Conservatory Part 3

5th July 2023

The wasps' nest is dead. But there were three or four individuals buzzing about, who didn't seem to know quite what to do with themselves. I stopped for a chat with my neighbour and she said she'd had a wasps' nest that had only one wasp at the time, but it managed to fly away and then started a new nest in her bird box. I presume hers was the queen or something, but I didn't want to take any chances so I donned my midge net and managed to dispatch three of them, before tackling the next section of the conservatory.

First thing I did was to remove the spring base of the old bed. It had been standing against the back wall, but has now gone. It wasn't easy to get out, as it flexed and was warped. So this is the wall without the bed base:

I also managed to drag the cabinet to the other end of the conservatory so I could clean behind it. It was really heavy and either I will need OH's help to get it out of the conservatory, or else it will need to be dismantled.

The sofa is also now at the other end - again, I'll need OH's help to shift it, especially as there are three steps and a sharp turn to negotiate to get it from the conservatory to the path. The mattress with the wasps' nest is still there, hidden behind the sofa.

So the area at the back is now cleaned:

But it wasn't all plain sailing. For one thing, there were a lot of matted root fibres spread underneath the leaves and other debris. These had of course been attached to the main root from the tree. It had been very widespread indeed. And it has, to a limited degree, damaged the concrete floor. When I say it's limited, I mean it has taken the surface off, but still hasn't penetrated. I understand there is a kind of sealant that will also level the floor. Need a bit more research into that.

I even found a disused bird's nest on the shelving in the corner.

The rest, as they say, is now history. Filled another four rubble sacks, which makes either 14 or 16 - I lost count lol.

So, it's DONE - apart from a couple of things I can't lift by myself.

 

Wasps Part 2

 4th July 2023

I spent an hour this morning in the conservatory and I was still no nearer to getting rid of the wasps. I had to keep darting in and out to avoid them and they were getting a bit annoyed!

Truth is, I'm a coward. I've never been stung in my life and don't particularly want to start now, lol. Besides, I react badly to midges, so will a wasp be worse? 

Don't know; don't aim to find out!

Anyway, I've cleared a bit - three more rubble sacks full of 'stuff' and started to reduce the size of the furniture mountain. What I *want* to do, is heave that old mattress off the top, but I'm not brave enough to do it.

So far I have seen maybe ten wasps at any one time. There's no knowing if they are the same wasps each time, or a different set. But in the meantime, I have learned a lot about wasps. The queen starts to build her nest in the spring and it might be the size of a golf ball by the time she starts laying her eggs. By summer, it could be the size of a football and house up to 10,000 wasps 😲 

Okay, so need to deal with it sooner rather than later then!

So after lunch I decided to get brave lol. First I asked some friends online how best to deal with the wasps and they came up with absolutely the best idea! In order to avoid being stung, I ought to wear a beekeeper's suit! Okay, I don't have one and don't actually know anyone who does, so I did the next best thing - but you'll have to wait for the photo ;)

Then, using a long handled cultivator (one of those things that has three prongs on the end), I started to tackle the furniture mountain and pulled the headboard off the top of the mattress.

Then, from the path outside the conservatory, I pushed the mattress to one side, at which point, two things happened

1. I could see the nest (or so I thought). However, it seemed to be pretty quiet and I guessed it was simply a bit that had fallen off the main nest

2. I suspected the main nest was actually inside the mattress.

So pulling and pushing at bits with the cultivator, I removed cushions from the sofa and got the mattress flat on the floor, the same way up it had been on the sofa pile. Good call in the end, as I discovered that the nest was indeed inside the mattress - well almost inside.

Again using the cultivator, I dragged the sofa away from the wall, then (bravely for me) stood the mattress on its side and found the actual nest. OH is bringing some foam stuff home that you can spray from a distance, so I've done all I can do for now.

 

Couldn't resist taking a closer look though - especially being all 'suited up lol

An even closer view - using the zoom of course! I'm not *that* brave!!

So what was my 'suit'? First I put my waterproof hiking trousers on. Then my waterproof jacket, pulled the hood up and closed the zip right to the top. After that, I added my midge net (defence against midges when we go to Scotland), and added a pair of thick leather gardening gloves. Hot? Me? Of course not - I didn't choose the hottest day of the year t do this now did I?? Unfortunately, yes, it was extremely hot! And I was also trying to avoid my neighbours as they might have thought I was a sandwich short of a picnic!

Nuff said!

Of course, having got that far, I couldn't resist (still in 'suit') clearing up a bit more:

All that's left to do, once the wasps have been firmly ejected:

Wasps

 It's still 3rd July and we've discovered wasps, ugh

Somewhere under that heap of junk there's a wasp's nest. 

OH thought he'd found a wasps' nest the other day when we were removing the tree, but he wasn't sure if it was wasps or actually bees. I admit I did hope it was wasps, because then I could get rid of them with no guilt feelings. If it had been bees, it would mean waiting till September or October to remove whatever they have built their nest in. Unless they were honey bees of course - then the local beekeepers would come and shift them.

