Rugosa Garden Make-Over
Important Garden Make-Over Accessory
For years now I have resisted taking garden make-overs seriously. I'd be absolutely furious if I arrived home and found a helpful team of T-shirted smileys digging up my lawn and artistically erecting blue painted wooden posts.
I've staunchly boycotted garden make-over television since the first team 'Dug This', or 'Mucked In', or whatever cute gardening phrase has lured other viewers. But this week, in a Mary Mary quite contrary mood, I have decided - the Rugosa garden (by the Hen House) is getting a make-over.
The Real Thing!
Forget the cosmetic garden television programmes. There'll be no rugby team of burly men in shorts and gumboots placing little lavenders and installing Pacific garden sculpture. Nor will any trucks appear with trayfuls of soil conditioner. There isn't a Moosey Make-Over logo in sight. This is the real thing.
I have some light beer and a plate of little snacks ready on a flowery tray for the celebration. I have a time limit. I have taken a 'before' photograph of the garden (too sunny, but history won't wait for clouds).
Time to Begin!
So let's get out there - let the cameras roll - the first official Moosey Garden Make-Over is about to start! One woman... One day... One garden...
Six Sunny, Windless, Perfect-for-Gardening Hours Later...
We'll have a peep at the Garden Make-Over video. First the gardener is seen sitting in dirt with hand digger, trying to find all the pieces of roots of the nasty, banned perennial. The same gardener rises slowly, and digs up three rugosa roses - without gloves on (ouch) - placing them in watery buckets. Then the gardener wanders off for a cup of tea.
New Path and Compost
Then there is a sequence of poking, sifting and wheeling in Moosey-compost. This takes absolutely ages, but the Moosey compost (zoom in) is spectacularly successful - moist and friable. The gardener makes a trudging trip to load the wheelbarrow with bags of horse-poos (rather too fresh and rather too fragrant) Medical check - has the gardener had a recent tetanus injection? Affirmative. But where are the gardening gloves? Oops - have to be sensible and find them. Lunch time, and so far very little has been done. Riveting real-time garden television?
Later That Afternoon...
Three rugosa roses, rudely removed, are back in the garden. Six barrowfuls of garden cocktail (one part manure, three parts compost) have been spread on the dry dusty soil. The stone edges of the path have been replaced. But how much of the nasty creeping perennial has really been removed? We'll see next spring...
After the Garden Make-Over
Success?
Oh boy - what a disappointment! After six aching hours the gardener has given up. Forget the 'before and after' photographs. One will do very nicely - nothing looks any different! Except puppy - he has rolled in the horse-poos and his fur has spectacularly changed colour (he is in dog-disgrace). The compost looks great, though...