What happened then?

I've been away for a week at my sister Enid's place down in Gloucestershire - I thought I'd take advantage of the summer whilst I could. My boss at Rootgrow reckoned I'd done enough to earn two days off - the cheeky so and so!

Anyway, it was a bit of a busman's holiday and I packed my spade and rake and a few sachets of Rootgrow (a staff perk!) and off we set. Now I knew that the place had some water - but my, it was heartbreaking to see the damage caused by the floods that hit the area last month. In addition to the water damage, the recent few days of summer we've had meant some of the places stunk to high heaven.

Normally at this time of year I'd be making sure that all my plants were well watered. I'd also be dead heading, making sure my canes were all supporting what they should be supporting, doing a bit of pruning and so on. In other words, August should be a time for admiring the fruits of your labours. It's a month for eating freshly baked cakes, drinking a bottle of cold beer and catching on some well earned kip.

But not this year. It was almost a military manoeuvre trying to get Enid's blessed garden looking like a garden rather than the aftermath of a shocking winter. Anyway, I think I managed to do a reasonable job - and hopefully the place will be back to its pristine best again next year.

Back home yesterday and in between showers, I just did a bit of pottering - but next weekend is a holiday weekend and I'm planning on a big blitz I can tell you. I'm looking forward to picking the first of my courgettes - they look lovely and tender - and I've another fantastic crop of plums and raspberries which are destined for the pie dish!

Now I don't know about you but I rather like having a nosey at other people's gardens and I'm usually the first in the queue when a new garden is opened up to the public. But I'll tell you one thing - I'd stay clear of this couple's garden. Apparently they like to garden in the altogether.

That's fine - it's a free country. But they also open their gardens for other nudie people to look at. And do you know what? They get 250/300 people turn up - with no clothes on looking round their garden.

What is this world coming to?

Let me tell you, the first bloke that turns up here with no clothes on asking to look round my potato patch gets a hoe where it hurts and a rake where he wishes he hadn't!

One must have standards you know.