Trying to finish
Hen House Garden Path
Good morning. I'm having another 'trying to finish' day in the Hen House Gardens. Another 'feeling small' day, measuring success by the wheelbarrowful. A day trimming large branches with my little bow saw, while the bellbirds whistle at me. Save our trees!
Friday 15th April
There are large-scale earthworks happening next-door, where a huge digger-dozer has been flattening and clearing a whole paddock, levelling out the old sand-dune humps, scooping and widening the water race upstream. One bloke has been working there for three full days now, and has transformed acres of lumpy mess into smooth. I doubt he is concerned about 'trying to finish'.
I remind myself how much I enjoy pottering around single-handedly in my garden, getting nowhere and yet everywhere, using just my hands. I am touch-connected to my garden mess! I'm proud that I achieve things on my own, in my own slow time. Maybe there's just the tiniest tickle of envy when I see machines working so quickly.
Autumn Roses
By the way, here are some roses caught flowering today. The surprising re-bloomer climbs through an apple tree, and was given to me with the name Lavender Lassie.
Well, we are back from the dog park, and I'm off check the water race for debris that might jam and dam the water flow. Several of my Gunnera patches are now alarmingly large, and the water tumbles noisily through their fat roots.
Five Hours Later...
I've raked lots more rubbish from the Hen House Gardens and burnt it all. The big machine next door stopped clattering around at lunchtime. That was rather nice - immediately I felt much more settled, continuing my one-woman one-wheelbarrow clean-up with a smile. I finished my day by taking rather a lot of clothes off and getting into the water race to check the Gunnera. I made a small start trimming its giant green leaves and prickly stalks. Ouch! And brr... The water was a bit cold.
Flaxes in the Hen House Gardens
Finding so much mess in the Hen House Gardens has been puzzling me. Two of the Pittosporums have become huge and ungainly, blocking light from the other native shrubs. Oops. Have just checked my journal, and my last clean-up in here was in 2011. Oh dear! Five years' worth of leaves and bark which have dropped from the big Eucalyptus trees. No wonder it's taking me hours and hours.
Astelia :- I grow green, silver-green, and dusty brown-red Astelias in my garden. The green is my favourite.
Memo to self for tomorrow. The green Astelias I planted in Henworld (don't ask) have been completely smothered by a tough native shrub. My goodness, when did all that growing happen? So dig them out and replant them in the open.
And what about the patch of Crocosmias? Shift them out into the Allotment Garden, where they will actually get some sunshine, and can become pretty, flowering nuisances.
Schizostylis
Saturday 16th April
First we are going swimming, and then I have chain-sawing plans for Non-Gardening Partner. And there are yet more layers of gum leaves to rake up from the Hen House Gardens, though I have reached the 'last bit', the worst bit, right on the boundary where the gum trees grow.
I am looking forward to another day of wheelbarrowing and burning, methinks! And the Pittosporums really do need sawing down. NGP always asks why.
Sunday 17th April
Yesterday much was accomplished - but (of course) the chain-sawing then created more mess. I've been working hard all day - for nearly seven hours. It's been a long day. I've scooped, dug, raked, trimmed, plodded, and trundled for six hours. Lots of mess has been burnt.
Smoke From the Autumn Bonfire
Yeay! I've sort-of finished the Hen House Gardens. The photographs aren't stunning, but they are autumn-honest. And I know what they would have looked like three days ago. Aargh!