Dignified older-middle-age...
Daffodil in the Parsley
Happy Big Birthday to meeeeeeeeee. Finally I have reached dignified older-middle-age - a milestone in my random, rambling journey through LIFE. Hee hee. Think of a number, divide it by 6, add 2, multiply it by 5, and you get the number you started with. And that's how old I am - yikes! Time to grow up and get serious...
Tuesday 8th September
There is much birthday news. I have some more birthday plants to find places for - a Pseudopanax with thin leaves, a Phormium and a small Hebe, all purchased from a community garage sale. My friend and I have spent the morning scouring the Op Shops looking for garden gnomes - no luck.
More Presents
Tonight a large fruity and/or chocolaty gateau is coming home, and tomorrow I am buying myself more presents - a tin watering can and a pink geranium. Non-Gardening Partner has bought me a personal GPS for my intrepid hiking adventures. I am having the best birthday ever.
Big Boss Gnome :- Yippee! Birthday gnomes!
Son of Moosey has painted some new clothes for my three existing gnomes, as a birthday present. They have brilliant red hats (a must-have for a garden gnome), and clothes in soft lime and forest green. And I have another present - a new boss gnome, larger than the rest, arms folded in a power pose.
And what a lovely surprise! Daughter of Moosey has 'given' me her present - it's a balcony garden in Bangkok (attached to her apartment). The joke's on me - for her 30th birthday I 'gave' her a Birthday Rose Garden with 30 roses (here at Mooseys, hee hee). I love it - I've always wanted a balcony garden in Bangkok...
Wednesday 9th September
I am still celebrating - and so is my glass-house. Claiming, in casual conversation, to be a glass-house expert has its downside - now my friend wants to come and see how I've set the inside up. Aargh! It is so messy! So I've spent three hours repotting Pelargoniums, stacking pots, filling a rubbish bag, winding up the hose (which I usually stand on, oops), and so on. Order is semi-restored.
Six Gnomes!
My current garden gnome count now stands at six. Last night I bought two more - a lovely philosophical chap smoking a pipe, and a littler grumpy friend. They are all painted in the Moosey colours, posing in a tableau on the table, just behind the computer. The cats (who treat the table as their own) are quite puzzled.
Big Blossom
The big blossom tree, house end of the driveway lawn, is blossoming now. In fact, I can stand in the middle (of the lawn, that is), rotate slowly, and see six boundary blossom trees forming a hexagon. They're all Prunuses. Lovely! Lots of finches and blackbirds are slowly dismantling the big red crab-apples, and the deep pink Camellia is flowering.
Pretty Bergenia
Small Things
Today I found some little blue Muscari, and some Bergenia flowers. There are so many delightful small things happening, which I must be careful not to miss. Right. Lunchtime is over and I need to sow my seeds. Tonight the birthday celebrations continue - we are going out for dinner. I have never had a two week birthday before - I can heartily recommend it!
Thursday 10th September
I have had such great garden fun today. I've been tidying and planting by the new stone wall, which is now longer and higher. I've tipped bags of fragrant horse manure all over the soil. And I'm trying out proper garden positions for all my new garden furniture. My bench seats for fat people are a bit wobbly, but I've put them over by the glass-house.
The proper bench is underneath the Oak trees in the Pond Paddock, with a great view over the lawn to the pond. Rhododendron excitement - a random lilac shrub in the pond garden is fully blooming. Is it possibly called 'Spring Dance'? It's completely covered with fluffy flowers. What a nice little shrub!
Apricot Daffodils
Lots of early daffodils are finishing, as later ones take their places. And it's the same with the Camellias. Wow. Spring is on the move.