Hibernating!
Silly Selfie
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.
I've dug out the old Bantry Bay rose (which was in a dreadful state) and put it on the burning heap. Pulled out lots of Euphorbias. This garden is dreadfully dry, so I went to put the hose on. Blast! The hose went all dribbly. Need Non-Gardening Partner to check it.
So virtuous...
Guess what? Now the Prime Minister of New Zealand has joined my lovely daughter in asking me to self-isolate. Feeling oh so virtuous! Already she (daughter, that is) has rung to check that I'm behaving. Doesn't she trust me? Oops.
Sunday 22nd March
So what's today's plan? Day three of my personal hibernation, by the way. Get the hoses sorted, and then replant the Stables Garden with Agapanthus. Problems with a dry garden? Solution : Agapanthus. And I have lots of spare plants under some trees in the corner of the frisbee lawn, invisible in the woody growth.
Blue Asters
I also must clean out my sewing room, because NGP has to start working from home. I have donated him this space, so the dogs won't drive him mad. Hopefully I won't, either - am going to do my Silver Swans ballet classes in my kitchen via Youtube. He is not allowed to watch.
Much Later...
My goodness it's been hot today. I've planted a barrowful of Agapanthus, and spread the rest of the horse manure around the remaining roses in the Stables Garden : Maigold, Pilgrim and a species climber which keeps on biting my head and snaffling my hair. The hose is on, trying to give everything a good soaking.
Agapanthus on the Stables Garden
I've also been bucketing water onto the Allotment Garden nearby. Which was quite timely - next door's goats (off their tethers) had come over to nibble new rose shoots from my boundary roses. I flung buckets of water at them and shooed them back up the driveway away from my roses. How rude!
Stables Garden Rambler and Maigold Roses
Now to maximise my non-gardening time : piano practice, Bach and Albeniz. Yesterday ground to a musical halt sight-reading Bach's Fugue No. 3 (Book 1) in C# major. That's seven sharps, by the way. Deep breath, a drink of cold milk, and back into it.
No nicer place to be...
I've been thinking, while plodding back and forth with horse manure. There isn't be a nicer place in the whole of the world in which to spend time in self-isolation. For me, anyway.