This morning we began the post-Katie recovery process. Once we could reach the broken greenhouse this is what greeted us:
Some of the perspex had blown round the house and, torn, come to rest against the front gardener’s arbour. In reassembling all this we could have done with a three-year-old who would have recognised where all the bits went.
The concrete base for the iron gate had been uprooted and the structure knocked sideways.
We entertained a pair of finches of some sort.
The really pleasant surprise was that large areas of the garden went unscathed. The area around the house took the brunt of the gales.
The Weeping Birch Bed,
The Heligan Path,
and the borders around the grass patch, were all unharmed.
Continuing this afternoon we rebuilt the frames on the side path. The second view shows the lifted concrete mentioned above.
We then provided additional support for the fallen arches, and heeled them in. Through the one in the front garden can be seen the pot of daffodils returned to their perch;
and here Jackie adjusts that across the Dead End Path.
After this we transported the last two bags of cuttings, filled on Sunday by Aaron and Robin, to the dump, returning with two wooden folding chairs,
and a galvanised bin just right for carrying logs, which was just as well because it will be a week before we will receive our tank of oil.
I managed to load up this container before Shelly popped in for a visit.
It seemed a bit harsh to expect The Head Gardener to cook after such a day, so we dined at Lal Quilla in Lymington. My choice was king prawn Ceylon, and Jackie’s chicken sag. We shared special fried rice, egg paratha and onion bhaji; and both drank Kingfisher. The meal and service were as good as always.