Last Workaway day - finishing up

Tomorrow the four of us plan to go for a walk, so today we are finishing up lots of loose ends.

Louise is getting a coat on the pool doors.

I’m doing some more grouting with the chaux.

Chris is trimming the box bushes, as well as sharpening my shears and spades.

Brian is filling the door.

It’s been a great couple of weeks having Chris and Louise staying with us. We couldn’t have wished for a harder working couple, and they’ve been great fun to have around. I’ve enjoyed cooking for us all and it’s made for a very pleasant evening sitting down to share dinner together. Tonight though we are off to the crêperie in Thieffrain, so we mustn’t finish too late.

A local experience

In the afternoon, we’d planned to take our Workaways for a Champagne tasting at Jérôme Cothias. They couldn’t come to Champagne and not do a tasting. So around 4pm we headed over to the small village of Meurville.

We all enjoyed a very informative tour of Jérôme’s cellars, followed by a tasting of his Tradition, Réserve and Rosé de Saignée. Then a little Ratafia.

A great local experience for our Workaways, and a chance for us to buy some Champagne for our guest dinners later this year.

Flashing

Brian had left the gate in a much stronger state than it had started, but it still wasn’t looking its best, so today they took it down again for the next stage of renovation.

First up was the sill at the bottom of the door. It was looking very sorry for its self when Brian took it off, but after removing the rotten areas he found that the wood underneath was still very hard. It was, however, too rutted to go back as it was. So Chris suggested wrapping it in lead, which we just so happened to have, so Brian set about doing that.

He soon had it shaped and ready to be fitted back on the door.

He added another piece of wood to cover the start of the lead flashing.

Then it was down to me to remove the loose paint, and sand any rough edges.

It’s looking much better now, just a bit of filling to go, then it can be painted in situ.

Petit jobs

We had various jobs started, and in different stages of completion. The pool doors Louise and I had sanded and puttied last week were now dry enough for painting. Louise started by putting two base coats on of wood preserver. This helps extend the life of the wood.

Further down the garden I had my tray of herbs which I needed to plant in my new border.

Louise then moved on to painting the handrail along the side of the stone steps, which had chipped a little over the summer and winter.

Down in the walled garden Chris was busy weeding and cutting me some straight borders.

In between all this, the extincteur man, arrived to check and sign off the fire extinguishers

All-in-all it’s quite busy at the moment.

Wall to Wall

Our cellar is partially buried in the hillside, and partially above ground. We did some renovation work to it last year, but there are still some jobs that need doing. The first is to remove all the material that’s covering the stonework at the far wall. This is so we can chaux it and then seal it. This will help stabilise the wall, and hopefully manage the level of humidity in the cellar room, which was quite high last year. Although we were not alone in this, it seems most of the village had issues.

First we needed to carefully move all the bottles out of the cellar into a neighbouring room, to store whilst we do the work. The aim is to get this done before the end of April.

As with all these jobs the loose material falls off easily, and then there’s the more stubborn kind.

But Chris, our Workaway helper, is not easily put off by difficult jobs. So, with a lot of elbow grease, he was soon revealing the rest of the wall for us.

Another marvellous job done, ready for the next stage.

Meanwhile, outside, we were getting started with a wall of our own, one that we had prepared earlier. We’d all had a go at removing the hard cement from the garden wall but now it was time to replace it with chaux. It’s a job that’s going to take some time though, as the work is very slow.

Tree or no tree

A point of discussion, for a while now for us, has been ‘what should we do about the tree growing at the back of the barn?’ So when Chris & Louise arrived, we were very open to hear their thoughts.

Chris told us it was an Elder, effectively a very large weed! And one that was decaying. We had noticed a number of dead branches on it, which we’d suggested needed removing. Chris went one step further and suggested we could cut it down, before it became a problem.

I’m not a fan of removing trees, but Brian showed me where some fallen branches had broken some tiles on the barn roof. So after some careful thought, and the realisation that I could replace it with something much prettier, the decision was made to remove it.

Chris soon jumped into action, ably assisted by Louise. All he needed was a bow saw and rope. The main concern was it falling onto the barn roof, but he had a plan for that.

First he needed to remove all the smaller branches, anything low down which could be easily reached.

He then tied a rope to the main upright and got Louise to stand uphill and pull on the rope, whilst he cut the trunk.

A good pull on the rope and the tree fell as planned. Hoorah!

One of the great things with our Workaways was that they knew how to tidy up, and it wasn’t long before they were cutting up all the debris, loading it into the trailer. Then we had lunch, before heading to the déchèterie to get it unloaded.

Great work. I couldn’t believe how much better the space looked without it. There was a small prickly shrub growing below it, I think it’s called a mahonia, which now has room to breathe and show how delightful it could be. We are going to leave the stump, as the bees and butterflies will still enjoy the ivy left growing on it, and there’s lots of grubs for the birds in the centre of the rotting trunk.

