Gifted a garden!
I love how unpredictable gardening life is. Some days can be lazy, others super-busy. For weeks it can feel like 'same old, same old' - weeding, trimming, raking... Then out of the blue a friend gifts me her whole garden (the house on her property is soon to be demolished). Wow!
Some lovelies...
Have just been to check things out. Am honoured to be the forever caretaker of her plants. There are some lovelies - white lavenders, a white Buddleia, roses (oh yes, always room for roses), white Hydrangeas (nice), plus a huge assortment of perennials. I'm starting the dig-out in a week's time.
This afternoon's plan is to continue preparing the new garden areas in the Hump. Just one misplaced rambler to dig out now, plus an assortment of miniature roses (am not so fond of these - they might start their new lives in large pots). And the weather? Oh my. It's far too warm for April. On with the gardening shorts.
Three Hours Later...
Supervised by Buster my elusive black cat, I've dug out two misplaced roses - one (suspected to be a very runty Abraham Darby) is in a bucket of water, the other (white, old English look) is replanted in more space and light. I've shifted all the clumps of the new bright pink summer phlox together in one gigantic swathe, if that's the right word.
Buster in the Hump Garden
I've divided and replanted miniature Agapanthus along the new path route, so it looks like it's been there for ages. Don't ask me why all this took three hours. It just did. Sometimes the littlest details take the longest time.
New Path in Hump Garden
Spent a happy half hour taking photographs of dahlias, honey bees, and butterflies. The dogs were not so happy - their walk was interrupted, and we'd only just begun!
Next door's ram...
Well, we eventually trotted off down towards the sheep paddocks. Head the most dreadful crashing and banging sounds. Hmm. Next door's black-faced ram, all on his own, was charging at the dividing fence (which NGP has fixed) trying to barge his way in to visit our ewes.
One tarty girl was staring at him, bleating encouragement. 'What are yah? Call yourself a ram? You couldn't ram through a hay bale.' Or words to that effect. Hope the fence which Non-Gardening Partner has strengthened holds up and stays in good shape.
Monarch Butterfly on Dahlia
At this time of the year I love the dahlias, which just continue to flower, on and on. They'll last until the first frost of winter. I don't grow any fancy types any more - just bee and butterfly friendly ones. Quite a few monarch butterflies are doing the rounds at the moment.