No more excuses!
Camellia Cinnamon Cindy
My doctor has blasted my face with liquid nitrogen. So this is a great excuse to come home, ignore the garden, and sink instead into the dog couch to read one of my library books? What a wimp! My face may look funny but it doesn't hurt a bit.
Walked the dogs past the red rhododendron Cornubia, said hello. Nodded appreciatively to the tall Camellia Cinnamon Cindy (though her leaves were looking a little pale). Waved out to the pink Azalea flowering in the middle of the Island Bed. Promised to clear out the rather dead looking Anemanthele grasses underneath it, using the well-worn phrase 'maybe tomorrow'. Oh dear.
Having successfully got through until dusk reading and playing Albeniz on my piano, I am now feeling a bit guilty. I have wasted a whole day! Outside the temperature has been under ten degrees Celsius, but really. There's been no reason not to do some gardening work.
Rhododendron Cornubia and Phormium Cream Delight
Scabby face? My garden wouldn't have even noticed. And my second Covid booster injection in my arm? Not even the slightest bit sore. I am gently ashamed of myself. No more excuses, please!
Wednesday 10th August
So today I've been trimming and collecting mess and taking it to the bonfire. This includes rose prunings, dead ferns, and pieces of Hypericum, and one large Miscanthus Zebrinus. It doesn't feel like like I'm getting anywhere, but I must be! Positive thoughts! Have also sliced out plain green flax fans from striped hybrids which are reverting.
Golden Tribute
Ominous...
Something rather ominous to report - the rose Golden Tribute that I planted for World Peace, all those years ago (immediately after 9-11) has finally died, having struggled for the last five years. Oh dear. Perhaps I just buy a replacement? World Peace definitely needs refreshing.
Risky...
Time for an afternoon cup of tea while I ponder this rather gloomy event. Buying commemorative roses is so risky. I do wonder how many 'Best Friend's and 'Dearly Beloved's have bitten the dust, so to speak?
Saturday 13th August
So I've enjoyed two solid gardening days, where I've trimmed ferns, pruned roses, cut back ornamental grasses, taken everything to the bonfire, and burnt it in the late afternoon. My plodding route goes right past the creamy Camellias which are in flower - a few sneaky brown bits around the edges, but pretty!
Cream Camellia
Alas for the big pink Azalea in the Island Bed. Was admiring its bigness and pinkness only three days ago. Two moderate overnight frosts later - oops. All the flowers have gone brown. A fleshy pinkish brown, but never-the-less brown. Blast! I meant to take more photographs (the one below was taken in 2018).
Pink Azalea
The Island bed is three quarters trimmed and cleaned up, and so is the side house garden by the driveway. Good work. I can see the improvement, which is what matters. And the baby pink Camellia (an original shrub by the house arches) is in full flower. Oh so pretty! There's something about pink...