And more rose pruning issues..
Sally Holmes Roses
The more of my roses I prune, the more roses I find that still need attention. And this year, as usual, I have problems. Sally Holmes has me foxed, with her fat, woody canes. Is it OK to clip them lower down? Can't see any buds on her stems. Oh boy. Well I just have. Too bad.
No confidence?
No confidence, that's my problem - and possibly no skill? Not really understanding the reasons why roses are pruned? The drawings in gardening books make it look easy. And some of my recycled roses aren't in very good health - spindly, very few stems, and so on. Not much point in being proud of growing over three hundred roses if a quarter of them are weaklings. I am gradually relocating the saddest ones in my newest super-sunny garden in The Hump.
So just to show who the boss really was, I pruned all the flowers off the Blushing Pink Iceberg roses. So sad. Did I really have to do that? I passed by Kronenbourg, which had one lone flower - a stunning rose. I left it alone (favouritism).
Miscanthus Seed Heads
I've spent the last couple of days continuing my speed trim (and prune) of the garden, flashing my still-sharp secateurs around, pretending to be a professional. The ornamental grasses (Miscanthus and Calamagrostis) are now ready for a cut - off with their seed-heads, I say. I've nipped at the edges of Corokias and Pittosporums, and found yet more Phormiums with clusters of dead leaves to remove.
Early flowering Camellias...
Aha! The dusty red Camellias (a New Zealand variety called 'Takanini') by the Koru courtyard are flowering - they've recovered from being trashed by the hedge trimmer two years ago.
Camellia Takanini
So is the wee red Tinsie behind the garage. I've trimmed a Hebe out of her way - more light equals more flowers and a happier shrub, right? Can't believe that it's already Camellia time.
The Wattle is Flowering
Wow. Winter is moving so fast. And I am moving fast with it, trying to keep up, trying to get everything done in time.
So much that I don't notice...
There is so much that I don't notice. Yesterday my horse poos lady arrived with fifteen more bags for me. She pointed over the house towards the Wattle Woods, where the Wattle trees were starting to flower, bright chrome yellow, difficult to ignore. Yes?
I was too busy flapping my hands around showing her the pruned roses in The Hump. I hadn't even noticed them. The brightest of bright yellows! And the first Hellebores - so pretty, so modest, hanging their flower-heads shyly down. I've just noticed them. Really - a good gardener is surely an observant one, right?
The new puppy's first visit!
Frida the new puppy (big brown Escher's house-sister) has just visited us, meeting my Border Collies for the first time. She's a spotty German Short Haired Pointer, a delightfully floppy pup, who at four months obeys more commands than Winnie and Pebbles put together. Oh the shame! Thankfully my dogs were friendly and welcoming, and the four piece dog pack charged happily around the garden and orchard.
Four Dogs By The Pond
Of course Escher loves his country visits, briefly forgetting his dog manners to chase one of the Freds. Oops. No harm done.