Spring cleaning in the garden

My weekend was spent in the garden.  Saturday was sunny and warm all day and Sunday was overcast but still a decent day for cleanup.  My attempt to save a rhododendron a few weeks ago after it was up-rooted was in vain.  The more recent heavy snow again uprooted the old plant despite steel stakes and strong webbing to hold its trunk in place.  The chain saw was put to good use to extract and cut up the wood.  The shredder was also employed and after a few hours we had a large pile of kindling and the cleared area was covered in fresh mulch.  I finally also cleared the drive and front paths of winter debris.

I must say that the new shredder is working like a charm.  It has taken a couple of seasons to get used to its "idiosynchrasies" that caused it to perform poorly in the early days.  Happily, now that its safety features are effectively removed or disabled, it's performing like a boss.

The chain saw was deployed at the back of the house also to clear up fallen branches from the winter.  They are mostly dead so should burn well in the fire pit this summer.

Other work included deer-proofing the tastier spring bulbs, carting logs up to the house from the woodpile and generally tidying the place up.  There is still loads to do but this was a decent start.