Freecycle and Recycle

January isn't the most inspiring month when it comes to gardening, grey skies, short days and cold nights - so most of the work now is maintenance and clearing. I've started building a woven fence on our garden border but more of that in a couple of weeks when my supply of hazel coppice rods arrive!!!

In the meantime I take my hat off to Oxfordshire County Council for their recycling strategy - in spite of the fact that our nearest recycling centre is in Warwickshire since the local Oxfordshire depot closed! Here we have weekly collections of plastic, metal, fabric, packaging, paper, tin and glass which means that our non-recyclable black bins are down to one bag a week.

The only problem with all this recycling lark is we have to find space for all the containers (4 black boxes for general recycling and 2 wheelie bins). Luckily we have an area in the front garden that accommodates them ....but it's all a bit of a mess. Time for a bit of a re-organise methinks but I need to find some paving slabs in order to sort it all out.

So - a quick post on our local 'freecycle' network and a plea for slabs brings a result and a nice lady from a nearby village contacts me to say she has a number of slabs looking for a new home.

Saturday morning and a few hours on Sunday shifting soil and laying up slabs and we have a result!!! Ok it's not the most inspiring part of the garden but surprisingly enough there are little nooks and crannies now where I can plant up and the whole area has given us lots more space and tidied up nicely!

Here's the before:

And here's the after:

Cutting and Sticking

Short Winter days, long nights and the festive break mean less time for gardening but more time to catch up with family and friends. Cozy fires, time with the family, home cooking and walks in the countryside help to recharge batteries after an exhausting year.

Time to reflect on times past, remembering the highs and lows of the last 12 months, thinking of our hopes and plans for the future and looking forward to more creative and fun projects from Fothergills Inc in 2012.

But.... just a little bit of time before the end of the holiday to fit in some creativity....and what better excuse for not doing the ironing!!!

Over a year ago I bought some papier mache animals from a local stallholder. Somehow the intentions to decorate were good but I never got round to it...until now. I've always loved cutting and sticking things...creating decorative objects from cheap raw materials is very satisfying. So...on a cold winter's evening it's time to get going with the pva glue and pretty papers!!!

Materials needed:
PVA glue and some old brushes
Decorative papers - chocolate wrappers are ideal too and what better excuse for eating the contents first??
An item to decorate - papier mache animals, boxes, bins or anything you can get your hands on.

Rip the papers into small squares, coat with pva glue and start covering the object, overlapping each piece of paper as you go along and gradually building up layers of papers over the item. The chocolate wrappers add a bit of sparkle and glamour plus you have the added pleasure of eating chocs while you work!!

Keep going and eventually you will cover the whole item...or two in my case. They serve no purpose in life other than being decorative but it's been fun in the process and a great way to relax and wind down after busy times plus I'm sure we will find somewhere for them to take pride of place in the Fothergill household.