Spring is sprung....?

It's felt positively springlike this week.  The sun is shining from a clear blue sky, the birds are singing, buds are beginning to burst on the trees and it's almost warm.

Of course, even mentioning the s-word will banjaxx the whole thing and we'll be back in sub-zero arctic conditions by the end of the weekend, but for today at least, I'm allowing myself to believe that our seemingly endless winter is on its way out.   And with just over three weeks to go till the clocks spring forward and deliver a whole extra hour of useful daylight in the evenings, my thoughts are turning to our outside spaces, and transforming them into a garden of delights.

This requires quite the leap of imagination as our patio areas are currently far from delightful. During the winter months, our north-east facing garden doesn't get much in the way of full sunlight, and the patios get none.  As a result, a creeping green algal miasma colonises everything, from the flagstones to the patio furniture.  We keep things covered as much as possible, but even so, come spring, EVERYTHING needs to be washed down.

Now. I like jetwashing as much as the next woman. The thrill of watching a powerful jet of water scour away the winter ming and bring each surface back to life. But it's bloody hard work and I can only manage it in very short bursts. This, though, is fine, because we have a so-called drainage gully around the edge of the main patio and in defiance of its function, it resolutely refuses to drain. So after 10 about minutes, it fills to the brim and all jetwashing operations have to be suspended till it eventually drains... ever... so... slowly, into the soakaway.

Last year, after the marathon jetwashing of the patio, I sprayed it with Patio Magic, a solution which acts as a disinfectant to kill algae, moss, and lichen growth on outdoor surfaces. 
I must admit, that despite my scepticism, it does work, as is evidenced by the steps which lead from the patios up to the top of the garden, but they at least do get sunlight in the winter. 

I didn't do much to the outside last summer and as a result, this year there's a lot to do.  I need to replace the scenic shower curtain, which gives the illusion of having an outlook over a scenic harbour.  I need to replace the curtain over the woodstore, which is now many years old and looks very shabby.  All of the 'Gin Garden' area furniture needs a thorough clean and a bit of a revamp... maybe new throws and cushions.  The floral garlands for both the dining gazebo and seating gazebo need to be replaced too.  

But the main job is dismantling, cleaning, then replacing the corrugated plastic roof on the wooden gazebo.  It was done almost 3 years ago, and inevitably, water has seeped between the sheets overlaps and gone all green and slimey.  We tried skooshing it with the jet washer wand last year, to no avail.   I had a few people in last month to give us quotes to replace it with flat, twinwall panels, but despite it being tiny....only 2.4metres square, the quotes were eye-wateringly expensive.  So we've moved to Plan B.  We're going to take the existing sheets off, clean them thoroughly, then replace them, adding a special tape to cover the joins which should hopefully stop any water ingress between the sheets.  

However, we will need to replace all the fixings. I have no idea what they're called so I've been having a high old time on Google trying to find some. Probably some sort of reciprocating flange widget. I'm determined NOT to have to physically take one into Screwfix and ask, in order to avoid the eye-rolling mansplaining and sniggering which may ensue.

All of the above, is going to take the best part of a month, and that's if the weather cooperates, as in our joint decrepit states we can only manage to work in short bursts then take lengthy rests to recuperate. We might do it in staggered shifts to spread the pain.

So hopefully by Easter, we should once again have a fully functioning outside area in which to dine, relax, and enjoy the great outdoors. In which case I will have a full, ceremonial re-opening of our Gin Garden, with a ribbon to cut and everything!