Things to do

Brian and I had a few things we needed to do, and as our Workaways were happy to get on with jobs at home without us we headed out to get them done. We felt a bit guilty leaving them, but they really didn’t seem to mind.

Our day was very successful, and everything that needed to be done was sorted, so in the afternoon we stopped for a quiet moment of contemplation over a coffee, and to take stock of anything else we needed before we set off home.

Top of the list was a visit to the garden centre. I love visiting Genty in Châtillon, their selection of plants are always good, and the plants are so healthy looking.

I chose a selection of herbs for my new border, and some little rockery plants for the edge of the path. I can’t wait to plant them.

When we got home we couldn’t believe how much they’d achieved on the garden wall. When we left it was still covered in concrete, but now we can see every stone.

I can’t wait to start applying the chaux tomorrow.

More door

Brian had finished removing the rotten wood from the door, now he is focussed on replacing the pieces that can’t be salvaged.

It’s nice to see that he’s now got all the right tools for jobs like this, it really helps him to move them along quickly.

It’s also good that he has hardwood cutoffs from all the other projects that he’s worked on. Hopefully the tougher wood will mean the door will last a long time when finished.

Still a way to go, but for now it’s consolidated and safe from collapse.

A bit wonky

You may have noticed, when we were doing the path, that the composter at the end was sitting a little bit wonky. For some odd reason this didn’t bother Brian, which is unusual, as normally he likes everything straight, and it’s me that likes wonky. But unbeknown to me, Chris had mentioned it to Brian, and between them they agreed it would be better to even it out.

So Chris got out the mattock, and with his usual efficiency and speed, straightened it up. It looks so much better now.

It’s those little differences that are bringing the garden together. I’m so happy with what we are achieving.

Something new

Our Workaway Chris suggested that a new tool might be needed to complete the work on the garden wall, as hand chiselling away the old cement was getting more difficult as we got past the crumbling bits. As it happens, Brian quite likes a new tool now and then, and really doesn’t need much of an excuse to purchase one, so no sooner had it been mentioned then the new drill arrived.

Apparently it drills and hammers, and has a few different heads depending on whether you’re knocking off cement, cutting trenches in stone or whatever else needs a hole or a trench. We’re keen to see the results, as the work to the wall is really making a big difference to the look of the garden.

The stones that have been properly exposed already look lovely, but there’s still a lot to do.

Bring in the drill/hammer thing!

Could do better

Our small wooden side gate had moved on from looking ‘shabby chic’, and was now looking like it was about to fall apart. It is a very heavy door, so Brian asked Chris, our Workaway, to give him a hand in taking it off its hinges to allow him to work on fixing the missing and rotten pieces of wood.

There were quite a few!

Last year we’d done a quick repair on it, with every intention to do more, however it did need a lot more, and Brian just didn’t find the time. We had used a filler to prevent any further collapse, and to stop the rain getting in, but it needed some love before it started falling apart again. With the skills he’d learnt on the bookcase he felt he could do better.

He was soon pulling bits off and cleaning the very decayed wood down. I think he really enjoys the process of dismantling the object first, and then looking at what he needs to do to fix it.

He got it down to what he felt was a good base.

Then it was time to trace out the first form and start the woodwork.

It wasn’t as straightforward as it seemed, as the piece needed to fit into the existing wood to lock it all in. A bit of effort later though and the first piece fitted.

A quiet place

At first glance it may not look like an ideal place to sit and enjoy the view but, inspired by our Workaways ability to change the lie of the land with the simple use of a mattock, Brian decided we could make it a charming little place to sit and take a pause.

He grabbed the mattock and set about levelling out the slope.

It wasn’t too long before he was making a difference, and had a flat surface to work with. He began adding the sand to create a proper soft base to nestle the stones in.

He’d reclaimed some stone slabs that were placed around the big Ash tree at the top of the garden, and began laying them as a base for one of our smaller benches. We were soon dropping the bench into place.

Voilà ! I still a bit of work to do, including some chaux and planting, but it’s in place. I thought I’d try it out first. What an amazing view, and lots of comfortable leg room. A wonderful new quiet place to enjoy.

I’m thinking this could be my new favourite spot.

Charming country corner

Whilst Brian was finishing off the steps, Chris decided he’d jump in the river to clear out the weed, a job we do a couple of times a year with the help of visiting friends. It was a very welcome delight when we realised that Louise and Chris had removed all the weed and tidied up along the front.

During all this I’d been in my own little world, tidying up my potting area and potting up some early spring colour.

I love the pop of purple and yellow cheering up a charming country corner of our courtyard.

Perfect step

We had a job that we’d been totally avoiding: the four stone steps halfway up the garden. Over time the middle two steps had tipped backwards. I think rain had washed some of the earth away from behind them and they’d slipped out of place. The problem though is their weight, as they’re extremely heavy.

The hope was that we could lift them and re-bed them onto some hardcore and cement them in place. A tall order for Brian and I, but Chris was not daunted by the task and after a bit of exploration he was confident we could fix the issue.

