Garden Journal 2020

The year 2020 : there's a lovely symmetry to its numbers. Hmm... Maybe each day I could do twenty good gardening deeds, take twenty photographs, write twenty pages of my journal... Just a thought! Twenty minutes compulsory weeding each day would be very useful. Aargh! Here are my garden journal pages for 2020.

Happy New Year...: Good morning, 2020. Welcome to my gardening world. Please be kind to my garden, all year, if that's OK with you. New Year's resolutions seldom last, so I won't list any specific ones. As in everything, I'll try and do my best every day. And be nice to my dogs (that's easy) and my cats (ditto). For me, 2020 has started off as the Year of the Potato...
Just one......: Confession. I think they are silly. But I have made one little personal New Year's resolution. It is as follows : In 2020 I am not going to be boring. I am going to be interesting. Hmm... And who will be the judge of this? Me, hee hee...
How can I?...: OK. How can I be a more interesting person when all I do is weed and trim and pick up gum tree bark from the lawns? I am a trundler of wheelbarrows, a spreader of horse manure, a scooper of mulch. Doesn't sound interesting at all.
Good morning......: Good afternoon to my January garden, to my new camera (so groovy), to my dogs (a bit bored), and to Non-Gardening Partner (avoiding me). Would he like to do some New Year's chainsawing? 'Not terribly, no.' Very polite, don't you think? And good afternoon to the New Zealand cricketers, battling away in Sydney...
Out, out......: Some years ago, in the summer of 2011, I decided to eradicate the invasive Lamium from the garden by the pergola. Ha ha. A wee botanical joke, that. Now it's summer, 2020, and that Lamium is everywhere again. And once more, out it is coming. Nine years' worth of it. Aargh!
So close......: It's those same old two phrases, I'm afraid. Out they come again, and they are inexorably connected. 'I did my best'. 'But I didn't finish'. Aargh! So many times have I whispered these, trying not to feel garden-guilty.
Be kind to the roses......: Aha! This morning my head is full of rosy gardening ideas. It's a be kind to my roses day. They are mainly dead-headed (or should be), their early summer flowering finished...
More shrubs less lawn?...: Inspiration while sitting on Pond Cottage's verandah with my early morning cup of tea and my cottage cat. What do you think, Minimus? I am going to redefine (euphemistic, this word) the far edge of the Pond Paddock border. More shrubs, less lawn. Miaow?
Bend it......: Eek! The gum trees are shedding strips of bark - all over the gardens and lawns. And another eek! for good measure. It's time to start trimming the Lychnis, which has suddenly become spectacularly messy. And one does so much bending over when cleaning up such garden mess...
Summer scruff......: I've been working in the shady gardens around the Pond Paddock for the last week. While I've been away (just over the house fence), the sunny areas have suddenly become summer-scruffy.
Everything needs doing!...: Have just taken my early cup of tea around the garden with the dogs, looking for things that need doing, garden areas that need my immediate attention. Ha ha! Might as well have shut my eyes, stopped after a random number of steps, and then started work. Everything needs doing!
Summer gardening life...: Still happily sorting out the summer scruff. So far today I've looked at two needy garden areas. But not just look - I started remedial action! Worked for an hour on each, managing to stay in the shade. So started, not finished. But that's summer gardening life, I guess.
A silver swan......: Scary stuff. A new year, a new idea. I have a silly new non-gardening idea for 2020. Adult ballet classes! That is, very mature adult ballet classes. Oh my. I am going to join the Silver Swans (that's the name of the dance programme).
February falters......: February has been an off-line month for me. I've tried to keep writing my journal. But the gardening website has been out of action. Consequently I have pages and pages of new news, with lots of photographs of my scruffy summer garden. But now - yippee! I'm online again, and have really missed being so.
Big, small......: Christopher Lloyd (a wonderful gardener and writer) says he 'thinks big, but on a small scale'. What a great gardening dictum! I'd like to think that I do this - even if my big is not quite as big as his...
