Not going on the Garden Club bus...
Hee hee. Today I am not going on the Garden Club bus to look at other people's gardens. I'm having a boss-myself day, a timetable day, with three quarter of an hour slots. I'm going to do this all week in my own house and garden.
The Moosey House
Tuesday 18th November
First I'm journal writing (that's fairly obvious, actually), and I've instructed myself to be brief... Piano playing is next, followed by doing the - ahem - vegetable garden. I was thinking of presenting it to Daughter of Moosey as a small job - she arrives for a short stay this weekend, and what better welcome for a gourmet vegetarian? But then she'd be gone again, never to taste the 'fruits' of her labours - hardly fair.
Thumbnail :- This is a thumbnail of my old grey cat Jerome posing with a box of dried cat food.
Then - website maintenance, as I continue my absolute fascination with producing picture thumbnails. It's a collectors dream, seeing all these cute little miniature images, all in rows on the screen... Then some lunch, I think, to be taken in the garden somewhere, with a decent read of the new gardening library books.
The afternoon can start with more gardening - weeding the water race (not much of the bank area to go now), and making sure that all the lawn edges are trimmed. Ah - it always feels better when I boss myself around. Must be a legacy from my teacher days...
Phyllis Bide on her Archway
Lunchtime...
Ha! My vegetable garden is done. I have gone for minimal things that I know we eat - spuds (some are already growing well), lettuces (lots), tomatoes, a pumpkin, and beans. Now my lunch-break is over, so I'm back outside - got to keep to the timetable! I'm systematically watering in the Hump, and I do have lots of edges to trim. OK - the irrigation waters the lawn, the lawn grows in the summer sunshine, and then the edges need trimming again. One of the garden's small but horribly continuous loops...
Much Later...
- Q. What's better than bobbing around the countryside on a Garden Club bus?
- A. Bobbing around in one's own house and garden.
Peonies
I've done a bit of everything - what a quiet achiever! I've even picked some peonies and irises for the house. I've fallen asleep in a chair with my book on my knee. Oh dear. Older lady-gardener needs afternoon nap.
Blue Dutch Irises
Irises
My piano sounds brilliant (that's the recently tuned pitches of my piano, not the pianist), and my gardens around the vegetable patch are weeded and trimmed. Hey - I thought I just did that a week ago. Oh well. My kitchen benches are covered in vasefuls of irises which have flopped over (a result of the big irrigation running overnight).
Wednesday 19th November
Today has been really nice. I've been walking with a friend this morning on the Port Hills. We had clear views of the city - down there - and the line of mountains (the Southern Alps) on the horizon. We sat ceremonially on every seat we passed, and reminisced about our hiking trip up the Hurunui.
Watery Weeding
Then this afternoon I spent three sunny hours sloshing along the water race weeding the edges. The water is running higher than ever, and my garden gnome (who sits underneath a giant gunnera leaf) was submerged up to his waist. Phew! I moved him to higher ground. Rusty the dog loves standing in the water with me - he 'helps' when I'm pulling out handfuls of grass and reeds
I've also had the hoses on, played the piano, and done boring things like hang out the washing. Mind you - these are the weeks of the Philadelphus (near the washing line) fragrantly flowering, so visiting the washing line is a nasal pleasure!
Wedgwood Blue Iris
Daughter Arriving Soon!
The Birthday Rose Garden is now looking really luscious, in good time for Daughter of Moosey's arrival (it's technically 'her' piece of garden, a birthday present some years ago). It's flowery and summer-colourful.
The pinky-white peonies are all starting to bloom, behind a stand of classy Wedgwood blue bearded irises. Some blue and yellow Dutch irises are brightening up the front corner.
Creamy yellow roses (Danae and Agnes the ravishing rugosa) are blooming alongside friendly flaxes, and the dwarf yellow daylilies by the grass path have quite lot of flowers. Good for you, Stella D'Oro - that's a huge improvement on your usual blooming activity.
Country Cafe Colours
Even the Lavender shrubs have survived our frosty winters and have gone all purply-blue. And there are lots of patches of blue and yellow pansies covering the ground. It's all colour co-ordinated, like a lemon and blue country cafe interior. I'm very excited that Daugher of Moosey will see 'her' garden at its very best.
Rhododendron Still Flowering!
How Does a Rhododendron Know?
Amidst all the rosiness I have two stunning rhododendrons only just in full flower - and in full sun, oops.... This seems terribly late into summer. I'm puzzled as to how a rhododendron 'knows' when to flower - actually, I'd quite like never to know the answer. It can stay one of the little mysteries of the garden...
Another Late Rhododendron
Right. I'm off to bed early to read. One of my new library books has plans for building garden sheds. I got it especially for Non-Gardening Partner, who doesn't think I'm serious about wanting a shed, and thinks (hopes) that the idea will evaporate.