the demolition of the house happened very fast, over the space of a few days, but now – nothing is happening. for more than a week, our garden has been behind a fence, littered with the demolition debris, and no work is being done to clear it up. the earth is full of broken glass, broken tiles, shards of wood. a few more plants and a lot of ground have been damaged by the caterpillar tracks of the digger. a huge pile of wood is stacked at one side, awaiting removal. but when that might happen is anyone’s guess. apparently the cellar of the house will be filled with gravel and a metre of topsoil, but there’s no sign of that yet.

meanwhile spring progresses: plants grow, snails feast, birds hatch. we have moved the plants that we could to pots and boxes, where they must be frequently watered and what we can grow is limited. there are places where water drips from broken drainpipes, and we place buckets there to catch the water. it’s frustrating, having the garden behind the fence and being unable to prepare the ground and plant. i wonder whether we will be allowed back into the garden. perhaps the city wants to use it for something else. apparently it was written in a newspaper that it will be a garden for artists, but i’m suspicious. everything feels tenuous, it could all be snatched away.