This sunny morning I met up with Stefania and Becky to attack a garden in Tower Hamlets, this time for the lovely Mrs G.

Mrs G has only been in her house for 6 months and she’s already made it into a beautiful home. However, her back garden had become overrun, and her arthritis and poor eyesight has meant that she couldn’t really do anything about it. It was also becoming more dangerous for her to step outside as the plants started encroaching on the pathway.

This is where we stepped in! From our initial mission brief (and from our first glance at the garden), it seemed like this was going to be a simple de-weeding exercise, which always seems to suit a lazy Sunday morning. Becky and I had discussed before we’d entered that missions like this this are always great because a reflection of your effort is always readily apparent. We were like: “Let’s get weedy, weedy!” 😄

However, it became clear pretty quickly that brambles were hidden amidst the weeds! (those awkward gaps between your long sleeved top and your gardening gloves!) “Let’s get weedy, weedy!” suddenly became “Let’s get weedy, Argh! No! brambles!!!” 😱 At least Becky and I double-gloved it as we worked, and were glad of it! (You can sense the distress I had recalling this for this paragraph from the sheer number of exclamation marks used.)

Work-wise, Stefania and Becky concentrated on the larger area while I worked on the smaller area (see pictures). We were all close enough to have a good chat though, mostly about various races, GoodGym experiences and our latest discovery in the backyard jungle (it seemed like people had enjoyed throwing random things into the garden). Our picks of the day were something that resembled part of a hotdog-shaped toy 🌭 and a little wooden soldier that looked like it had been in the wars 💂

Unfortunately, our time with Becky was cut a little short as she was only free until 12-ish, but she really powered through a lot of weeds/brambles in that time, so definitely glad to have her there! Stefania and I continued for about 45 minutes or so after this before calling it a day. It’s clear that there’s still some work to be done, but after filling 7 bags with garden waste (and clearing away some broken glass and numerous empty cans, bottles and bottle caps), we felt that we’d made some good headway on it and definitely made it a safer space for Mrs G to enjoy. Mrs G certainly seemed pleased with the amount we’d been able to clear away in the time available (we really had tried to clear everything, from weeds to brambles) 😊

Making our goodbyes to Mrs G, we took the garden waste to the designated bins and headed off for a catch-up over some snacks and drinks at a local café: the best of ends to a relaxing Sunday mission 🍰