A-Buzz with Bumble Bees...: I love my new mass planting of dahlias. They are still blooming, and almost every flower has a bumble bee either snoozing or visiting. Such joyous, buzzy activity to listen to and marvel at. All the dahlias except the pink spiky ones are covered in bees. This is something I hadn't really thought about much before. Dahlias and bees, that is.
The joys of gardening...: It's high time I rediscovered the joys of gardening life - the practical ones as well as the dreamy. So do I feel like having a monster weeding session? All day, in the Hump, gloves on, using the spade to slice out mess, as well as the hand digger? Maybe yes, maybe no? Hmm...
The boss!...: While driving in to choir rehearsals I've been listening to a talking book : Penelope Lively's 'Life in the Garden'. Apparently my latest gardening hero (Christopher Lloyd Wright) caused outrage by ripping out his roses. Oh dear me. But they were his roses, right?
Rain dancing......: Yeay! Rain - enough to soak the lawns and paddocks and give some natural relief to my garden. Yeay for rain! And I'm loving my uber-adult ballet class. So much fun. My super-stiff gardener's body is coping quite well...
A weeding week?...: A week in mid-February - what should I do? Some wondering? Wondering what to do next? Watering? Wandering around? Walking with the dogs? Weeding? All of the above, but yes, definitely some weeding. I need a weeding week. Sorry, dogs. This must sound quite boring for you.
Blurred......: My two lives of web-gardening and real gardening are blurred. The Moosey website can't be updated at the moment, so nothing in my garden is being updated, either. Oops. I also seem to have stopped writing. This will not do! Soldier on, I say.
Welcome back!...: My gardening journal has been offline for almost four weeks now (the data base broken), so the February 2020 web-version of me has been somewhat invisible. It's been a bit sad - you see, I really enjoy the website. Something's missing in my life...
Trim?...: So now I'm trimming the Anemanthele grasses - I always plant them too close to the lawns or the paths, and their feathery seed stems trip me up. It's already taking me ages to trim all the Shastas, and I haven't finished the Lychnises. Hmm... Trim, trim, trim...
The scruffiest ever!...: Yeay! Temperatures are finally a little cooler. Autumn is coming. The sun's angles are lower in the sky. The lawns are greener. And the garden? Even scruffier than last month. The scruffiest! Scruffier than my garden has ever been before.
Sorry, world...: What an odd, sad world it is out there, with Covid-19 zooming around. Definitely can't ignore it, definitely can't let it dominate. So glad I don't have to travel. But it's worrying even for stay-home gardeners too. I feel really sorry for the world, if that makes any sense.
The new W-word......: The end of another worrying week, with more and more official virus announcements. And I'm worrying about my dog Winnie, trying to rest and heal her dodgy back leg. Ha! A new W-word. It's usually W for Weeding.
Laying low......: Am starting a two week period of laying low, following my scientist daughter's advice. I've promised her I'll be sensible. No outings to swimming or ballet class. This morning a sneaky farewell cafe visit for coffee with my friends. Then I go into the garden for a fortnight...
Hibernating!...: Am hiberbating in my country retreat, hopefully out of viral harm's way. I've started sorting out the Stables Garden - so far, so good. Four sad roses have been removed - two were beyond help, two others (severely pruned) are in pots. I also have a pot of purple Ajuga, pulled put of the nearby lawn.
Conversations with my Cat...: Conversations with my cat : 'Good news!' I told Minimus, slurping my early cup of tea on the cottage verandah. 'You may not believe this, but I am seventy years old. I have to self-isolate and stay home. That means you'll see much more of me.' Minimus, sitting sedately on my lap, dug a claw slowly into my knee...
A lot of nothing to say......: My goodness - almost a new journal page each day. As usual I have a lot of nothing to say, but writing has always helped me connect, and that's a pretty important thing to be doing at the moment, yes? The hoses are already on, watering the Stables Garden. I've made blackboy peach jam (flooding the microwave, oops). I've transplanted more Agapanthus...
Keep safe, keep gardening......: Day six of giving thanks, keeping safe, staying patient, keeping busy, and gardening. Enjoying the real-time company of my cats and dogs. Touching their fur - so lovely, but I've always known that...
