Embarrassingly large weeds...
Ridiculous - I've been away for only three days and suddenly all the gardens are overflowing with embarrassingly large weeds, and I've gone all grumpy. It must be an illusion...
Sunday 9th November
Now let's sort these weeding grumps out. Seeing the weeds rather than the lovely plants is like seeing the glass half-empty rather than half-full.
And, as I explained to Percy the ginger cat, watching the rugby before breakfast this morning, if I had NOT spent five hours weeding then perhaps I'd have had something to be grumpy about.
Percy :- Ginger cat Percy has his own page in my cats and dogs section.
I further explained to Percy that at the end of an industrious gardening day a good gardener should celebrate. In the 'grand gardening scheme of things' (whatever on earth that is) they should be thankful for having five less weeding-hours to worry about, rather than imagine the projected five thousand plus weeding-hours left.
Ha! Percy stretched out, purred, and agreed with me. Great cat - great conversation!
The Gunnera is Growing!
So today I have a better attitude. I will recite my good gardener mantra ('more than half-full'). I will have small, attainable goals. And, unlike yesterday, there will be minimal bending and stooping - I will sit and kneel in the dirt.
- 'A good weeder is a ruthless weeder.'
- -Moosey Words of Wisdom.
First stop is the Stables Garden, where I will clear carefully amongst the maroon irises and the foxgloves. Then I will weed along the edge of the roses and perennials garden. I will transplant any pansy seedlings en masse - there must be no half-hearted picking and poking around the self-seeders. A good weeder is a ruthless weeder. Back soon.
Flower Colours
Four Hours Later...
So far, so good. I praise every forget-me-not I pull out for its beautiful little blue flowers, and I thank every Honesty plant for bringing me such early-spring joy. If I leave a big enough gap I quickly plant some of my seedling annuals.
Still Cheerful
I still feel cheerful and purposeful, and I'm ready for more. So hopefully there will be no droopy, gloomy words later tonight!
Non-Gardening Partner has helped me by spraying the roses, and now he's going to deal to the weeds around the Orchard roses on their archways. A job shared is a job quartered when NGP is in this sort of mood...
Flower Colours
There are many beautiful flower colours in the borders where I'm working - patches of pink Aquilegias, bright orange Calendulas, and some heavenly midnight blue bearded Irises. Water in the stream is gurgling past the fresh green Gunnera leaves. I'm really very lucky to have fresh air, warmth, colour, and running water in my garden. Right. More of the same, with lots of positive thanks for nature's flowery bounty.
Pink Aquilegias
Two Hours Later...
Today has been great - six hours of weeding. I'm very pleased. I wouldn't forego the pleasures of forget-me-nots in spring anyway, so their mass tidy-up is really no big deal - just one tiny part of the circle of garden life.
Monday 10th November
Yesterday, with much gusto and not one grumpy 'humph', I sorted out all the gardens by the glass-house. Now I have a good idea - I could sit at a round table and chairs in the middle of the lawn area, surrounded by lovely trees and garden borders. The water race acts visually as a ha-ha, so the borders over the water seem to join with the closer ones. Hmm...
Ha! Weeds!
Good morning to Percy the ginger cat, having his morning lean-and-smooch session. He's purring quietly, while Stumpy the old grey girl is rattling fortissimo in her cat-basket. Stumpy's vet told me that cats purr when they're nervous, but I find that unbelievable. I think it's much simpler - a cat purrs at the vet's if they like their vet!
More Weeding!
Today, after swimming, I think I'll do some more weeding.
Much, Much Later...
I am a legend. How many wheelbarrowfuls of weeds have I dumped in my fence-line compost piles? Seven! I've trimmed the big Fruhlingsgold rose, limbed up the Oak trees, and chopped out a couple of rogue Pittosporums. The Pond Paddock looked so beautiful after all my efforts that I took a late lunch there in the shade, relaxing on my blue deckchair with book, hot and cold drinks, and Fluff-Fluff the cat.
Cat Grooming
Rather than rudely reading I did the good mother-cat thing - I groomed my big fluffy cat, gently pulling bidibids and pieces of the garden from his fur. However I now notice, at the end of the day, that he is messier and stickier than ever. Aargh!
Crepuscule Rose in Summer
The hoses have been on, and I've been watering the archway roses (which have their own little drippers). My new roses are having mixed success - some were shifted from a friend's garden in winter, so they haven't really had time to fix any decent roots. Other roses which I've moved look so-so, but a Reine Des Violettes is really happy. Etoile de Hollande is flowering - and it's wonderfully fragrant! It's supposed to be. Parkdirektor Riggers is impossible to walk underneath, with its stiff armed canes. I do not like the body shape of this rose.
+10So here I am, clean and pink (I sound like a piglet), happily slurping Chamomile tea and contemplating doing some singing practice before choir tonight. I've had a really lovely day. Thank you, Fluff-Fluff, for being such a faithful friend. Have ten bonus Most Valuable Pet Competition points for your trouble.