Free cycle

No, I haven't acquired a bike for nothing, but have been making use of our local Freecycle. I don't know how many folk use this website, but we've given away or been given many things over the years, acquiring among other articles plastic sheeting, video players and a flat-pack wardrobe and giving away gardening magazines, a projector stand and a doll's house, to name but a few!

The previous owners of our house planted a large number of hazels on the steep slope which passes for our garden, in the hope of attracting more red squirrels. I'm all in favour of this, but being a former gardener I would like a more interesting selection of particularly trees and shrubs to look out on, so I decided to get rid of some of the hazels, and also some of the many laurels which were also planted. Within a few hours of posting I had a reply, and this morning a group of folk have been busy digging up hazel bushes and taking them back to their garden. They'll come back again in the morning to finish off. They seem to want some of the numerous self-sown hebes which grow everywhere round here as well - the more the merrier!

Now I'll have space to put a wider selection of plants out there!