The solitary gene...: Maybe most gardeners have the solitary gene. Pianists, too, are used to being the only one. And I am both these things. So being locked-down is easy for me, right? Got my piano, got my garden, so I'm OK. So, after four, or five (or six, or more) weeks, my garden will be immaculate and my Bach will ripple along effortlessly?
Love is in the Air......: Beau Ram (our merino ram, his name a backwards version of Rambo) is in seventh sheep heaven. Yesterday he was moved into the front paddock with a few select ewes for - ahem - 'company'. Simple souls, sheep.
Caught!...: Sitting in bed with early cup of tea, I listened to the most doom-laden half hour of world news ever. It was an accident! I didn't mean to! I got caught in a news trap. Am now feeling worried for my gardening friends overseas.
Is it a weed?...: My garden is a thoughtful place in which to be in autumn, when sun, wind, and/or rain aren't too fiercely distracting. It's a measured time, giving rise to many old familiar questions. For example : do I consider Periwinkle a weed?
Early autumn...: Ha! Nothing like a leisurely walk with the camera to inspire a gardener. Subtle beauty in the early autumn leaf colours, not so subtle messiness in the borders...
Behind the pond......: Stern words : I am to stop digging out new gardens in the Hump immediately. It's time to clean up the old gardens. I don't even need a list - choose any garden area, it will need help. So, fortified with the first cup of coffee of the day, I'm about to sort out the garden behind the pond...
Success!...: Having manipulated the same Non-Gardening Partner for over twenty five years, you'd think I'd know all the tricks. But I am not very successful. When he hears my sweet voice he senses trouble and (wisely) switches off. This man recognises a nag in disguise, so to speak...
Poor Fred!...: Black Fred (one of my twin tabby cats) isn't well, and it's not so easy to get him to the vet today. Worrying about him has brought all those bigger world worries back to the surface. Understandable, so an extra shot of self-discipline is needed...
A surfeit of spikes......: Am in garden design trouble, and not for the first time. Have been puzzling about the Hen House Garden. A lack of structure, a surfeit of spikes. Am even thinking of marching Non-Gardening Partner over there and asking his advice. This is serious!
Trying to trick the rain...: Aargh! There's supposed to be rain coming, they said. They are often right, they are often wrong. We need rain. So I'm going to play one of the oldest gardening tricks I know - put on the watering hoses, just to give that forecast rain a little tickle up.
Lockdown laziness?...: Oops. Since when has a general lockdown been a licence for laziness? Yesterday I didn't do any gardening at all. I filled my day with cups of coffee, long, tiring piano battles with Albeniz, and sky battles with my 2800 piece jigsaw. There's a lot of sky!
Garden reality......: Rightey ho. What to do in the garden today? Oddly, if I ask this question while I'm in the house, often I can't really think of anything. Whereas, if I'm wandering around outside, I can write a list longer than any self-respecting journal page could possibly accommodate...
Autumn leaves and aconites......: When autumn digs itself in, so to speak, I spend the first days in awe of its beautiful colours. I smile at the fluttering leaves, kick the dry ones on the lawns, listening to them crunching and crackling. I love autumn! But all too soon the leaves get thicker underfoot...
Ditherers......: Gardeners shouldn't be ditherers. They should be decisive : they see something, they stop, and sort it out. They shouldn't be afraid to make a mistake. Fred agrees. Cats never dither, he assures me. They see a mouse, they stop, they pounce and play...
Love my pond......: I love my pond. It's a goodly size, taking me one hundred paces to get right around. I've been clearing the path and trimming the ferns around the far edge, using Non-Gardening Partner's secateurs and the kitchen bread knife. Hope I don't fall in the water...
On the cat walk......: Buster the cat and I often go for garden walks. But Buster never accompanies me properly, making herself available for chin-tickles or pats. Rather, she alternates between lurking in the greenery, or sneaking in behind, just out of sight...
Quasi-normal? ...: Quasi-normal retail therapy for gardeners has resumed - for example, I can buy potting mix again. Moderation is required, though, in these odd times. Have been good. Have resisted ordering new online roses.
