Blossom, don't blow away!
It's the last weekend in September. Last, and may well be the least, since big nor-west winds are blowing, and southerly wind with rain is forecast for this afternoon. I hope the spring blossom doesn't all blow away.
Spring Pink!
Saturday 27th September
Blast. I had such plans for Non-Gardening Partner - as one does, on a Saturday morning. But the big winds make it unsafe for NGP to either chain-saw down the dead trees in the Wilderness, my newest garden area, or haul out the waterwheel from the water race. Even mowing all the lawns could be dodgy - falling tree branches and the like. Blast again!
Spring Colours
My daffodils are about three-quarters done, but there are still many patches of yellow, and now the purple Honesty has started flowering. Purple and yellow look good together - they have a colour-wheel connection, I remember. The big pink rhododendron in Middle Garden is in bloom, several maples have leaves, and all the Bergenias, pink and white, are flowering. Muscari are filling the ground with swathes of blue, and the Pasque Flowers are blooming, hidden deep in the Hen House Garden. All these new spring colours to enjoy!
My tulips are - well - perhaps we won't mention the tulips. The ones I newly planted are fat and sturdy and look really healthy. Others which have been resident for a few years are in terrible shape. No stamina! Actually, no decent tulip-care provided by the Head Gardener. The odd random blob of red, a flash of pale orange - hopeless.
Muscari
Aargh! Just as I've settled down with my hot morning coffee, I hear two things - the big wind has dropped, and the lawn-mower is going. This means I have to dash and scoop up all the watering hoses (and any abandoned metal garden tools) before there's a problem. And also I need to garden like a woman-possessed before the southerly rain. Time to slurp down the coffee and get weeding...
Histeria the Tabby :- Histeria is one of three wild foster kittens who came to Mooseys - and stayed - and stayed...
Eek! Histeria the tabby, overflowing with love, is climbing over me as I type. Of all my female cats, she would have made a great cat-mother - it's funny remembering how wild she once was. Growl, spit, hiss - and she wouldn't retreat or back down. Anyway, I'm back inside - the southerly cold front has just arrived, with more big-wind whining noises, but coming from a completely different direction. I've been speed-weeding - thanks to the copious amounts of horse manure added to my garden, I'm getting better soil and more weeds. Rather that than gardening on sand!
I've done the edges and tidied up the gardens by the blue chairs, near the Willow tree stump. A pale yellow rhododendron here is the first to flower, the hostas are starting, and the waterside gunnera is quite advanced. And there are little blue dots and spots - forget-me-nots - everywhere I look. Pretty.
Bride Flower
There Goes the Bride...
The rest of the day will be spent apres-gardening. I'll look at my latest spring photographs, and read some of my scary gardening library book - 'The Garden Sourcebook'. I've been saving it for the rain.
Later this afternoon I'm off to the nursery to buy some packs of pretty annual flowers. They get planted underneath my standard Bride in her patio pot, in honour of the family wedding in France.
A Bit Later...
Ridiculous weather. Now it's trying to snow and the temperature outside is three degrees Celsius. All my daffodils will droop to the ground with the weight of wet snowflakes. Aargh!
Sunday 28th September
Normal, sunny, calm, quiet gardening weather has resumed. I've already done my piano practice, had two cups of tea, and I'm wondering blankly what to do first out there. The end of the month brings low energy levels - really, there should be absolutely no difference in gardening attitude. Ha! I am a slave to those garden calendars I'm busy making!
To avoid a 'Moosey the Moocher' morning I'll make a list.
- 1. Trim all edges.
- As the night follows the gardening day, so edge trimming follows lawn mowing.
- 2. Plant the pansies around the bottom of The Bride.
- Yippee! Congratulations...
- 3. Shovel wet ash off burning heap.
- Ready to start all over again...
Hmm... Have just intercepted an unknown visiting (and very wet) brown dog called Morris from my pond and stuck him in Rusty's kennel with a bowl of water. Seems harsh, but safer for him (and better for the outraged Moosey cats) - I've left a message with the phone number on his dog-tag. Right. I'm off to feed the hens and start my work.
Late Afternoon...
- 'As the night follows the day, so edge trimming follows lawn mowing.'
- -Moosey Words of Wisdom.
I gave it my all today, running out of puff, oomph and general energy in the middle of the afternoon. I did everything on my list, though, and my Bride and my lawn edges look exceedingly beautiful.
The Glass-House Garden in Spring
Today there has been much baa-ing of sheep (next-door's lambs have been weaned) and assorted country dog noises (Rusty amongst them). It's been a good garden seat sitting day - NGP and I shared the garden bench behind the pond, where we discussed my chain-sawing requirements. I'm allowed to remove lots of the thin gum trees in the Wilderness - I can do these with my pruning saw. There's a large spreading Oak in there near the Chestnut tree - nice. I wonder what colour flowers the Chestnut has?
Daffodils :- There's nothing nicer in spring than daffodil flowers.
I had a late lunch on my antique white wrought iron cafe seat, and later in the afternoon I took my gardening books out there. Oops - fell asleep reading about grottoes and niches. The sun has been hot and shiny, and the daffodils don't seem too droopy after yesterday's brief snow flurries. And I promise I will be more energetic tomorrow.
Monday 29th September
I've had a jolly good day. Not only did I collect three barrowfuls of rubbish from the Wilderness and burn it, but I also pricked out my blue cornflower and my lemon calendula seeds. It is very difficult working on the glass-house bench with seeds with an amorous cat (Fluff-Fluff) for company. He gets covered in potting mix and my seeds are lucky to survive his body weight (which is substantial).
Tuesday 30th September
The last day of a wonderful spring gardening September and I've spent it doing some cosmetic pottering - planting pansies, pulling out dandelions (such pretty yellow flowers!), and weeding, spreading horse manure about the new Driveway Garden... Nothing too strenuous, yet I'm feeling as droopy as most of my daffodils. Bring on October - a new month to inject some new energy and life. And to September, a fond, appreciative farewell.