Sneaky or Sensible?
So how sneaky (or sensible) is Non-Gardening Partner? I find out by chance that he's taking two days off from work to play with the new puppy, and so on. Does he give me advance notice? Oh, no - I might fill up his days with chores. So today I pottered around the garden by myself, unhindered in the main, since Winnie the puppy went off with Rusty the dog, and Rusty the dog went off with NGP. I think they were all sorting out the sheep.
Thursday 2nd October
I moved batches of seedlings outside to start hardening off - mainly lettuces and cornflowers. I weeded. I shovelled more soil into holes along the boundary. I weeded some more. I took lots and lots of puppy-free photographs. The spring garden is almost as beautiful as Winnie is!
But of course when she's with me she's the centre of attention. Oooh - two sets of puppy visitors are coming tomorrow. How exciting!
Friday 3rd October
Compulsory socialisation for puppies today - lots of fun and frolicking chasing tennis balls, and little people to run around with. Winnie is an extremely fast runner! When our visitors left I did quite a bit of hole-filling-in at the bottom of the Welcome Garden. I shovelled soil and collected stones, while the puppy charged here and there and dug a few holes of her own. But it's been hard work for my old-lady shoulders, swinging the shovel and flicking the load into the wheelbarrow.
Roosevelt Rhododendrons
I planted some Agapanthus around a piece of tree stump that won't budge, and I rescued a pile of daffodil bulbs from the mess next-door. I also stone-edged the bottom of the garden. And, naturally, I gave my visiting friend a conducted tour right down the boundary, and insisted she gaze with amazement at the filled-in holes. And guess what? She was really, really polite and encouraging, and of course she couldn't see a thing!
White Cherry Blossom
At mid-day, just when I'd organised a lovely picnic lunch for NGP, he remembered he had a random barbecue to attend, and escaped. I had such big plans for him after lunch, involving shovelling and raking. Blast. It's hard to stay cross with someone who is so puppy-friendly.
Saturday 4th October
Oh boy. Just grabbing a quiet moment to check in for some self-affirmation. There is so much to do! So if I just do a little, as much as I can, without getting garden-sad or feeling overwhelmed, keeping lots of time to have cups of tea and play with the new puppy...
Winnie is now much more independent. This morning she took herself back to the house to have a sleep while I was busy shovelling and filling in holes. She's still fast asleep - I've just come inside to check.
Escaped Again!
Meanwhile NGP has escaped again - this time he's gone flying, leaving Rusty the dog snoozing in the driveway, bereft, waiting for his return. So I am effectively dogless, which was not necessarily my plan, but that's OK. I've been raking up burnable rubbish from the Hen House gardens, where I have the hoses on. Now I'm about to do some glasshouse work, putting the 'little of everything' rule into practice.
Small thought. Where is my camera? Oops.
Puppy and the Cat
Later...
NGP came home from flying and helped me shovel some soil. And he praised my hole-filling-in! And I found my camera - eventually - after a slight panic checking all the loads of rubbish that I'd tipped onto the bonfire. Phew- it was a safe and sensible place, on one of the purple seats. Now I'm off to shift the hoses again.
Winnie's First Week...
Thinking back over Winnie's first week with us : What a dear little dog she is, and she's fitting in so well. She's confident, she loves being in the garden, and she's getting used to the puppy systems. She and the cats are perfectly OK together (though she will chase Fluff-Fluff when in a frisky mood).
Most of all I really enjoy getting up at 6:30am to have my cup of tea outside with her and Rusty - even if it's a bit frosty. Puppies (and dogs) are good company when they first wake up. And I've decided that Winnie is short for 'Winsome'. Not Winifred...
Sunday 5th October
What a lovely day! I tried to do a little bit of everything. NGP went flying again, but that's OK. A magnificent man in his flying machine, and all that...
Spring in the Driveway
Spring is wonderful when the sun shines and Winnie the new puppy races around her garden circuits. Early each morning we walk around the driveway, collecting Rusty the big dog on the way. She's already grown up a size, and she's only been here for ten days.
Hello Winnie the Puppy!
I watered two garden areas which were getting a little bit dry - the Hen House Garden with its Maple tree and old species roses, and the Stumpy (AKA Willow Tree) Garden with the rhododendrons now in full sun and wind. The rather wizened forget-me-nots are a good indicator as to the need for watering.
Tricky Trilliums...
My modest group of Trilliums are flowering - maybe I'm greedy, but they never bother to expand their clumps for me. I'd like them to. Special food, maybe? The little one (Trillium rivale) which I'd thought I'd lost is still there. It's so tiny, and has to battle with the big spreading stems of the Alkanet for garden space. And the later Camellias in the Wattle Woods look absolutely gorgeous. They're getting extra watering in return for being so pretty.
NGP has been pretty nice to me today. He drove me to get potting mix, bought me an ice-cream and a bar of chocolate, and mowed all my house lawns. This of course makes the garden borders look so beautiful. And taking Winnie the puppy for slow walks means I do lots of lovely slow garden wandering. Puppies in the garden look so cute...