Bonfires and roses......: There are times when a garden diarist shouldn't write anything, yes? For example, the day before the lifting of the fire ban, when the gardening heart is heavy with regret for the coming autumn bonfire. Aha! The perfect time for some rose thoughts...
Putting off the autumn bonfire......: The fire ban has come off. And there's nothing quite as horrible as a bonfire, particularly on a beautifully warm blue-skies autumn day, far too nice to spoil. But wait! Sanity prevails, in the form of Non-Gardening Partner...
The autumn bonfire......: What a horrible, horrible day! Don't worry - am being a bit dramatic here. I lit the first autumn bonfire. And immediately, in came the wind to whoosh the smoke this way and that, mainly all over me. Humph. Great timing - not!
The autumn bonfire - days 2 and 3...: It's day two of 2020's big autumn bonfire. The weather is quite warm, with no wind. Blast! I rather like the wind (great excuse not to burn, hee hee). So here's the plan. Winnie the dog has had a slow walk with me to check on the bonfire. Then twice around the orchard briskly with Pebbles...
The autumn bonfire - day 4...: Day Four of my autumn bonfire. It's still a slight novelty - don't worry, I will stop counting the days soon. Good morning. And what a morning it has been! I am so happy (and stinky and smoky)...
The autumn bonfire - day 5...: Day Five of my autumn bonfire, and I'm targeting the huge piles on the fence-line by my driveway. Fill the trailer twice, maybe, and keep on barrowing out loads from behind the pond when I get bored. Bored? Humph.
A day off......: Took the day off from the garden today. Organised Non-Gardening Partner to pick up a trailer load of horse manure bags. Did my ballet class, went out for a real visit to my friend, then home to do piano practice (Albeniz) for ages. Made a cup of tea, finished my library e-book...
Profile of need......: Heard one of those ear-catching phrases on the news this morning - an economist talking (optimistically post-Covid) about the country's 'Profile of Need'. Aha! What about my garden's 'Profile of Need'?
Plans......: I have a plethora (such a groovy word) of plans for today. I fill the trailer with firewood, collect pine cones, then do more bonfiring of flax leaves and gum tree bark. And then, some planting behind the pond. Planting! Nice - finally something lovely and creative.
Winnie the 3-legged dog......: Update on Winnie the three-legged dog : She has her cranial cruciate ligament surgery tomorrow. Dear dog. Then she will enjoy some tough-dog-love in a crate for six weeks. By the way, I love the vet. Vets are wonderful. Have been so sad about Winnie. But now there is a solution, and I feel so much better.
Dogs......: Have just take Pebbles my younger dog for her orchard walk and talked to her. Have made a promise to her to be nicer and more understanding. Because sometimes, just sometimes, I lose patience with her - big time!
Leaves......: he so-called new leaf - it's time to turn it over. A most peculiar phrase, and not really garden-applicable. Have mooched through Winnie the dog's first post-operation week. No need to do this any more. All is OK.
Animal farm......: I've been helping Non-Gardening Partner clean up suckers in the Hazel Orchard. This is farm work, rather than gardening, which might explain why the orchard's climbing roses get a little neglected (oops). Animal farm : Pebbles the dog comes with us, and sits staring at next door's cattle.
Autumn leaves...: Interesting botanical fact : only eleven New Zealand native trees are fully deciduous each winter, and they don't seem to provide any autumn colour. All my beautiful autumn trees are immigrants from the northern hemisphere. They are all so very welcome.
Welcome to Winter!...: It's winter. Ta da! Fanfare of trumpets, as out come the warm winter garden clothes, woolly socks, hat and gloves. I have big plans for this rather ominous day, the first day of winter. First, the bonfire ash needs to be scooped up and spread in the orchard. I rather thought the tractor could do this...
Some proper winter gardening......: Aha! I have done some proper winter gardening. Not so much, but some is better than none. And not just raking leaves, either (though there has been some of that). Today I've been planting! Yeay! It's drizzly but not too cold - yet.
Frosty......: A couple of frosty mornings are a nippy reminder to take winter seriously. Face it head on! Shift all half-hardy pots (particularly the pelargoniums) into the glass-house, finish trimming the dahlias, get mulch onto the garden, and so on.
Winter weeding......: Winter weeding. The ground is moist, my knees are muddy, and the weeds slither out of the soil easily, handfuls of them, roots and all. They are all lushly green and very damp. So many weeds! So this is very satisfying weeding, yes? Yes. I suppose so...
The wading suit......: The banks of the water race are getting their annual (well, it jolly well should be annual) clean up. As well as the Gunnera to trim there are Carexes and Phormiums to deal to. And excessive weeds. And Shasta daisies to cut back. So it's time for the donning of the olive green wading suit. Yeay!
Variety...: Aargh! It's almost the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, the turn-around of the gardening seasons (well, not quite - colder days are to come). With everything to look forward to. But at the same time, everything to enjoy in these winter moments, filled with so much variety...
Mid-winter......: Mid-winter - it's almost time to prune the roses and trim the ferns. And it's almost Camellia flowering time. Yeay! Early bloomers like Weeping Maiden and Tinsie are already 'at it'. Hope their flowers won't be too badly affected by the frosts. The deepest so far has only been minus two degrees Celsius - I enjoy a very friendly, moderate winter climate.
A gloomy, grey week!...: It's time I did some good winter gardening. Who cares if it's gloomy and grey and drizzly? I jolly well shouldn't. It's not too cold - just a gentle touch of bleak mid-winter, that sort of thing.
Look on the bright side......: It's yet another grey, drizzly day (we've had a few of these), so all I'm really doing (apart from sniffing and sulking) is walking the dogs. Each time I get back inside my socks (and therefore my feet) feel cold. I'm feeling rather dull. But the garden is full of wonderful little bursts of colour - and lots of green to enjoy. Best to look on the bright side...
A fresh start......: Right. A fresh start to July is needed. The winter solstice is now in the past. Hopefully there'll be less drizzle and grey gloominess in the weather. And hopefully I can crank up my gardening volume (which has been rather muted of late). Here's the idea. As long as I do at least two hours each day I will be getting somewhere...
Poor Pebbles...: No gardening today. Have been looking after Pebbles the dog, recovering from a wee operation at the vet's. The silliest, tiniest grass seed had burrowed its way into her rump, resulting in infection, a cut with four stitches, and a slim-line bucket on her head for ten days...
Dogs and sunshine......: Thank you, July, for some blue sky and sunshine (finally). Please let me never take such winter treasures for granted. And let me never take having two fit dogs in good health for granted. Both are convalescing at the moment : Winnie in a crate, Pebbles with stitches and a bucket on her head.
Another fresh start?...: Today is going to be different. It is going to contain gardening. No more excuses - like drizzly weather, or cold weather, or rain, or dogs with buckets on their heads needing supervision. Oh boy. Another fresh start?
Yet another fresh start!...: July is a winter month in my garden, and has been misbehaving. The month is at fault, not the gardener, you understand! After several foiled attempts to get going, here's yet another fresh start...
The story of my garden......: Nothing is ever finished. Ha! Story of my garden in four words. But I have no trouble finishing things in my mind - funny that. The perils of visualisation - where the real gardening day just leads on to tomorrow, and then the next tomorrow, and so on.
Challenges......: Long term August gardening challenge : to prune my two hundred roses without too much blood-letting. Short term challenge : to clean up, trim, jettison, divide, and repot all the house patio pots. Don't forget the succulents. And put the Pelargoniums in the glasshouse before the frost kills them off completely. Oops.
Big Day Out for the Sheep...: The sheep in the orchard paddock have just had an amazingly interesting day. First of all, into the far sheep yards for some worm treatment. Yeay! Then the gates open like magic and off down the driveway we trot. Go straight. Follow the sheep in front. Which sheep? It doesn't really matter.
I am so lucky......: Ha! I'm having an 'I Am So Lucky' week. I've even written a list! For example, I am so lucky that I have such a fine bunch of brightly painted garden gnomes. And it goes without saying - I am so lucky that I have a garden with a pond for them to enjoy...