It was going to take a lot of heavy lifting, and carting a large number of trugs of hardcore and cement up to the area.

It wasn’t long though before we could see it coming together. Brian found moving the stones very difficult, but Chris knew better how to handle them, and the mattock obviously played a big part — a tool Brian wished he’d discovered earlier.

With all the steps finally in place the last job was for Brian to chaux the gaps. They will also need a bit of soil and grass building up around them, just to help secure them all in place.

They are looking just perfect!

Stepping up

With the path now complete, just a bit of sand to sweep in and plants to plant, we were now all moving onto other jobs.

Brian and Chris were looking at what needed to happen to level out the steps.

Whilst Louise and I were starting to prepare the wrought iron rail and gate ready to be painted, and started to paint the garden furniture.

It’s amazing how fast we are getting through the jobs, it certainly makes a difference having Workaways, and we are learning so much aswell.

Jobs for the day

With all the hard work put into preparing the ground yesterday, the next job was for Brian to start to lay the path to the composter. He’d made a small step at the end, which gave him a straight edge to work from, now all he needed was pavers. The hardest thing was moving all the pavers up the steps ready to be laid, they’re heavy and cumbersome, and he needed a lot of them. We all tried to ensure he was kept with a steady supply, but it wasn’t that easy as we were all doing our own little jobs.

The path soon started to take shape though, and I was loving how it looked, with the little pockets either side for me to fill with some suitable plants.

I was making the first mow of the year on the slope. I cut it quite long for the first cut, so as not to shock it too much. I soon had it looking so much tidier.

Louise had moved onto sanding the garden furniture ready for painting. It’s never an easy job as there are so many little corners and edges.

By the time it came to down tools we were all quite exhausted. All in all a very successful day in the garden

Composting

One of the really interesting things we have learnt about having Workaways is that they bring different skills and know-how. Take for instance our composter. Over dinner we discussed that it may be good to use the partially composted material we had in it to fill part of the new bed, but as we talked about what state it might be in we started to learn that we hadn’t been doing the right things to create healthy compost that would encourage worms. Food waste I usually put in there includes onion peelings and lemon skins. Both apparently raise the acid levels too high and scare the worms off. Just as bad is that I recently threw in some vegetables, which were past their best. The problem was I put them in whole which apparently is a no-no, as everything that goes in should be chopped up or shredded as much as possible, to help it break down. Also, it’s good to add water occasionally, to help the decomposition. He also mentioned it’s fine to add our coffee grounds and ash from the fire, just as long as we mix it all in. All-in-all we were doing it completely wrong.

The next day Chris opened up the front of the composter and got stuck in. He split up any big lumps and turned the compost for us, showing me what I needed to be doing and what it should look like to achieve good compost. It’s now in a much better shape, and if we only add the right stuff going forward, keep it turned and watered periodically, it will soon balance out.

I think I was expecting too much would just happen on its own. Neither of us realised that you need to take a bit more care. Anyway, things are on the up — bring on the worms.

A-shaped

It was great to see how Chris approached cutting our laurel hedge. His aim, he explained, was to achieve an A shaped hedge, so narrower at the top. In fact the width at the top should be no more than half the height.

He cut the front first, ensuring he maintained a level top, before heading round to our neighbours to cut it from the back. Brian and I had spoken to them earlier in the week to ensure they were happy with us going onto their property.

It wasn’t long before Chris and I were loading the cuttings into the back of the trailer and heading to the tip.

Job done, and now so much easier to maintain.

Pavers

We woke feeling refreshed and raring to go. Our walk the afternoon before had been a welcome distraction for us all, but it left us ready to get back at it with vigour. I wanted to get the grass cut, Louise was back chipping off the cement, and Chris made a start on trimming the laurel hedge, a job that had been looming over us for a while. Brian was tasked with laying the pavers near the dahlia bed.

Tap the picture below to view the short video.

Once he’d finished he spread out some of the fine sand to dry in the sun, before sweeping it in, letting it slip slowly between the cracks. It looked like hundreds of little egg timers, all set off.

Walk-away

When we returned from our shopping trip we suggested to Louise and Chris that I make some ‘jambon beurres‘ and we head out for a little walk and picnic.

Brian suggested a walk we had done recently, and they seemed happy with that.

We headed up through the vineyards, chatting and enjoying the landscape as we climbed. From the top of the first hill we walked over into the village of Loches-sur-Ource, where we sat by the river to enjoy our ham sandwiches with the sound of the birdsong and the flowing water as a backdrop. Such a beautiful setting.

We then headed along the river and up through a wooded area where we could hear some chomping, and came across a rather interesting machine that was clearing the brush land. It was certainly making light work of it, munching the little trees.

We followed the path up through Landreville, then back over to our village. It’s always so pretty, nestled amongst the vineyards.

Louise said that at 10.5km it’s the longest hike they’ve had since being in France. It certainly left us with tired legs, but a well deserved break from garden diy.