Mid-winter...
Tinsie Camellia
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.
Could do better...
Yesterday I sang the Josquin de Pres mass. Got some of my syllables in the wrong places, and sang a loud, long, resonant D-flat which was supposed to be a D natural. Oops. One of those 'could do better' singouts.
Better success in the garden...
But back home in the garden I had better success. I dug all the roots out of the Duck Lawn garden border. No problem! And almost got all the weed mat out (this was much harder to dislodge). I chopped down half the Astelia and cleared the wee path which leads to the water. I finished the Gunnera trimming, and prised river stones out of the mud around the Phormium tenax. Almost ready for planting! Yeay!
Brown Gunnera Leaf
Today I've been in the water race wearing my suit. I've dug out the Japanese Irises and replanted them further along where they'll be in the sun. So they'll flower! Poor things - tucked away, covered completely by huge Gunnera leaves each spring and summer. Something nice to do in winter, with the obvious 'looking forward to' factor.
Nancy Steen Rose
Winter photographs
But after two hours all of me was getting a bit cold, so I've come in for a warm-up. Need to go back outside to take some winter photographs and to clean up my tools. Will check out those Camellias - wonder for a moment if I've imagined them blooming? Hope not. There are roses, too, bravely flowering. And it's nearly rose pruning time.
It's not warm, though. Time for another brisk walk with the dogs (separately), woolly swandrii over top of merino. Clump, clump go my gardening boots (wonderful, these) as we plod past the sheep in the Hazel Orchard.
Tuesday 23rd June
It's foggy, drippy, drizzly, and a bit cold outside. Have walked the dogs twice each, and now have decided to catch up on some reading. And bear knitting - a mossy green sweater for one of the larger bears. My garden can wait. The winter solstice in now in the past. Onward!