I can now confirm that they are wasps. Thankfully not been stung, but it means I don't have to wait till the summer's over before using the conservatory space.

BUT - proceed with caution, lol

Well, I was on a bit of a roll, so after lunch went out and did a bit more - so now there are ten full rubble sacks!

Good news is I now know more precisely where the wasps' nest is. There's an old BBQ and to its right, there's an old tennis net. Behind both is an old sofa and a couple of other bits of furniture piled together. The wasps seem to have an entrance  through a gap behind the BBQ to the far right hand side. Not sure yet where they are going once inside.

I cleared the bit to the left of the BBQ so I can now get at the thing itself more easily. Filled another two rubble sacks, so that's now 10 sacks filled today.

Old BBQ - seen better days!

I thought I might be able to remove the BBQ and the tennis net without aggravating the wasps too much. It seems they have built their nest somewhere deep within that pile of furniture at the back. Pulled the BBQ and net forwards both quickly and carefully - wasps aseem to be either not at home or are asleep! Forgot to take a picture of the BBQ etc part way out. Removed net first, after untangling it from the BBQ, then pulled the BBQ out of the conservatory. It collapsed on the way, so it only got as far as just over the front wall along the outside front of the conservatory.

Not being one to sit around when there's work to be done, especially when it's work that needs to be finished off, I've shifted the BBQ and the tennis net. And have a *very* clear view of where the wasps are getting in and out.

Swept up the leaves and mess; not bagged them yet though

Of course, eight (or even ten) rubble sacks full of rubbish was not the whole story. Those long broken sheets of corrugated plastic sheeting of course wouldn't fit in a rubble sack! So this is the other part of the story. Before and after removing to the drive ready to take to the tip:

Before

After

This is all that's left to do - plus wasps of course

Conservatory Part 2

 3rd July 2023

As it's Monday, OH has gone back to work and so I'm continuing the work on my own for a while. I discovered part of the tree root that we had to cut off because it was stuck underneath the pile of junk and we couldn't pull it out with the rest

Almost got it out; on its way anyway

One final tug and we're there! Done!

And yes, those *are* pieces of old exhaust pipe. I think I've moved about 5 of them!

Considering what we pulled out the other day, this was still quite a large piece of root. Thankfully it too was on the surface and hadn't dug into the floor. At least, I'm assuming that to be the case; not sure it would have come up quite as easily as it did had it buried itself into the concrete.

Gone! But leaving a pile of leaves and other debris behind in its wake. It had found its way into a bag of builders' sand and of course there were leaves everywhere!

Eight rubble sacks of rubbish later....

Stumpery to Shrubbery Part 3

 ...plus a small update on lilac corner and the conservatory 😊

2nd July 2023

First, we (OH and I) placed some new rocks in the rock garden - these are bigger and are more feature rocks. Not happy with the placement of one, but it's moveable. He also took three car loads of weeds and bits of tree to the tip.

Then back to the clearing of the section to the left of the stumpery. It's now clear but needs digging over and weed roots pulled out. 

Dug up the silver birch saplings and planted them in pots. We know someone who wants/needs some replacement trees for some they had to have removed.

I finally uncovered the chimney pot we had put there years ago. odness knows why I chose to place it right at the back of the bed :O I'd planted a fuchsia in it and to my surprise it is still growing - has leaves on and everything! It had been completely swamped by the brambles around it, yet had managed to survive.

There is also a bird's nest in the wall - unoccupied - the bird (a wren) has a new nest to the right of the old one, hidden in the ivy.

Section now clear of weeds but needs to be dug over to remove any roots left in. One part at least had a matted tangle of roots from the periwinkle - not looking forward to dealing with that!

After that, I repotted two grapevines into larger pots, then returned to the conservatory and cleared another section of that - not a very big section, just the bit next to the steps, but it's definitely looking better than it did! (Not that that's hard!)

Conservatory Part 1

30^th June 2023

When we moved into our present home, there was a kind of lean-to structure that was described as a 'sunroom'. We refer to it as the conservatory, but it's a bit of a future dream really. It wasn't in great condition when we got here and we did absolutely nothing to it, except use it as a storage space for literally JUNK! It's now completely derelict. 

So as it is part of the side garden I'm currently working on, I decided to start clearing it today.

Yes, there's a tree growing in the conservatory floor! [Sorry, the pic is sideways and for some reason I can't put it right :( )

I cleared the much of the mess up to the tree trunk and cut off some of the roots that had spread out over the floor. The mani root was obviously still in place. At this stage, I was pretty nervous about where the roots went. They were right by the rear wall and on the floor and I was concerned about the damage they had probably caused. 

 

I stuck a spade under the root to the front to see if I could shake off some of the dirt and see where the roots went. When I did so, the whole tree wobbled, making me suspect that in fact the entire root system was on top of the conservatory floor and not digging down into it. Thankfully, I was right! 

After a bit more snipping with the loppers - the whole thing just came away (I won't say 'easily' and it took two of us!)

Tree gone! And what's more - no damage to either the floor or the wall, none!

Root in the driveway waiting to be taken to the tip:

The stages of clearing the floor so far: