Soggy soil...
Cat and Dog Friends
Aargh! Winter is so soggy. The 'sog' is in the soil and in the air - today there's moist mist. But I still love being home, and I'm still going out there...
Saturday 13th June
Hmm... If I wanted to be horribly atmospheric I would light my rubbish fire - I've started (rather early) to prune a few roses. There are still heaps of dry gum tree bark and leaves on the fence-line - and even some of last year's rose prunings. Shocking!
Yesterday...
Yesterday I had a brilliant morning weeding by the pergola. I quite like winter weeding. It's easy pulling up dandelion roots from the wet soil, and scraping all the annoying little weeds off the surface. There are two tricks - one is to accept wet, dirty knees, and the other is to cover the weeded soil with mulch. Ha! That's today's job.
Rusty the Winter Dog
I also have some white summer phloxes to plant. I hope they are mildew-proof. And I am resolved to divide some of my clumpy hostas and plant them behind the woodshed - the perfect place. That's today's job, too. Light drizzle and mist shouldn't stop me.
Brr...
Just a quick note on my winter photographs. They look blue, and pale, and slightly cold - and there's not much to see (apart from cats and the dog). But I've decided to be true to the visual garden this year, and not shrink from displaying what's really out there.
Don't Jump, Fluff-Fluff!
And, actually, some northern gardeners find the winter foliage at Mooseys really colourful! So there! Yippee, and assorted whoops of joy (while leaping up and down trying to keep warm)...
Later, Mid-Afternoon...
Oops. I kind of got stuck in the winter weeding mood, and decided to stick to this activity. First I crawled and weeded along the water race - Fluff-Fluff, stuck on the wrong side, did one of his flying parabolic leaps over the water to join me. Oh dear! How embarrassing - the back half of him landed in the water. There was much laughing-out-loud.
Then I lunged into the rockery by the old dog kennel - chopping a super-sized Hebe off at the knees and pulling out green Carex seedlings. Now my two miniature rockery conifers have more room, and the rocks are visible. This is particularly handy if you're called a rockery.
Now it's nearly dark (hmm... winter days are so short). Non-Gardening Partner is still outside 'doing the sheep' - mainly trimming Charles the ram. Since this is a family-friendly journal, there will be no more details (one doesn't want to encourage naughty spammers). Hope NGP can see what he's doing...
Go the All Blacks :- The first international rugby test of the year on TV - I'm sure it will be more manly and exciting than The Bachelor was last night...
I am inside, clean and warm, looking forward to the All Blacks playing France tonight at rugby. I've even put some beers in the fridge ready. I think we're having fish and chips (mine will be sprinkled with vinegar). Nice! Go you All Blacks!
Sunday 14th June
Three things. The All Blacks lost the rugby. The New Zealand cricket team lost their Twenty-20 match (horribly) to Pakistan. And my e-mail spam messages have reached a new low - I am being exhorted to browse retirement communities in my area. Well, maybe I am considering retiring from being a New Zealand sports fan.
Conifer and Crab-Apple
Hopeless with Hostas
Which hostas should I divide? Unfortunately I didn't take much notice of which were the fat clumps (and indeed how big their hostas grew). I am hopeless with Hostas. Yesterday Non-Gardening Partner forgot to get a trailer load of compost (while the landscape supplies place was open and I was at choir practice). He is hopeless. The New Zealand rugby and cricket teams are also hopeless.
Mulching Makes Sense
But - I have some serious mulching to do. The weather is forecast to deteriorate later tonight, so mulch on the garden makes infinitely more sense than mulch all rolled up in a bale. And - great fireside excitement - I have a big book on the gardens of Ireland. I've always wanted to let loose a mad motoring Moosey (with rental car and visa card) in Ireland. Maybe this could be my next overseas holiday.
Five Hours Later...
Ha! I've weeded and mulched and dug and raked - and burnt all my dry gum leaf rubbish. I've redug the curve of the lavender garden by Rusty's dog motel. I have worked so hard! And I'm over the rugby.