What do do first?
Flower Carpet Bright Pink Rose
Aargh! It's one of those 'What do do first? days. Sometimes when I take the dogs for their first walk around the garden I see SO MANY weeds and SO MUCH that needs doing. And I get back to the house and ask the obvious question.
Maybe today I'll try a different slant : 'What can I miss out today?' But that doesn't help at all, because the answer is 'Absolutely nothing'. So should I try to list the tasks in order? Am not feeling at all orderly today.
The plan...
So here's the plan : stop typing, get out there, and be random. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. First, last, what does it matter? And who cares if something isn't finished? Nothing in a garden can ever be finished. As soon as the raking is done, one more autumn leaf falls.
Three hours later...
Seems to be my limit, these days. Losing stamina? Sort of - the trouble is that I've been plodding back and forth, back and forth, with barrowfuls of bonfire rubbish, firewood logs, and so on. So now the leg which is attached to the dodgy knee is aching in sympathy. Ha! This is why genteel country gardeners have little ride-on zoomy things which tow a rubbish cart.
Woodland and Periwinkle
But look on the bright side! Trees have been chain-sawn down. But they have a finite number of branches, so there is a finite clean-up process. Yes? So to embrace this lovely finiteness, I am going back outside to cart two more barrowloads of mess.
Much later...
Hmm. The leg attached to the knee is still grumbling. A heated wheat bag, some rub-on pepperminty cream, and/or pills? All of the above plus a nice early night in bed should do the trick.
Souvenir de Madame Leonie Viennot
Wednesday 31st May
Right. Am off for a swim to tell the leg attached to the knee who's the boss. Then chamber music, then back to more of the garden clean-up. All things are possible.
Later...
Sometimes I make really good decisions. This afternoon I was clearing the path into my periwinkle-infested Shrubbery, through an archway over which the robust scrambler rose Mme Leonie de Viennot sprawls. I haven't been able to see this rose from the house lawn for some years, and so (considering angles etc.) neither has the sun, explaining why blooming has been so poor. This is a waste of a rose on an archway.
Four self-sown chunky Pittosporums were blocking a lot of light, so I've lopped off their top bits (with difficulty) as an ID for the chain-saw. Struggling Coprosmas have been lopped out, plus six self-sown plum trees covered in spikes (ouch), and a ten-years-dead (at least) Corokia. I'll try and dig out an ailing Cotinus and replant it. Hopefully its root ball will still be bucket-sized. Another large self-sown Ake Ake needs to go, and the leaning Eucalyptus tree needs a serious trim (with the chainsaw on the pole).
Hidden Archway in the Woodland
All in all a great afternoon's work, properly thinking things through, raking and trimming, and throwing Winnie's tennis ball through the trees. Am very happy. Madame Leonie won't know what's hit her in the spring!