Snoozing......: Good morning to my garden and dogs. Good morning to the Fred cats, snoozing in front of the log burner. Good morning to my inner gardener - alas, she seems to be snoozing as well.
The Joy of Dogs......: Humph. Disgruntled dog owner admits defeat. My dogs don't have listening ears. They barge out of doorways trying to be first. They bark rudely at Non-Gardening Partner in the house. OK, he is not me. But me finds it very annoying! Cats versus dogs? There's simply no comparison. Cats are infinitely easier, yes?
Be more specific!...: I need to stop being so vague. Self-instructions like 'Continue the trimming' and 'Prune more roses' will not do. More detail is required. I mean - exactly what needs to be trimmed? And which roses? Humph. I will try and be more specific this weekend. Why? Because Spring is sneaking into my garden...
Good morning......: Good morning to a fair frost. Silvery white grass stalks - very pretty! Super-shiny sun, blue sky, yellow daffodils. Have just walked slowly (have a slightly injured leg) down to the gate and back with the dogs.
Excuses......: OK, so the beginning of my week might have been slow, gardenwise, but by Friday nothing was happening at all. Zero gardening. Walking the dogs and picking spring flowers cannot be counted. Excuses - oh yes. A bit of drizzle (just a bit, one day only), a slightly sore back (the word 'slightly' is the key word here)...
Shrug-your-shoulders...: A thoughtful early morning. One of those shrug-your-shoulders mornings. The world outside seems to be in a bit of a mess. My garden is in a mess of it's own, but this is something I am happy to embrace - and do something about! Right?
Old-fashioned...: Hee hee. A bit of old-fashioned recording in a real notebook! I'm copying this from my journal. Here goes : 'Lunchtime, the old school charm of a gardening notebook and a scribbly pencil. Dogs and cats watching the birds eating their banana and pasta (dogs hoping for spillage, cats checking for any bird who loses critical altitude). Me puzzling about avalanches...'
Seeds are sown......: Yippee! My seed order has arrived, a reward for several days of extremely good gardening. Wonder what I've ordered? Sent it off about five days ago, can't remember anything on my list except for blue Cornflowers. So I laid out all the packets like playing cards on my kitchen table and puzzled at my choices.
Hello, spring!...: There's a slight chill in the air, and the wind is rather fresh. But hey! Hello, spring : blossom on the trees, spring bulbs flowering, and my September birthday in six days time, yippee! It's spring, which always refreshes and rejuvenates and inspires much thoughtful gardening...
Balance!...: Ha! Have worked out what I want for my birthday, which is quite soon. Some balance. Not the non-wobbly kind when I do my Silver Swans ballet class (thought that would be rather nice). I want balance between out-going energy and inner peace. And a trailer load of garden mix for my new potato patch (this might be easier to achieve).
Attitude......: My mind is refreshed and rejuvenated by spring. Yes! Spring gardening is funny. Tasks that I've put off, thinking they'll take ages, now seem to be easily finished. Wow! Just like that. It's mental, that's what it is. It's all to do with attitude.
Spring birthday!...: Good birthday morning. Today I am going to be a connected gardener, from the vegetation in my hair and earth in my fingernails to the splodges of horse manure (rotted, thankfully) caught in the tread of my garden boots. Yeay! A totally connected gardener.
Spring weeding......: Weeding. It's very hand-tiring and finger-consuming, the way I do it. The fun part comes after the weeding's done - the mulching, the planting, the admiring - that is if one still has any energy left to mulch, plant, and admire! I'm back from a heavy-duty session weeding my friend's garden - different soil, different weeds, quite tough going...
Naughty......: Have just popped into a fancy-pants garden nursery, to tease myself. What could I buy - five of those pretty little Lavender shrubs? Alas, too dear for me. And then something odd happened - brushed my hand against a pretty pink Argyranthemum daisy, and a couple of heel cuttings somehow managed to become detached. Well, I had to pop them in my bag, didn't I?
