Sunday 11 January 2015

Storm damage!

These recent storms have wreaked havoc here in Caithness and the Orkneys and so many people have experienced damage to homes and properties. We were lucky to a degree as we didn't suffer any damage to the house (testament to MrTGs fabulous building skills) nor to 90% of the land and for that I am extremely grateful.
My garden (and therefore my own building skills) did not fair quite so well. In fact when I got up yesterday morning and noticed that despite 100 mile an hour winds the open land we have was debris free and the sheds and the poly tunnel were still standing in one piece, I was secretly smug - after all we had been told to expect some degree of damage.
You can well imagine my total shock then as I stood at the rear patio doors, crunchy nut cornflakes in hand and saw this




The wishing well that you can see on its side in the very top of the above image weighed so much that initially it had to be moved into place in 2 parts by a digger and then built on site. Yet this wind toppled it right over and as it went down it took down a Yucca that I loved. The Yucca self seeded itself a few years ago and has grown well since then - it's now disappeared from view.
The pergola was actually bolted down as well yet that has also been demolished.


This fence has took some serious batterings over the years but until this year has never actually been damaged.



Honestly, I was gutted! I seriously could have cried.

When I informed MrTG of what had happened I have to say I was unimpressed with his response - it didn't even warrant getting out of bed to take a look and then say nice things to make me feel better. OK so there was a power cut and no real reason to get up but that's not the point!
I should have realised that he understood how upset I was though because today he was out there fixing what could be fixed and helping me attempt to save the Yucca that had been flattened.

I don't hold out much hope for this Yucca because about 1/3rd of the trunk was snapped at the base but I'm not ready to give up on it when so much of it was still intact - you never know it might sprout from the base. So I held it upright while MrTG bashed a support into the ground so I could then tie the Yucca to it - the support is actually a scaffold pole and because they're hollow they go well into the ground, this one is at least 3ft down. It aint moving!
I then packed some straw round the base and held it down with the slates that had come off the wishing well roof. This is only a temporary repair but it will suffice for now.



MrTG then set to on refixing the pergola that I built a couple of years ago.
I guess he did understand my dissappointment and sorrow after all - love him!

He did straighten it up I promise lol.
Of all the things that got destroyed in the courtyard area of the garden there was one thing that got blown about and yet still managed to stay in one piece.





That is the birdbath I made a couple of years ago from old vases and bowls all stuck together with clear silicon. Glass held together with silicon and not one bit of it breaks - bizarre!

I hope you guys all got off lightly in the recent storms. I have to admit we were lucky - garden damage is nowhere near as devastating as damge to life or home and for that I'm grateful.


4 comments:

  1. We certainly haven't had it as bad as you have but the wind has been relentless. The last time we were at the plot everything was in one piece but that was over a week ago. That bird bath is amazing and fingers crossed for the yucca.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh no! At least the pergola and other structures can be fixed, but a plant breaking is such a heart-felt loss, I know! I hope your yucca rebounds quickly for you! It is bizarre how storms seem to cause so much damage to certain parts, while looking like it didn't hardly touch other sections.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hate these nasty storms, we also have them rather often in the Netherlands. This one really made a mess of your garden such a shame. So nice your MrTG understood you at the end, and was of good help. I hope your Yucca keeps going and is n't it a miracle that glass birdbath has not broken at all.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a sight to wake up to. Glad you are all safe and well, rather impressive having a Yucca grow so well up north, hope it survives.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for popping by, if you'd like to leave a message that would be awesome and I try to respond to all messages :)