Goodbyeeee to 2017
And so it's nearly the end of the year 2017. The days between Christmas and New Years are lovely - summer floats by, timeless, dayless (so what day of the week is it?), shopless (fridge and wee freezer still full of yummy food)...
Raspberry Daylilies
One more 2017 day to go, so there's still a chance to catch up with all the work I should have been doing, hee hee. I will spend most of my day scooping and trundling. General mess, strips of gum bark, and so on. There's always a rose to dead-head, and many of my Hebes have just finished flowering, and would appreciate a wee trim. Oh, let's not forget the edges. And then the Welcome Garden, which is stuttering 'Welcome to the We-we-we-weeds'.
Watering...
I have gum logs to shift out from behind the pond and dump in the log splitting pile. I have horse manure to spread, and watering of shrubs in the Welcome Garden to organise. And little pelargoniums to plant in the spare patio pots. Aargh! This list may be camouflaged but it is getting out of control.
Grasses and Shrubs in the Welcome Garden
I've just remembered one more thing - there's one tiny piece of the dog-fence to organise, right near the road. And I need to take advantage of the wonderfully overcast summer's day and take loads of photographs. OK. Here goes. I am fully charged, 'psyched' up. I will start by the house and radiate myself, so to speak. I may be gone for some time. Don't wait up!
Sleepout Rose
Later...
Make that much, much later! Seven hours later! My last day of 2017 has been really productive, particularly in the Welcome Garden. I've weeded ( though there are still swathes of weeds, shifted Phormiums over by the fence, and watered all the Viburnums and Pittosporums by hand. I've spoken warm words to each one, thanking it for growing so well in neglect. The day I'm too busy to talk to my plants is the day I employ an under-gardener and watch daytime TV inside. Aargh! No thanks.
My Dog-Fence is finished!
My dog-fence is now completely finished, and Winnie has been sitting by a post, staring forlornly through the netting at next door's paddock. Sorry, darling girl, but there's no way through now. No jumping!
I've also tidied the wee garden by the Sleep-Out. I had to rescue one of the Oak-Leaf Hydrangeas from a bully Clematis (montana, a pretty pink thug). I also trimmed all the Angelica, and scattered the seeds around. Yeay! The cherry rambler is regrowing and reflowering, as rambling roses do.
Oak Leaf Hydrangea
Bees are crawling over the Buddleia, which is one of the rather weedy species ones, but hey! The bees must be provided for.
A great year...
Now I'm sipping cider and anticipating my evening meal (baked salmon, with salad). I deserve this. I've had a great year. I've loved 2017.
Pretty Buddleia Flower