Garden make-over

I have bought a life-size cut-out muntjack deer. And a badger. The bloke at scrapstore threw in a free moorhen. The deer, badger and moorhen are all made of wood, and have iron bars coming out of their legs so I can skewer them into the ground. They cost me just £4 for the lot so I am a very pleased Grit.

They are all part of the grand garden redesign, which is a project lasting just four days over Easter.

The redesign has come about after consultation with the children. They want, in place of the brambles which have taken over virtually all of the garden, a tour through space and time, with play areas given over to the stone age (a new gravel patch), medieval England (some sticks with flags on, herb pots and the badger), pre-settler North America (stone camp and the deer), a rainforest from South America (stick-in-the-ground humming bird), fairyland (stars hanging from the tree), all of the Far East (Buddha statue, presently in situ), and an Aboriginal meeting point (sandy bit at the bottom of the garden).

I can just about make all of that, if I clear the brambles. I have pooh-poohed fitting in the savannah of Africa and the pyramids of Ancient Egypt. I could manage the savannah if it wasn't for the cost of tin zebras down the garden centre, but Ancient Egypt is quite frankly ridiculous, although we do have a stone cat I bought in John Lewis ages ago that could fit the bill.

But the first job on the redesign is to destroy the brambles. And we'll see how we go finding a home for the moorhen.