Girlie Gardening
Plan for Garden
Had such wonderful plans for today. I was going to spend the afternoon doing Girlie Gardening. Sorry, but that's what I call it. One gets out the coloured pencils, draws a wee map, and colours in everything...
The path is shaded a delicate brown, the Miscanthus zebribnus is streaked yellow and green, miniature Agapanthus are a zig-zag of blue, there's an orange cloud for the dahlias, and so on. There's room for all my new roses - in they go, little colour co-ordinated circles. It's oh so pretty!
One might also like to write the gentlest of lists, in pencil, to go with the map. Here's mine :
- Dig out two miniature roses, put them in potting mix.
- dig out miniature Agapanthus, plant alongside new path.
- Definitely leave the ornamental grasses alone.
- But maybe lightly trim the Viburnum.
See - nothing too strenuous. Nothing that could possibly be called 'manny'. Nice and easy peasy. No mention of swinging an axe (alternating with ramming a scoopy shovel) for four hours into that Viburnum, slowly dislodging it, roots and all. Which is what I ended up doing.
The Viburnums are Gone
A light trim? I don't think so. It was suckering madly, totally blocking the irrigation sprinkler, and all its lower leaves were silver. Unpleasant.
New Path in Hump Garden
So, four extremely physical and rather non-girlie hours later, I'm inside, apres-gardening, with clean feet and well-worn hands. The removal of the Viburnums has opened up a nice new chunk of garden. Ha! I reckon I could fit at least six new roses in there.
Saturday 11th April
Success! The sprinklers ran last night, and I can see that the watering reaches well over to where I want it. Perfect! So today I'll send Non-Gardening Partner to get some garden mix, then I'll slop it all on and re-align the path. Might even dig out the rogue rambling roses. Perfect!
Later...
Absolute success! The path is rerouted, in a sensible, more direct line, through the tomatoes - only one made the ultimate sacrifice (I've hung it up on a fence in the sun).
The New Area for Roses - and Pebbles the Dog
One trailer load of garden mix has been shovelled and spread (hello, shoulders). One rogue rose is out (it's a common bright pink rambler, maybe American Pillar) and its root ball (which was dry and dusty) is now submerged in a huge container of water.
Magenta Single Dahlias
But there's more!
But there's more. I've also weeded the path at the other end of the new Hump Gardens, dug out a bucket full of Waiporoporo potatoes, and removed three large Anemanthele grasses, uncovering a large pumpkin (as one does). Shifted some large single magenta dahlias (THE most favourite dahlia for feeding the bees and butterflies).
A sensible girlie?
This has been one of our driest spring-summer leading into autumns ever. And finally I'm taking the irrigation pole placements, and the range of the watering, into account as I plot and plan my plantings. Ha! Have become a sensible girlie!