Dogs Day Out...: I'm off to walk my dogs and take photographs while it's still cloudy, before our visitors arrive. Yeay! It's the last of my Birthday Week treats - a Dogs' Day Out and a Family Brunch. With four dogs and two birthday cakes. It's been a while since big brown Escher and Frida the spotty GSP have been here...
Weeds and Seeds...: Weeds and seeds are on the agenda for this week. And a plan to be more morning-focussed. Am slowly emerging from winter, where no gardening is pleasant or possible before about 11am. So I end up drinking multiple cups of tea, staring out windows, and generally mooching around... Well, not any more!
Windy...: I think the equinoctial (odd spelling, but checked it) gales might have started. The wind roared noisily all night, not easy to sleep well through. Forecast to last all week, and unpleasant to be outside gardening in, which I am soon to find out!
Too windy......: I should take notice of the weather forecast for wind today? In the calm of early morning I am invincible (I am gardener, hee hee). That wind isn't going to stop me! Not me. Ha! I will laugh at the wind. Then I will ignore it.
A continuous stream of thanks...: Yeay! No wind and a leg that sort of works. So here's the idea. I never, ever take 'no wind' for granted. I give thanks for every single wind-free moment. And I give thanks for every step I take where my legs work properly. A continuous stream of thanks...
A superb spring month...: What a superb spring month September is - on the days when the wind stops blowing, that is. Blossom, Camellias, Rhododendrons, and the first rose Canary Bird getting ready to flower. Lots of new beautiful plants and flowers...
Itsy bitsy......: This last week of September has been very itsy bitsy. No long days spent in the garden, no major overhauls, not even one path shifted. Just lots of walking around with the dogs, checking out what's newly in flower...
Sneaky October!...: Sneaky October! I've been a bit distracted writing music and going to rehearsals (it's the start of the silly singing season). Today I got out properly in the garden to work hard all day. And discovered it was already Day Three of October. Oops.
A slight garden pickle......: Am in a slight garden pickle. There are a lot of weeds. And there are lots of very beautiful spring things, flowers and foliage, to enjoy. Wandering around the garden I would much rather look at the beautiful things than the weeds. Hmm...
Spoilt for beauty......: Sitting on Pond Cottage's verandah early this morning with Minimus the cat, reminding her she is spoilt for beautiful things to look at. To the right the pond, busy with bright red-hatted gnomes. To the left, forget-me-nots edging the grass, leading to the beautiful lilac rhododendron and two large lemon yellow roses...
Edible ideas......: Aha! My edible gardening daughter requires me to have a pumpkin patch. Do I have anywhere suitable in my garden? Instant action - I cleared a large sunny area in the Hump Garden. Have only ever grown pumpkins by accident before (out of the compost)...
Loving October......: I'm loving October. Yeay! Time for a list, no details, nouns only, and no place for the word 'weeding' : THE five things which make every late spring October day so wonderful.
Lost for words......: Am tempted to just put up a page of photographs - no words, just pictures of all the beautiful things in my garden. Greenery as well as flowers - shrubs, trees, mowed lawns... Because everything is beautiful at the moment. Especially the rhododendrons.
Watering and weeding...: Watering and weeding. Weeding and Watering. Pulling out more old forget-me-nots, bucketing water on the spotty Ligularias. Shifting the hoses along the Pittosporums. A screen of trees has to be able to keep on screening, right? Throwing sticks in the pond for the dogs, talking to the cats, then bucketing more water...
Dogs and Roses......: Have been busy telling my dogs how lucky and blessed we all are, because the roses are flowering, filling our hearts with joy. Lots of roses - the big white rambler on the fence-line, the modest shrubs in the Hump garden. The rough and tumble climbers, the delicate trio of Ballerinas by the pond...
Where are the Spades?...: Here's a great tip for evaluating the state of the garden paths. Lose the spade (needed urgently by Non-Gardening Partner) out there somewhere. Better still, lose three spades, including the special sharp one that Non-Gardening Partner himself bought. Then disappear all day Sunday for three singing engagements, leaving NGP home alone...
