An ultimatum!
Patio Wisteria
An ultimatum. I have been an indoors lazybones these last four days, poking around on my website, ogling at photographs, updating tired old web pages. Today I do some proper winter gardening. Outside! I work in the Jelly Bean Border and the Pond Paddock.
Details, please...
Details, please. I cut down all its Viburnum suckers. I also rake all the Pond Paddock leaves into bags. I barrow more firewood over to the house. I keep going and going. And no scuttling back into the house to do my jigsaw. OR ELSE! Or else what? I'll think of something.
Do I care that it's still only one degree Celsius outside? No I do not. I will start at 9am, like proper working people do. What about rewards? Winnie (my recovering dog) is now allowed four short walks on the leash per day. These will be my rewards. Plus hot cups of tea and coffee.
Much Later...
Ha! Those stern words worked. I shifted the firewood, I raked the leaves off the Pond Paddock - a dozen large bags squashed full. I made a good start on clearing the Jelly Bean Border.
Small Pink Azalea
The large Azaleas I planted in here (dug out of my friend's garden last mid-summer) have barely made it, but they can have another year to sort themselves out. Have trimmed off the dead branches. The interior now needs in-filling with suitable shrubs, so have come inside have a think.
Buy more Azaleas...
So here are three ideas. I buy a few more Azaleas for a proper mass planting in the middle. I buy some Choisya ternata, one of my favourite go-to shrubs. It's cheerful, lightly fragrant, evergreen, blooms in spring, and nothing seems to eat it. I also shift in three Viburnum Opulus 'sterile' (?), AKA Snowball bushes, from the inhospitable and non-irrigated edge of the Welcome Garden.
Would they prefer life in the Jelly-Bean Garden? I wish that plants could talk. Gardener Google told me they need lots of organic matter and partial shade is OK. Sounds perfect!
Beautiful winter colours
Thursday 3rd June
I've woken up full of creative enthusiasm (and planting plans), thanks to yesterday's great five-hour effort. Luckily, buying in new plants will be painless if I use my voucher, hee hee.
But balance is also required. Winter garden maintenance goes on - the Lavender Garden by the dog kennels is riddled with gum leaves and bark, all of which have to be burnt. And, alas, it's not particularly 'lavendery' at the moment. I will let it know my intentions...
Dear Dog Kennel Lavender Garden...
Dear Dog Kennel Lavender Garden,
As a reward for clearing off all that pesky Eucalyptus mess I am gifting you some more lavender plants. If you don't mind I will swap them for your two surviving yellow roses. Hope this is OK. Lots of love, your Head Gardener.
Later...
I came back from the nursery with the following :
- Two Azaleas
- Three Choisya ternatas
- Four Lavenders
- Some garlic for planting.
Didn't start the Lavender Garden, but I bagged up Wisteria leaves off the patio, then did lots more clearing in the Jelly Bean Border - two and a half hours, four more barrowfuls. Laid the new plants out in spaces. No need to rush. Couldn't do any bonfiring because the water-blasterer was here preparing more of the house roof for painting.