I am so lucky...
Ha! I'm having an 'I Am So Lucky' week. I've even written a list!
I Am So Lucky...
- That I have two dogs to take for walks. I love taking my dogs for walks. But more about those dog walks below...
- That the days are getting longer. Now, if I start my gardening in the afternoon, it's still light at 5pm.
- That I have a music life. For example, today is Barking Friday, and I'm off to play Bach with my friend. I love my music friends.
- That one of my favourite colours is green. The garden is certainly greening up wonderfully well.
There are little hints of spring around. Not that autumn (or winter) aren't grand times of the gardening year as well. Yeay for my pink flowering shrubs!
Pink Azalea
Ha! Another lucky thing that I almost forgot. Having been wearing my favourite gardening jeans for weeks and weeks, they needed to be washed. Hmm. I dried them in the drier. Then I worried that they wouldn't fit me anymore (have been over-eating). Yeay! They still fit, but only just. Phew!
Hydrangea Pruned
Long afternoons...
Have spent some wonderfully long afternoons in the garden. Mid-week my friend arrived and started pruning the hydrangeas, while I chopped down Carexes and burnt things (trying to reduce the piles of dry mess by the container).
Yesterday I trimmed and trimmed - a big ornamental Miscanthus zebrinus before its new shoots sprout, the toad lilies near the glasshouse, and yet more roses. There are always more roses, hee hee...
I found (and rescued) an ancient rose which came here from my old garden. Goodness me - over twenty-five years, hidden and forgotten. It's in a bucket of water, soon to be in potting mix. I replanted clumps of lilac phlox - oops, some had dried out and died. I weeded.
Then the best reward ever, and such a surprise. I noticed the red rhododendron Kaponga blooming beautifully, sheltered underneath the glasshouse. Wow!
Kaponga Rhododendron
Saturday 8th August
Today the clouds vanished by lunchtime, and I went back behind the glasshouse for more clearing and trimming. The rugosa roses in here are peculiar growers - bits are always dying back, with some new suckers appearing nearby. Overall there's not nearly enough summer sun for them to be completely at ease, I reckon. I rewarded that beautiful rhododendron with two bags of rotted horse manure, and cleared the wee path. Pretty curves!
Then on to the bonfire, raking up and burning mass Olearia hedge trimmings while Non-Gardening Partner continued last weekend's mass trim. It makes such a mess, but now only the very top is left to do. A very smoky bonfire - too smoky for me.
Shape Up For Spring...
So my six week 'Shape Up For Spring' plan has officially started. No weigh-ins - just the fit of the favourite gardening jeans. The rules : drastically reduce the bread and muffin intake, eat less, but tasty and healthy, and snack on fruit. Hmm...
Dog plan...
And the plan for my dogs - I am buying a second retractable leash. Both dogs will get used to walking together, both on their leads (NGP will help me). If this works without incident (see below) then I will try two leads on my own.
My Dogs
My dogs have a peculiar relationship. When one is disadvantaged (e.g. on the leash) then the free dog gets quite nasty and picks on the other. But when both are equal in status, all is well - they lick faces and sing together. Winnie still has to go outside on the leash (in rehab after cruciate ligament surgery). To make this a pleasant experience I first have to shut Pebbles in the car. Tiresome - I long to be a spontaneous dog walker.
Lucky gnomes!
I totally forgot. 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.