Tripping over daffodils...
This week I seem to be forever weeding my garden and tripping over daffodils. I can never remember seeing so many - of either! It's the spring equinox and our daylight saving starts in three weeks! Eek!
New Pink Camellia
Wednesday 22nd September
I love my garden! The last days I've spent in it have been magic, and there'll be more to come today. I might even make a short list of garden areas that are oh so close to being perfect. That's optimism for you!
There's more blossom (like the big prunus in the driveway lawn), and sudden green growth in many of the gardens. Some of the seeds in the glass-house are ready to be pricked out - how I wish that the Moosey Nursery had thought ahead and could provide thirty yearling hebes at this very moment. There's space in the Hump! I want and need more flaxes. And edging plants for my small successful Wattle Woods stream. There is a limit to the number of mass plantings of Iris confusa a budget gardener can make effective.
Rooster 1 - House-Guest 0
Rooster vs the House-Guest
Last night my midnight crowing free-ranging rooster was successfully captured from his roost high in the gum tree and escorted to the henhouse (and locked in). This morning he is as large as life, crowing his head off, on the house lawn. Hmm... Such a pity that rooster's gum tree is just outside the Sleep-Out, where my house-guest is sleeping (or perhaps not sleeping...)
But back to the garden. Change of plan - I'm going to have a coffee then drift outside with Jerome the cat and my wheelbarrow. Whatever I think of doing first I shall do. I shall be a spontaneous spirit wafting through the trees and over the lawns (which need mowing).
Later, Apres Gardening in Freshly Ironed White Linen Shirt...
I have achieved much today. The end garden area opposite the driveway fork is almost cleared and the edge is dug. So the new native Hump garden has spread its tentacles outwards. Of course I need many many new plants, but have had to settle for shifting a few things in. I almost made a BIG mistake, too - off I went to buy some sale price rhododendrons. Luckily the nursery's idea of sale price did not fit with mine! I must not, not, not think of planting any rhododendrons in here! It is far too dry mid-summer.
I need to sow some grass seed - think this is about the time to do this. And my final success - the Wattle Woods stream is still going (I mean flowing). There is no flood, just a full end-pond which looks quite cute. I'm defining the stream bed by throwing in all sizes of stones. My only complaint is that it is a silent stream...
Daffodlis
Thursday 23rd September
So far today I have visited the dentist and gone for a brisk walk. It's already 3 pm - shame on me! No gardening has been done. I have checked the Wattle Woods stream - still flowing! And I've been thinking about how close I came to buying some ill-fated rhododendrons... Mind you, with the money I just paid my lovely dentist (to find absolutely nothing wrong with my teeth) I could pay for a rhododendron forest. Hmm, such are the imbalances of life...
Regarding the Fate of Rooster...
Stephen has finally agreed to build a chook enclosure attached to the hen-house. Last night my house guest again discouraged rooster from roosting in his gum tree (i.e. pushed him out of his tree with the broom). I don't want him victimised (rooster, I mean) but I fear that his days as an ultimate free-ranger are coming to an end. Yesterday I caught the three chooks scratching up some of my new plantings near the house. Aargh! Enough!
Friday 24th September
Eek! It's another damp morning - but I won't be able to do any gardening until this afternoon anyway. The Latte Club (a group of semi-retired and/or want-to-be-retired teacher friends) is meeting for an ambient rural cafe lunch, and I am their most courageous member (i.e. I am the only semi-retired one). I do have serious garden plans for later, though. These I will list below.
Serious Garden Plans
- 1. Decide on the driveway lawn area to be re-sown with grass seed.
- 2. Decide confidently on marginal plantings for the Wattle Woods stream.
- 3. Redirect one flax from the Dog-Kennel garden into the new native area.
- 4. Also shift in the new lemon rhododendron - maybe - oops - maybe not...
- 5. Shift in the two sad variegated hebes suffering in the lower Wattle Woods.
Late Afternoon
I've been totally decisive and sensible with the garden at the beginning of the driveway. The border area is now firmly indicated by a spade-edge, and I've planted the sad hebes and one flax. I've also shifted in some small hedging Camellias which have never ever flowered. The edge is nicely curved, and the grass area thus created is mowable. I have had chook company, and it's quietly drizzled - no problems!
Spring Flowering Hebe
No rhododendrons will ever be allowed to languish in here. I have resisted the temptation now for three days!
Saturday 25th September
The sun is shining, the rooster is crowing (he's allowed - it's after 7:30 am!), and I am almost ready to relaunch myself into the garden. Since today is a weekend day, I will be able to organise my resident garden-helper. There are lawns to mow, bags of manure and potting mix to collect, grass seed to purchase and sow... how would anyone's garden-helper rather go skiing today than do all these exciting things? Hmm...
My Bonfire :- I'm always taking photographs of my bonfire. the pictures always look the same...
Hopefully it will remain windless so I can also rake and burn. The new garden in the Hump is great - but there are huge tree-sized spaces waiting to be filled. The opposite end of the Hump is a disgrace, however - funny how there's always a 'new area' of garden to work in! Perhaps one day (when I'm over eighty?) absolutely all the available Moosey gardening land will have been gardened...
I've been thinking about the types of marginal plants to plant along the wee Wattle Woods stream. I do have some neat and small gunnera seedling plants which arrived via the water race - I will investigate moving some of these today. And I will collect more stones to pave the bed, so to speak.
Lunchtime...
What have I done so far? Let me list the morning's random accomplishments, proudly...
- 1. I have sown more seeds (assorted pansies and variegated aquilegias).
- 2. I have pricked out cornflowers, lettuce, green zinnias, and purple hollyhocks.
- 3. I have sliced a large patch of weed and grass from the water race edge (the flow rate is really low, so the race is OK for gumboot wading).
- 4. I have weeded in the Apple Tree Garden.
Ha! Two lists in two days! Needless to say, none of the above were on my to-do list when I started. But neither are the lawns mown yet. Hmm...
Later, Apres Gardening...
I have burnt, raked and weeded. I have widened the Wattle Woods stream, filled it with more stones, and planted one rush and one flax. I am tired - enough!