Almost ready...
I sense that the mid-spring garden is almost ready to unleash a storm of green growth and colour. I am calmly continuing my weeding and doing daily checks of the new rhododendrons - what colours will their flowers be?
Spring Seedlings
Tuesday 12th October
I weeded and worked in the glass-house all yesterday afternoon. I am mass-producing new Heuchera plants and potting up Pittosporum seedlings (good girl). I also looked for the visiting peacock - no sign him. But I do seem to have a rather odd frog chorus by the pond. I took Jerome the cat for a dusk cat-walk and the pond was very noisy. Frogs again! We haven't had frogs for four years or so, and these (if they are frogs) make a very different noise. Hmm...
Today I promise to work really hard all day. I hope the sun shines again - October sunshine has a great mellowing effect, but seems to make the gardening hours fly by. Gardening stamina is 90% mental anyway. What would I like to accomplish today? Should I make a list? I could plant all my annual pansies - but will the free ranging Moosey chooks scratch them up? Decisions need to be made!
Later, Mid-Afternoon...
Five hours I've been out there, just pottering in the Island Bed and the new native garden in the Hump. I've dug out some live bits of the Island Bed's Toe Toe (I still can't decide if this is New Zealander or an Argentinean - possibly a hybrid mix of the two?) and thus built new plants for the Hump, as well as giving the Sally Holmes roses more space and light. And where-ever I've dug the chooks have followed. I sneaked away to sow some grass seed, though - if I find that they have found it...
Cherry Blossom
The plan now is to rest a little, and then return elegantly (in pale blue linen apres-gardening shirt) to the garden to do a few edges, maybe take a few photographs of flowering rhododendrons, and so on. A few days ago on a similarly elegant wander I found a Trillium flowering - it must have come to Mooseys years ago with the trailer-load of rescued Camellias. I am ridiculously proud of this, as if it is a rare find and I have transformed overnight into a sensitive plantswoman.
Tulip Guilt
In contrast, my casual attitude to my tulips is causing much guilt - the odd lone tulip flowering randomly mid-spring looks really odd. Whereas my Potting Up of Pittosporum Seedlings Programme goes from strength to strength! Perhaps the best gardeners are the random ones? Hmm...
Rescued Camellias in the Wattle Woods
Eek! I am back. The first bearded iris is flowering, the hostas are shooting up, and there are patches of knee-high weeds. What? How could this happen? I thought I was doing really well noticing everything in advance (e.g. weeds)...
Wednesday 13th October
Ha! It's 25 degrees warm! I am about to go outside. I am going to work over the water race, where I spied those rather large weeds. I will plant my pansies today, and water my Camellias, and try to notice everything that is changing in the garden.
Variegated Purple Flowering Honesty
Mid-day, and I'm back inside for a quick lunch-stop - having kept well on task (see the above). This is the very first properly warm gardening day - a gardening shorts, sunscreen, favourite hat type of day (I must remember to water my new piece of lawn).
I have found an odd little rhododendron in an odd place being smothered by purple variegated honesty - perhaps it won't mind being shifted? In the middle of a 25 degree day? Better wait until later? Now I wish I'd bought heaps of new roses, instead of being so sensible and frugal last weekend - I feel like planting things. I am sick of just doing maintenance (i.e. weeding).
Three Weeding Hours Later...
Have I ever written about how boring weeding is? Weeding while kneeling, or sitting on ones bottom, or bending the back (most inappropriate) and leaning over - I've even reclined like a Roman, elbow in the dirt, and weeded. Weeding is a small-minded occupation. It is repetitive, and the same weeds turn up in the same places. It does not warrant even one sentence in this diary, let alone a whole paragraph. Enough of weeding! There will be no more talk of weeding.
Saturday 16th October
Oops - two days of no gardening! But today I'm back! What will I do all day today? Please not more weeding! There are more changes in the garden, though - I noticed more blossom (crab apple tree and Japanese flowering cherries in the pond paddock) and more irises getting ready to burst into bloom. Ha! I should have a great day. I will not write another thing until I have huge achievements to report back on.
Gardens Over the Water Race
Mid-Day - Not Exactly Huge Achievements, But...
Guess what? I have been weeding. And weeding. But I have planted also potatoes and two courgette plants in the vegetable garden (if my chooks dig up the courgettes I will be furious). I have watched Jerome the cat watching a bird sitting on eggs in an extremely low nest - hopefully I have distracted her with dried catfood. I have now lost the leaf rake (as well as the proper one) and my secateurs.
I am about to return. There is much to do, and the gardening day is young. It is time I burnt some rubbish.