Rogue Gunnera plants...
Clever me. Because my garden was still really wet from yesterday's rain, I decided to get wet myself in the water race, and slice out some of my rogue Gunnera plants. Never, ever, have their leaves been as big as they are this year.
Sunday 25th April
Forget the size of dinner plates - these leaves are huge, as big as a large golf umbrella - monster leaves which cover the scary looking seed-heads lurking at the base of the plant. Then think of all those seeds floating off downstream - eek! An ecological disaster! That's how all my plants arrived here in the first place. They floated in, liked what they saw, and stayed.
Some Sliced-Out Gunnera Plants
I've rationalised where these naughty giant perennials are allowed to grow. There will be no Gunnera on the house side of the water race, anywhere along its length. This will be absolutely forbidden. There can be none between Willow Bridge and Middle Bridge. And after the existing clumps downstream of Middle Bridge, no more are allowed until after the huge Phormiums at the end of Duck Lawn.
So now I have a barrowful of huge dug-put pieces which, by law, I am not allowed to distribute and certainly not sell. But I guess I can distribute them to myself. Some can all squash in on the fence-line, near (but not too near) the new Car Bridge.
Rusty the Dog
Non-Gardening Partner tried out his new 'intelligent' camera taking Gunnera close-ups for me. It knew that the seed-head was a 'flower' - this impressed NGP, who has been reading and re-reading the manual for days. However, it also thought that Rusty the dog's beautiful furry face was a flower. Oops.
Guy Savoy Rose
Monday 26th April
Right. Today I attack the rest of the Gunnera. They're growing in the deepest part of the water race, so this will be a serious wet legs day. I'm going to put on my thermal underwear, and hope I don't get any early morning visitors.
Yippee! A nice phone call - my friend and I are (hopefully) going hiking tomorrow, and she is bringing out a carful of Agapanthus for me. This is wonderful news!
More Agapanthus!
And later this morning I am digging out a large Agapanthus clump which I won in an online plant auction. Another yippee! Just when the garden seems to have stalled, suddenly I have absolutely heaps of huge things to do... Ha! Perhaps this week the mess will dissolve, and the fire ban will be removed... No chance of either.
Much Later...
+10OK. OK. Where are all these massive Gunnera clumps going to go? I've just taken my dog for a water feature wander - there isn't really space by the pond. The day has gone all gloomy and claggy, but he will enjoy a walk around the garden. Rusty is such a good dog...
Reminders, Reminders...
The corners by Car Bridge definitely need beautifying - and what better in spring, summer and autumn than Gunnera? And what's more, I can get the crowns down pretty much in the water, with some judicious pegging down. It would be bad form indeed to have ready cut rooted clumps float off into the neighbours.
Gunnera Seed-Head
A reminder for me - I found one more rogue clump, growing opposite the Birthday Garden Mural. That's another job for later this week. And a reminder for Son of Moosey - he needs to paint the Birthday Wicker Seats...
Autumn Roses - Nancy Steen
There will be no more gardening done. I've taken just a few autumn rose and autumn leaf photographs, though - the light is interesting, and the Dogwood and Cercis trees look amazingly red. Another thing to remember - red leaves don't last! Enjoy them while you can...