The Garden

This was our garden until Friday morning at 8 o'clock. Actually it was a nice garden with bushes and shrubs and flowers. We cut most of it down last Autumn due to one of our neighbours that reminded us that we all have to look alike. At least that is his idea of doing it. He likes to take charge and organise things, and he dreamt that we would all have nice green laws with a hedge measuring up to his standards. We bought our flat on the ground floor and more or less we all do our own thing, but it seems that our own thing has limits. If anyone complains then you have to follow.

Most of the neighbours could not care less and let you get on with it, but there are always exceptions. This particular neighbour does not only get on my nerves, but on the nerves of most of the people living here. When his wife was looking at my garden eight years ago and saw I was planting things in the lawn (terrible crime) she did not say anything to me that it could bring problems, but said it to other neighbours. Now eight years later her husband decided to make an example at one of our meetings. He did not mention us by name, but my husband told him to say who he meant and he did.

Anyhow, I am not getting younger and to be quite honest it was getting a bit much for me, so what we used to have in Summer

we removed from the garden. Most of the plants I managed to save by planting them in my other garden behind the house. And no matter what Mr. Big Mouth says about that garden, it will be ignored. I had been talking to a few neighbours and they are all gradually getting to the same opinion as us, that he should keep his big mouth shut. Anyhow, in a way he did us a favour as we ordered the gardner and this is the result

It is amazing what you can do today. The gardener started at eight in the morning and was finished by twelve lunchtime. The lawn was delivered like a fitted carpet. I have to give it water enough for the next two weeks, a bit of fertiliser and then it should be ok for the first mow. I do hope that Mr. Big Mouth can now look through his curtains and his wife and are happy with the result. Note I have left a wide enough flower bed around the lawn to plant flowers.

In a way I am glad, it will be much easier to look after, but I just sometimes wonder why someone who has a country house a couple of hundred kilometers away and spends more than half a year there, has to act as if he owned the place when he is here.

I have been busy since yesterday evening. Our neighbours upstairs invited us for the evening meal and this evening we were invited for an aperitif with our next door neighbours, just to show that we do have some nice people living here. Actually this afternoon I was engaged in an hours conversation with another neighbour, whilst my other half was talking to her other half about lawn mowers. We have nice weather at the moment and everyone seemed to be outdoors in their gardens catching up on the work to be done and we were all meeting up again after a long Winter. Except for Mr. Big Mouth - I think he was busy on his balcony cleaning it up - might have been some weeds growing their from some stray seeds that landed there from my garden. Isn't life wonderful!