Reflection...

Growing in the Driveway lawn, with some friends.
Orange Daffodil

Reflection is a good habit, yes? Counting your blessings. Or, trying not to be too greedy, choosing three good things that happened in the day and thinking deeply and fondly about them at bedtime.

If I've had a busy day on the garden I have squillions of good things to think about. Even little things, like being surprised by the beautiful colour of a pretty daffodil, or remembering to plant the pieces of Bergenia cilata which are busily sprouting.

But it's only mid-afternoon, and I must save my choices until much closer to bedtime. I've been spreading garden mix on the potato patch, and weeding madly. I've planted a pink Grootendoorst and some peonies in the Hump Garden, while keeping an eye on Lilli-Puss (providing rather vague cat-company) and Red Fred (in one of his beastly bully-boy ambushing moods, stalking Lilli).

The big flowering Cherry tree in the Driveway lawn.
Blossom

Two more hours in the garden, I think, finishing possibly with a mini-bonfire. Aargh! A stinky bonfire - am not keen. The immediate (and non-burning) question is whether to finish the garden mix spreading, or find something nicer and less repetitive to do. Hmm. Back soon.

Much Later...

Ha! I didn't want to pollute the air with any stinky burning. So I planted a red Phormium in a huge pot, placed it on a low tree stump by the potato patch, raked the new garden mix around, pruned a random rose that had missed out.

The yellow shrubs are Choisya sundance.
The Hump Garden with new Red Phormium

Then I went over to the Allotment Garden in the late afternoon sun - just beautiful - and simply weeded. Hand and knees, filling and refilling a bucket, nice and slow. Saw lots of red Orach seedlings - love them.

I'm all keen to name my three blessings for today. Here they are :

  1. The big flowering cherry tree, in full blossom and noisily humming with bees.
  2. That red Phormium - what a beauty!
  3. Smoke-free hair. Nice, a great choice not to bonfire.

And if I can have a non-gardening blessing as well (just one) - I have a new library book to read in bed. Yeay!

Hmm...
The Bonfire

Thursday 16th September

Today I started off by spreading more garden mix. Non-Gardening Partner promised it was going to drizzle (or even rain) by mid-afternoon. So I waited til late lunchtime, then cranked up the bonfire. I barrowed in loads of rose prunings. And dead grasses. All the mess I've trimmed off the garden over lockdown. And hedge trimmings from the orchard. But it wouldn't start raining. That was my signal to stop, you see.

I pruned the Hydrangeas underneath the apple trees and threw the bits on the bonfire. Humph. Still no rain.

A bit later...

Blast! It never rained. I made myself burn five more barrow loads. Enough. And should be happy knowing that I've given my roses (over two hundred of them, oops) a good prune and now I've burnt all the prunings. A personal promise for tomorrow : no bonfire! Yeay!

As seen from the Hump Garden.
Blossom Trees

Three good things for today?

  1. Clean hair
  2. Clean clothes
  3. Sweet smelling hands (hand cream).

I don't think I've quite got this blessing concept right. My choices are too tangible, too physical. And I'm over-obsessed with smoke.

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