One of the biggest disagreements myself and Chris have had about the house renovation has been how many trees to take out in the garden. Having been abandoned for forty years, the majority of the garden was covered in tall trees or scrub. Personally, I would prefer not to take out any trees – as having mature trees in the garden is something money can’t buy, and great for wildlife.

Chris’s argument was that trees are healthier and happier when they aren’t too crowded, which is also true. In the end we agreed to take out two of our line of overgrown plum trees, and coppice a third. The trees were struggling under heavy crowns of ivy, and very close to their neighbours, but it was still kind of sad to see them go.

We have planted a small plum tree in the gap, but a little further into the garden, so this will one day fill the space.

Down the side of the garden we had a line of scraggly blackthorn. We were keen to lay a hedge along this line, but because of the poor condition of the plants, it was better to cut them down to the ground. While they regrow, we can also plant some more mixed species to make the hedge more diverse. It can then be laid a few years down the line.

Unfortunately, clearly the blackthorn also means we can see more of our assorted mess (made up of things we don’t need and things we don’t need just yet). But it’s motivated Chris to make time for a few more tip runs, so that’s no bad thing.

Down the back of the garden we cleared out what must once have been a group of three plum trees. At some point they collapsed, and rotted, then became tangled with huge mats of ivy. Removing the stumps and ivy matting means we can now get in and lay the hedge along the back wall.

With all this felling, we now have a huge pile of logs to be chopped up for firewood, and an even bigger pile of branches to be burnt in a bonfire.

I was pretty pleased with a vintage bottle that turned up amongst the foliage.

In the house, we’ve had a few unwanted guests scuttling around the walls. They are very cute, but not very hygienic, so they are being removed to the garden.

I haven’t had much time for anything inside the house, but I’ve started stripping an awkward bit of varnish below the radiator in the bathroom. The sander we used couldn’t quite reach. It’s incredibly thick paint, meaning I have to keep adding more layers of paint stripper to even begin to get to the wood.

There’s plenty to do inside the house, but with bird nesting season not far away, it is worth getting any major garden works out of the way. We both have a little time off soon too, so hopefully that will be a boost to the inside workload.