If we had taken a snapshot of the HoBB Gardens and Project House ‘pre-Kiersten’ this year, it would have looked as though a storm had hit it. Two winter storms had hit it.

Kiersten discovered the HoBB through the international help exchange site www.helpx.net whilst in Australia and we were her first stop on a year long journey through Europe – lucky us.

Little did we know that Kiersten would apply herself so fully and in so many ways. Here’s a snapshot of a few of the things that are now ticked and finished at the HoBB Gardens ready for Spring visitors, and all thanks to Kiersten:

· Constructed a small retaining stone wall around the base of the Robin Hill Bird Table – and fixed the table slats so they stop drooping in wet weather.
· Planted out last year’s plant cuttings including the first silver birch on the Central Path between Hay Bod and Yule Fir
· Landscaped around the Oak Spring
· Erected fencing around our Yarra – a young eucalyptus tree planted at 45 degrees on the Kelpie Path close to Tea Tree.
· Replaced hinges on letter box by Holly Gate
· Walked Tuppence Dog up onto the Beacon and Knucklas Castle Mound
· Cleared out dead undergrowth alongside the Wood Bod on the Geas Path
· Weaved willows to enlarge the Nest on the Circle and Ygdrasil Path.
· Pruned along the Kelpie Path at Ylem
· Helped in the HoBB kitchen: cooked dinner (great lasagne), washed dishes etc.
· Lit fires (in the fire place!)
· Helped with the weekly shopping at Harry Tuffins
· Sat for Grant’s portrait painting study.
· Created model of a Traditional Radnorshire Elf house (See Picture above)
· Visited W.H. Smith book museum in Newtown and unexpectedly stumbled across a Monet in Newtown’s modern art gallery.
· Circled the floodlit Ludlow castle
· Explored Knighton
· Navigated her way through Birmingham with a small, old map

Next European stop for Kiersten Broderick will be Paris, as she continues her ‘Grand Tour’ of Europe. She will be revisiting the UK during her year tour and plans to call back here to see the HoBB Gardens in full bloom.

Thanks again Kiersten for all your help at the HoBB.

Helping others around the World is a unique way of seeing and experiencing the Planet ‘off the tourist trail’.
Find out MORE at www.helpx.net

If you are travelling the Planet and are into Organic farming, join www.wwoof.org for places to stay.

And if when travelling you just need to find a place to crash out for a night or two then check out www.couchsurfing.com

Waves ~~~~~~~~~ <+))))))))>< ~~~ Grant

Another HoBBian Hand-made door but this one has dried out a lot giving us a long crack down the middle. We used green oak and didn’t imagine it would shrink so much in the making!

Now it needs to have an amber resin strip, inlaid into this central vertical ‘gap’ and polished. The resin will start light yellow yet clear at the top of the door and slowly deepen through rice amber into golden orange towards the floor.

I’ve not worked in Resin before so if you would like to help finish this artist work contact us. We often work on the same principles as wwoof. Never heard of the wonderful world of wwoof? You should. Have a click on www.wwoof.org.uk and open yourself up to a new experience.