It’s really light too so is easy for me to move from one end of the garden to the other. I used it at the weekend to tame the out of control chilean potato plant which was growing at least three foot above the top of the fence.

And for a change MOH didn’t have to stay close by while I was up the ladder (I really am that wobbly up a ladder), the only trouble is it’s much easier to cut more down and clearing it all up back on ground level really isn’t much fun at all.

At some point I’m sure I’ll let MOH use our new purchase, but perhaps not just yet.

My garden in September

September turned out to be rather glorious didn’t it? Well, if you forget that bit of rain, although my garden was very thankful for that because I’ve not been very good at keeping it watered. I’ve been following the tough love approach rather than pandering to it, and while some plants are a bit crispy around the edges, mostly they’re ok.

It’s been great for me that the temperatures were slightly cooler, so I was able to get back out there and actually garden again, rather than just melt in a bit of shade. Seeing the sun on the ferns at the back of the garden can’t help but make me smile.

September has also been one of those practical months. The wildlife - the foxes this time - have made a reappearance, and so, therefore has our sonic fox scarer. It worked before so I’m hoping it’ll work again and dissuade the foxes from taking up residency in our garden. The squirrels continue to annoy MOH with their digging up the lawn antics, they’re oblivious to the angst they’re causing, in fact I’m sure there’s more of them before, so it seems our garden is regularly host to a squirrel nut stashing party.

The little shed is still in its temporary home behind the pizza oven, which I’m sad to say we haven’t lit at all this year. That itself is a sign of how we’ve not been around at weekends, and of how warm it’s been. I mean, let’s be honest this summer standing in front of a fire that’s 400 degrees doesn’t sound like much fun does it?

I’m hopeful that the autumn will continue to be mild and we’ll have time to get it into its more permanent home before the weather turns. Although if we believe the reports we’re having four months of snow this winter, I seriously hope not!

There’s been signs that autumn is well and truly on the way with the delicate mauve of the colchium (autumn crocuses) and cyclamen making themselves known. They’re pretty, but surely it’s too soon…

The foxgloves I rescued from in front of the pizza oven are doing well and are my triumph of the year so far. I couldn’t help but keep taking their picture, and so here’s a few of them looking gorgeous.

They’ll look even more gorgeous next year when there’s flowers. I’ve a feeling one of my new annual tasks will be to rescue self-seeded foxglove plants from MOH’s boots, and I’ll be sneaking them in around the garden just as I have with the ferns. He’s now a fan of ferns, so he’s getting the hang of this free plant thing.

The rhubarb which we brought back from the plot surprised me, I’d left it in a trug out of earth, but still it grew. So as it probably knew best it’s now in a large plastic pot and thriving. So it seems it’s in this pot for a while at least as i don’t want to keep moving it from pot to pot. And I hope that means there’ll be a stem or two of rhubarb next year, even though I know you’re not supposed to when you after you’ve moved it, but ssh, I won’t tell if you don’t.

Taking care of jewellery when gardening

Gardening and jewellery - are they compatible? Maybe, maybe not. I do tend to garden while wearing my rings, but then again I wear gardening gloves most of the time and seem to get through them relatively quickly. This summer it’s been a necessity though as i’ve struggled to get my rings off most evenings, given the temperatures.

I used to take them off and always put them in the same place in the house, but after a scare when they were moved, with good intentions, by MOH I decided some mud was probably my best approach, even though gardening is often messy. I hope that by wearing gloves I’m less likely to damage my rings, or cause them to lose their sparkle.

Photo by Eco Warrior Princess on Unsplash

So how can we protect our jewellery

Take it off 

The sure fire way of preventing jewellery being damaged while gardening is taking it off prior to gardening, the issue then becomes, remembering where you’ve put it, or in my case where MOH moved it to, thinking he was helping. Luckily he remembered where he’d put my rings, or there would really have been trouble. As I said before my rings are generally quite tight, but if the jewellery was quite loose I think I might reconsider my approach. It’s surprising how easy it is to lose rings for example, when you’re busy weeding or planting flowers, and I’m not sure I’d want to be combing our garden for a lost ring.

We lost a spare key once a good few years ago, we think while gardening, and we’ve not found it yet…

Wear thick well-fitting gardening gloves

Wearing gardening gloves helps protect your jewellery if you can’t or prefer not to take it off. If you’ve invested in expensive high-quality pieces, you’ll need some protection over them. However, you’ll want to focus on the type of gloves you’re wearing. You don’t want them to be too tight, but you do want them to be tight enough to hold your rings in place. 

There’s a staggering number of different types of gardening gloves out there - mine are always coloured, you’ll not be surprised to hear that, I’m sure and I tend to buy some for MOH which are plainer and less fancy, mainly so he wears them. I’ve recently switched brands of gardening gloves, mainly because I seemed to be getting through gloves at an alarming rate. I recommend something that is rubberised, so your hands don’t get wet when the gloves do and searching for the best gardening gloves online is easier than you think.

Get a professional to repair any loose stones

If your jewellery has any loose stones, you’ll know the name of the law that they’re bound to come out somewhere where you’re least likely to find them - remember my key? While it’s annoying, especially if the pieces are precious to you, it’s a good idea to get them repaired by a professional. Prevention is always better than a cure isn’t it, and it’s definitely worthwhile if your jewellery is expensive. It costs far less to repair a loose stone than it does to replace one.

Overall, looking after your jewellery while gardening is crucial if you want to avoid damaging or losing it. Hopefully the tips above will help you to enjoy your favourite hobby without risking the beauty and condition of your jewellery.

** This is a collaborative post, but all views remain my own.