Blossoming, not blossoming...

 So heavy!
Bags of Horse Manure

The garden is blossoming with the last of the flowering cherries and the beautiful dogwood trees. My garden mood isn't blossoming at all - am busy spreading bags of horse manure on the garden. Aargh! This are making me cross - the bags are so heavy to handle. And a bit slimy. Not so pretty. Definitely not pink and white fluffy stuff.

Carted some over to the Hump Garden. Am using them to fill in the bottom of the new garden area by the wooden retaining wall. I cover them with chopped up forget-me-nots so the worms get a decent chance to dive into the soil below. Only six bags though. Did my best. Not a very good best.

Then remembered the deciduous Azaleas by the water race - as one does at this time of the year. They might like some organic matter? Took them a couple of bags, heaved the contents around. Slopped wet manure all over my gardening boots. Oops.

Have been taking photographs of the blossom in the Pond Paddock, before it all gets blown away. It's almost the end of the blossom flowering season in my garden - just the Crabapple Charlotte to go. Thought : my weeping Silver Pears are so easy to miss - their blossom seems to last about a week. Now you see it, now you don't.

 A creeping ground cover, can be a nuisance.
Blue Bugle

Saturday 23rd October

Please can today in the garden be full of joy, accomplishments, improvements, go easy on the hard physical labour, and not have anything to do with horse manure.

So what's first? Aha! I'm making bread, and it's twenty minutes away from being cooked - such a wonderful smell to fill the house with. Twenty minutes to hang around and wait. Enough time to write a list, if I felt like it.

Alas!

Alas, physical labour and horse manuring are what I should be doing out there. Shifting more heavy bags into the Hump Garden, for example. Got a bit titchy about that yesterday. Remind self that what goes into the garden affects what comes out. Remind self that I am mentally tough, have strong arms, and good discipline... Oh really?

Much Later...

Humph. Shifted and spread bags of horse manure, that's all I seemed to do. Had a look and a think about the garden by the Koru courtyard, planted a few Agapanthus clumps there around the circle edge.

Ideas : continue the wee stone edge? Transplant some Gunnera? Have found an alarming number of juvenile plants on the 'wrong' (my designation) side of the water race. Plant some of the green Carexes I have in pots? Not sure, so did a bit of weeding here and there. Took more photographs, particularly of the Dogwoods just starting to flower. Beautiful trees.

 With white bracts.
Dog and Dogwood Tree

My bread was a great success, taste-wise, although it was shaped like a brick.