Welcome to October
Kanzan Flowering Cherry
October is a wonderful month. But W also stands for 'watering' and 'weeding'. And 'wishing' that I had ten times the energy, and twenty times the stamina, and a host of well-behaved under-gardeners with initiative and garden common-sense, so I don't have to waste any time supervising them, or energy thinking up their next tasks. Hee hee...
Proud of me...
I have been busy this week. I am proud of me. Put it this way - I've drunk lots of my new organic House Merlot, and that's usually a sign of busy productive days. A round-up of the week follows, including transcriptions of paper journal pages scribbled outside during lunch breaks etc.
Aha! Mid-season red rhododendrons and late season red Camellias (the New Zealand variety Roger Hall) both flowering in the gardens of the Pond Paddock. Lots of forget-me-nots are growing in the Pond Paddock lawn, a great excuse for Non-Gardening Partner (bless him) not to mow anything. My pots of yellow tulips (the best way for me to get tulip colour) are flowering.
I've made a resolution. Every day in October I am going to sit outside for morning tea, lunch, and so on. Not that I spend all day eating and drinking. But while relaxing and munching I see different things and enjoy new spring experiences. It feels like a reward.
I've planted two giant Himalayan lilies (Cardiocrinum giganteum), and a new Charles Austin rose (plus a recycled Abraham Darby and an unknown Bourbon). I promise to water a part of my garden properly every day, especially my new rose garden. Yessss! I have a new rose garden, in The Hump...
Blossom Report :
Now it's the turn of the Crab-apples, the proper apple trees, and the weeping Silver Pear trees to be in flower. I adore the blossom wave in my garden. And some of the late flowering daffodils are very fancy. I just wish they were more robust - I have a lot of sad singles.
Lambs in the Yards
Lamb Report :
Seven lambs in the back paddock now, father uninvited (most certainly the black-faced ram from next-door). We raise our sheep for their pure merino wool, so this lot will go to the sale yards next spring.
Have had lovely house visitors for the last three days of the week, and have spent rather more time painting gnomes, reading books, and sewing clothes for teddy bears than gardening. As one does!
But this morning, after getting all the lambs (six girls, one boy, the twins showing their black-faced parentage) in for tailing, all returned to normal. Zoomed out to meet my friends for coffee smelling like a sheep (hands smooth with lanolin). Back home I pricked out lots more seedlings, shifted the hoses, and laid more path edges in The Hump. I'm really happy with the slow but sure way that this new garden is developing. The irrigation will soon be up and running, which allows me more planting opportunities.
And now the organic House Merlot is going down a treat. Best to go to bed before it gets too dark, so won't wobble too close to the pond.