If you are struggling with the weight of bags of compost you could try using coir or Miracle Gro Expand 'N Grow Compost. I buy coir for £4 a block from wilkos and the miracle gro from b&q for about £7
To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.
Although he is not in the first flush of youth himself, my husband is regularly recruited by two lone gardeners to do grass cutting, hedge trimming, fencing and all sorts of jobs. They have no hesitation asking, which I find rather difficult, but he doesn't mind, does a good job and accepts the occasional piece of cake or an unwanted cutting in return. One is elderly and has little cash to spare and we are very fond of her, but the other is just b****y cheeky, in my opinion.
I ask the GC people to load compost etc into my car, (I have a boot tidy) then if my OH isn't around and he's usually very helpful, I slice compost bag open and shovel it out (still in the boot) into a small bucket which I can carry - it's tedious but it works for me. We've also got a sack truck and a six wheel "climbing" (goes up steps) truck, but I no longer have the strength to pull it up. I'm recuperating from a hysterectomy op I had in Dec so still have to be careful, although I have been digging and planting today. I find if I do 1-2 hours before and after lunch, then I can manage better. I am thinking though that soon I will have to give up growing perennials in favour of flowering shrubs perhaps. Hopefully less work. We pay to have our hedges cut 1-2 times a year (big garden with hedges on 3 sides), ca be up to £150-£200 a go and last year we had a local social enterprise as mentioned above to dig up a sloping bank, erect a retaining wall with sleepers and lay a slate path in front. £650 inc materials for 2 days work x 3 men. They did a lovely job and it was money well spent - we couldn't have done it ourselves. As mentioned we have a largish garden of about one-third acre, on a steep slope with lots of terraces and steps, not as bad as some I have seen, but quite tiring, especially as shed is at the top of the slope!
Like the sledge idea. I have a lot of gravel so the wheelbarrow can be awkward. I have hubby who will help if I nag a bit but I get impatient and as I have a back problem I do struggle with heavy lifting. One of the things I do is plant up large basic plastic pots which I then drop into my heavy stone/ceramic pots they are much easier to lift and I can change them with the season. I also have a bestie and we often help each other move things. I get someone in once a year to trim the trees and I order compost and farmyard manure from an on line company called creative garden ideas they don't charge delivery if you spend over £30 and will stack the bags up in the back garden.
Our local family owned garden centre will deliver compost etc and plants for free and the delivery man will carry it to the place you want. They have three branches in Somerset and Dorset, they do sell all the other stuff like furniture and Christmas decorations that they all seem to these days but the staff know their plants too.
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I buy coir for £4 a block from wilkos and the miracle gro from b&q for about £7
I am thinking though that soon I will have to give up growing perennials in favour of flowering shrubs perhaps. Hopefully less work.
We pay to have our hedges cut 1-2 times a year (big garden with hedges on 3 sides), ca be up to £150-£200 a go and last year we had a local social enterprise as mentioned above to dig up a sloping bank, erect a retaining wall with sleepers and lay a slate path in front. £650 inc materials for 2 days work x 3 men. They did a lovely job and it was money well spent - we couldn't have done it ourselves. As mentioned we have a largish garden of about one-third acre, on a steep slope with lots of terraces and steps, not as bad as some I have seen, but quite tiring, especially as shed is at the top of the slope!
AMOS 2 x Large Plastic Sledge