Great excitement!

After a relatively light week in the summer garden I'm looking forward to a traditional hard working weekend. There is great excitement - the Moosey waterwheel goes into the water race this afternoon.

Saturday 19th January

Prepare for a twittering festival regarding the waterwheel. Running water mesmerises and fascinates gardeners. Ha! This sounds rather like the weak introductory sentences of a water features gardening book. But this particular water feature is rather unique - made from recycled materials, right down to the plastic milk cartons which will act as buckets.

 Ready to be lowered into the water.
Waterwheel on the Move

A later plan is to get each family member to autograph a water bucket with indelible pen. But for now, the scary anticipation - will the jolly thing turn around? Eek! The camera has new batteries, and I know which plants are to be shifted as the wheel is rolled through the garden into position.

So I'm off now to clear up the gardens which will surround the waterwheel - on one side the Hen House gardens, and the top of the Wattle Woods. There's much gum tree bark to pick up, flaxes to tidy, and general weeding to do. Thinking ahead, I have envelopes in my pocket to collect seeds from the magenta Lychnises and lemon Calendulas. They are all to be pulled out. I hope, hope, hope that I can find my tools. I am so looking forward to this gardening day!

Later - Waterwheel Success!

The waterwheel is in, and turning around - glug, glug, glug... success! Already I've been over twice to stand on Rooster Bridge and check the wheel - yes, it is quietly going about its watery business, turning slowly.

 Just the basic waterwheel - going round and round.
In the Water - Minus Buckets

Earlier today I spread more horse manure behind the pond, and then weeded and watered by Rooster Bridge. I notice a fresh lot of gum bark has blown down in the last hour - how thoughtful.

Thank You to NGP

The waterwheel's buckets and the water collection device (which will start the little wriggling stream) will be worked on tomorrow. I am so happy! Huge thank yous to Non-Gardening Partner for having so much expertise and design sense. I'm sure that after this success he could manage a Monet bridge...

Sunday 20th January

I've had a proper gardening day - weeding, dead-heading, watering, raking up gum tree bark, trimming trees. All day the waterwheel has slowly turned itself around, and around... I love the sound! It's a gentle, rhythmic sloshing, and just magical to watch. At the absolute opposite end of the water spectrum (?) I took my broken-armed friend shopping this morning. We popped into a fancy (for me) Water Garden shop where one could buy all sorts of fake rock waterfalls and pools. Water, water everywhere - but nothing like the unique waterwheel. It seems so dishonest to have sneaky hidden pumps, and pretend rocks.

 Real favourites.
Peach Coloured Daylilies

It's Lychnis-Pulling-Out time of the year, and I have piles of old dry plants in heaps on the fence-line. I can't see how they could possibly decompose. I've been taking a critical look at some of my daylily clumps, too - I have made some positional mistakes, and the less vigorous ones need dividing. I must take better care of them.