Damp...
A Cute Mini-Cordyline
Funny how the weather gets into your head. Yesterday I was in a very damp, dour mood. And everything in the garden was damp - air, lawn, garden greenery... A damp mood is not a bad mood, but it's a bit too gloomy for my liking.
So I trimmed back wet dahlias from the house gardens. Someone (hmm...) had cleared out wet gum leaves from the spouting above (good) and dropped them straight onto my garden (bad). My barrowful of mess was far too damp to take to the bonfire.
In the evening it even felt damp in the cottage (even with the electric blanket switched on). But good news - after dark the dry nor-west wind blew gently in and around everything, so this morning the air is drier. And voila! My damp mood has gone, and I am meeting a country friend at a country native plants nursery. She intends to buy things. Should I make a list?
I don't need any plants...
The trouble is, I don't need any plants, I need the mental energy for hours and hours of autumn and winter garden maintenance. And a built in damp barrier. Well, maybe just a few little variegated Corokias - a lovely go-to shrub which performs well anywhere, and allows pruning either discrete or robust at any time of the year...
Liquidambar Tree at the Nursery
Of course when the old trees in the Hump come down next month, I will have room for thousands of dollar's worth, but that's another story.
Very Early Camellia
Later...
First I photographed the first flowering Camellias. Daft things - they are four weeks earlier than usual, because temperatures have been relatively mild. Then the dogs and I went for a walk with the water pistol (Pebbles' bad habits of tease-biting my shoes and barking in my face continue).
Acanthus - ouch!
Then I started trimming seedling Pittosporums out of the Apple Tree Border. Aconites are now firmly established here, and I'm happy. I love their autumn blues. Other shrubs - Hydrangeas near the house, Rhododendrons and a lovely Miscanthus zebrinus are in danger of being bullied by Acanthus. I've been trimming its seed heads - my goodness they are spiky. Ouch! Acanthus is obviously destined to seed itself without any interference!
Basically, there's much more sun and general daylight in here since the huge plum tree came down. The character of this garden has changed. Takes a deep breath. This whole border needs 'doing over'. And perhaps the two rhododendrons could shift somewhere less exposed to the sun.
Summer Acanthus
And as to the nursery visit. Oh boy. The nursery has gone up-market, sourcing in pretty little perennials as well as its more basic offerings of New Zealand shrubs and trees. The prices have (for me) gone up-market, accordingly. This didn't deter my friend, who loaded her SUV with hundreds of dollars worth of plants and shrubs. I bought a tiddly mini-Cordyline and felt very, very small.
Blue Skies at the Nursery
But my horse poo lady has just dropped off thirty bags of horse manure. That's not small! That's lots. And the day has turned out sunny and dry. So I'm in a sunny and dry mood, yes?