Forgotten Garden

My latest project is to bring my garden back to a life that is useful to me. It may take me all this year to do it. It's a good size for a suburban garden, I would go so far as to say it is close to standard UK allotment size.
As a garden lover, I hear other garden owners asking why have you got to bring it back to useful life? The answer is simple, we moved in about 5yrs ago and my health took a huge nose dive just over 3yrs ago. My garden had to be abandoned as I could only move from bed to chair, to toilet, to sofa and back again. I didn't sit up straight for 18mnths. Then in Jan 2012 I had a massive operation to sort the worst if the issue out (Details in "Urinary bypass surgery) I then spent most of last year regaining strength and stamina.
This spring I went into my garden for the 1st time since becoming poorly. I found a cat trail-way and followed it to  a point near the centre of my ground. The whole area had 3+yrs of wild bramble reaching waist high: I stood there and sobbed. For some reason I thought there would be a bit of weeding to do, and back to a fruitful garden. how deluded I was. Since then I have been doing approximately 3hrs a week in hourly stretches, and I now

Flowers appear where brambles are cleared

have some clear garden; but due to my disabilities I cannot plant, and continue clearing at the same time. I don't have the legs for it, and My plan is for a wheelchair garden. I have cleared nearly half now and have some spots for cats to sunbath in, even a few flowers are now visible.
I still have the top picture to clear; but am heartened by my efforts so far.
I am going to try straw bale gardening, something I have just discovered and would be ideal for my wheelchair. I have most of what I need to set the garden up once its clear including a poly tunnel. I may be able to grow winter salads if I am done in time. 

One of my furry friends Keeping me company

A shredder has proved a great investment as it is chopping the brambles down, so the become a mulch to prevent weeds until I can use the ground.

I have a new cherry tree that I am hoping to train sideways along a path, in hope that I can save some cherries from the birds.

Due to my disabilities this task is taking months to achieve; but once I get there I can say "I did it"

I will be posting on this again when I get to the next stage

Pain and Surgery

Well I missed most of autumn and winter. I disappeared into a black hole, having to face various assessments  for my physical safety. I was also facing degrading nerves in my back; which have been inflaming easier than before, and causing my legs to disappear with greater ease. I fall or have to grab something at least five times a day indoors now. The fall risk assessment team have banned me from walking outside the home as there is too much risk of falls causing more severe damage.
Pain has been the main issue to deal with as I am reactive to so many mainstream pain relievers. I have however found a few things that help greatly. Turmeric: just a teaspoon a day aids my body in overcoming inflammation. Now when inflammation challenges me, simple resting for a couple of days sees it off. 
Through the winter nerve pain became unbearable, to a point I was getting ready to take an epileptic drug and become a zombie to give me some kind of relief. Thankfully the universe helped me out as usual. On 1 of my many internet research expeditions I fell upon a page describing the effects of "Jamaican Dogwood". I immediately went in search of this stuff, found a source for the tincture and express ordered it. Its claims were Nervine and sedative.  I started using it somewhere around January 2013. I didn't dare take a full 20 drop dose as advised on the bottle, as sleep is not my problem, nerve pain very much is. The 1st night I took 10 drops, and slept the sleep of the dammed well into the next day, and was not fully with it for most of the rest of it. the next night I took just 5 drops. The following morning I actually woke feeling refreshed: incredible. Now 5 drops a night seemed to be the right dose for me at least for the time being. Within a week my husband noticed my body was not as restless: my arms and legs weren't flailing round all night exhausting me. I was getting to sleep easier because my legs no longer wanted to continue working of there own accord as soon as I relaxed. The Orphan leg syndrome was under control at last, that gave me reason to smile again. In March I had to have a test done under GA and was asked to stop taking my precious Jamaican dogwood 2wks before as no one knew what effect it would have on the anaesthetic. Within 4 days the pain I hadn't noticed go was back. I could barely put my feet on the floor for feeling I was walking on glass, and my back wouldn't move without screaming at me. As soon as the procedure was over I was back to my precious dogwood at 7/8 drops a night and am now taking less mainstrean pain relief. 


In this last month I had to have a small emergency operation after rescuing a stray cat that was so scared it crunched down on the base of my middle finger, immediately infecting it with whatever was in its facial abscess. That was 6pm in the evening, as I was moving it to an animal hospital. By 4am the next morning 21st May 2013 it was obvious there was severe damage. by 7am I was being x-rayed, and by 8.30am I knew my finger had to have surgical work to save the tendon. Within  another 5 minutes the 1st dose of intravenous antibiotics was hurriedly pumped into me. By 1.30pm the operation was over and I was awake. The good news, Jamaican Dogwood doesn't seem to have had any real adverse affects.
I am now close to normal use again although the surgical wounds have yet to finally heal. The hand therapist is very pleased with my rapid progress. just one more appointment to ensure my hand is regaining full strength.