Why on earth?...: One of those 'Why on earth didn't I do this before?' moments - when pulling out forget-me-nots, I make sure I am wearing a cotton shirt (no matter how cold it is), my shortest shorts, and hide-away socks (completely hidden inside my gardening boots). Then the sticky biddi-bid seeds don't attach to my legs or my ankles...
Only me......: Most days there's only me to appreciate how good my garden looks. Is this a sad or bad thing? No way! Visitors are most welcome, of course...
Lovely......: Every day there are new roses. Every day others fade and their petals start to fall. Garden life! The Rambling Rector is alive with buzzy honey bees - as if they appreciate a rose which flowers only once, and are determined to make the most of it. Same with Rosa Woodssii in the Hump Garden. Just lovely.
Pink......: It's been a pink week. The pink roses in my garden are so pretty. But there's more pink in my house - a huge roll of pink chiffon material, waiting to be cut up into floating stage costumes for my Silver Swans ballet class...
What plans?...: 'So what are your plans for the garden this month?' A question that one of my relatives often politely asks me, and one which I can never answer properly. Because my plans for the garden tend to swirl around for ages in my head, unformed, nebulous. What plans?
Oh dear......: Oh dear. The End of November Garden Bus (?) has raced off leaving me stuck at the bus stop, surrounded by bulky greenery and weedy mess. Wait for meeeeee! My garden has enjoyed a week of warm days and cooler nights with rain, and I've been preoccupied. Otherwise engaged.
A bit silly......: Things have gone a bit silly in my life. December is the silly singing month (Christmas Carols, Handel's Messiah, Beethoven's Mass in C Major). I've also had a week of ballet costume sewing. This morning, however, things look promising, gardenwise...
Employee workflow......: Website ads definitely match website content. Each time I check-in the Moosey site I am encouraged to drive optimisation and efficiency with employee workflow. Obviously my journal has been overflowing with tales of non-productivity. Yes, it's true - I have been getting behind in my work. I know!
Never too old?...: Aha! Life is filled with wonderful things : my little finger is no longer sore, I have the second cricket test to listen to on the radio, the garden's roses to enjoy, and memories of my successful Silver Swans performance in a ballet recital. One is never too old to dance on stage in pink chiffon, right?
Water......: Things I love most of all about being in my summer garden : the water features (a water race and a large irrigation pond). And the clean, running water which fills both. Clean enough to drink, and swim in (when summer gardening gets too hot).
Best friends...: Good morning to my summer garden. I want you know that I love you very much. It could be said that you are my best friend. We spend time together so happily. We are well suited, you and I - both a bit wild and romantic. Sometimes we see too much of each other. Sometimes we ignore each other for days. But we are always together...
A little bit of everything......: How difficult should it be to do a little bit of everything in one day? For example, the last ballet class of the year, lunch with a friend, Hindemith piano practice, dog walking, gardening in the Pond Paddock, reading...
Mary Mary......: Mary Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? Alarmingly quickly this summer! New plants often sulk and stay tiny, then as soon as I forget to check they burst upwards and outwards. So this is a rule of garden, right? Things grow huge, but only when I'm not looking...
Merry Christmas!...: Merry Christmas from me and all my garden friends. And that includes my gardening boots - in the photograph they're rather clean, don't you think? Friends include the two Fred tabby cats (spot the difference), Minimus and Buster and my two lovely sister dogs Winnie and Pebbles. Non-Gardening Partner is included in spirit...
On to Boxing Day......: Great Christmas company! Non-Gardening Partner and I have had the most wonderfully peaceful Christmas day. We just pottered around together - realised I haven't spent much time with NGP for ages, I've been so busy doing Christmas singing. He's been left alone, unorganised, for nearly a month. Time to rectify this!
The last days of 2020...: 2020 is fast running out of days. Am suddenly remembering all those things I meant to do this year in the garden! Oops.
A Four Piece Dog Pack...: Something a bit different to end 2020 with. The two brown dogs Escher and spotty Frida are coming to stay for New Year's Eve - another Dogs Day Out! So I'd better get started in the garden before the dog fun (well, I hope it will be fun) starts.

Garden Journal 2021 Top Garden Journal 2019

Tweets by @mooseysgarden

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