Simple failures = simple fixes!

My lawnmower stopped driving last week… We had completely redesigned our garden over the summer using over 12 tons of soil to give us much more grass (easier to maintain than weeds!) so imagine my dismay this week when my rather heavy lawnmower stopped driving….. The engine ran fine and it still cut the grass, if I pushed it! Ok, lets get the mower on the bench and have a look. First things first, take off the spark plug lead and tuck it out of the way. Why you ask? …

How to build raised beds in your garden out of old pallets

Easily grow your own vegetables in these quick to build raised beds. Raised beds make gardening easy, plus using free wood from old pallets means they’re very trendy and cheap to build too. Many companies only reuse the standard Euro pallet and non standard ones pose a disposal problem. Mine were from the USA and were made from rustic looking, hardwood timber. Simply ask around or look for them piled up outside business in your area. Most places are happy to get rid of them! Now for the worst part! Taking …

old window needs restoration

Upcycling a hundred year old window… into a balcony greenhouse!

Part 1: Take one very old window… I saw a picture of this window after trawling the local “stuff for sale” website and immediately saw a project which would turn it into a great little hot-house for our patio or balcony. Many older windows here in Norway are double glazed but not how you imagine them to be. Windows were made with the normal outside set of glazing panes and then another set were added to the interior (called ‘secondary glazing’ in the UK). This was often done years afterwards …

Making a garden trellis out of old reinforcing mesh.

I got given some old rusty reinforcing mesh this week and was inspired by a friends garden to try and make something to tame my wild roses. They ramble untidily all over the place and have to be clipped short to keep them off the lawn. Cutting the mesh into strips I left about 1/2″ (12mm) stubs sticking out all round. I then ripped down some old treated timber (wear a mask!) that I had lying around into 1″ (25mm) by 3/4″ (19mm) strips. Laying the timber underneath the mesh ends I …