There is a daunting amount of work to do in my garden. When I moved into the house four years ago, the soil had been well looked after and, for clay, was fairly friable. But builders walking over it countless times and heavy equipment and materials being stored on it have compacted it badly. Yesterday and today I have dug out huge lumps that really do look as if they could be put onto a wheel and turned into a pot (extra).

This afternoon I dug lots of hardcore out of this little patch that I've designated as my herb garden, and dug in yesterday's compost along with some soil from the bit of the garden I didn't let the builders use. Belatedly I realised there shouldn't be damp soil right up against the new wooden fence so I dug it all out again, made a brick barrier then put the soil back in. Each time I forked the soil, more bits of hardcore and rubbish came to the surface. Eventually I thought it was good enough to transplant my straggly chives and unhappy thyme.

It's going to take me a very long time to restore the whole garden.