What the hell am I, doing gardening in a lane, with 20 sticks

It was a beautiful sunny Saturday after the long winter and Londoners were filling pub gardens, cleaning their cars and walking their dogs with relish - the perfect day for goodgymmers to get some quality gardening done. Ms J is clearly passionate about her garden and puts a lot of love into the space, which, coupled with her extensive knowledge, means her plants are thriving. As a result, there is a lot of trimming to do.
Task 1 was to cut back the apple tree before the fruit starts to come - a definite team activity, combining ladder handling, stick collection and branch manoeuvring to get every last twig snipped. Ms J encouraged us to take some home and enjoy seeing the buds flower in the coming weeks, and even suggested if we plant them we might get a tree as mighty as hers someday.

Next, Ms J sheared the hedge (with expert topiary skills I might add) while the 2 goodgymmers bagged the offcuts.
Then there was just time for some still lemonade, a biscuit and a chat - to learn more pearls of wisdom, and some scandalous stories about the audacious source of some of her plants. Spending a couple of hours gardening for Ms J was informative, fun and active - an absolute delight and the very best way to spend that first real day of Spring.