Gardening and dogs

Well, Crufts is over for another year and Easter is almost upon us, so it is now time to get going in the garden again.

Last year my garden was badly neglected due to my hip pain but now, having had a very successful hip replacement, I am ready to get going again.

That said, I am mindful that last year’s relative inactivity has left my muscles very unused to hard work and in particular gardening, so I am trying to be very careful and pace myself.  It is very hard to see all the work that needs to be done and still give myself permission to leave it until another time.  However that is what I know I have to do.

Recently, I pushed myself a little too hard and ended up virtually unable to move and in excruciating pain.  Thankfully, after a few visits to my McTimoney chiropractor and a little time, things are now back to normal, but the incident reminded me that I am fallible and need to be careful.

So, what was on the list of jobs that I am approaching this weekend?  I had already removed last year’s leaves from some of my hellebores, but I had to finish off the others.  I then cut my miscanthus to the ground, pruned my roses and cut the late flowering clematis back.

Now, my garden rubbish bags are full so I had to stop.  The next step is to indulge my back with a Nature’s Kiss massage!

I feel really bad that I haven’t posted for some time.  The truth is that I have hardly been out in the garden and so have had no inspiration :(.  This is because I have become increasingly incapacitated by hip pain.

Well, tomorrow is the date for my second hip replacement, so normal service should be resumed early next year as I become fit enough to garden again.

I have however found a number of ways of coping with hip pain which I have detailed in a focused website – hiptips.me. 

Probably the tip that I am most proud of is my solution for the eternal problem of how to carry things (drinks in particular) when you have crutches.