Easy as!
Finished!
This summer holiday gardening lark is so easy. One puts on a long sleeved cotton shirt, grabs a sunhat, slops on sunscreen, and does two gardening sessions : first thing in the morning and last thing in the afternoon. Easy as. In between times, one plays the piano, works on the summer jigsaw, does some web-gardening, and re-reads Harry Potter...
If it's still too hot at 4pm one can go into the water race with the breadknife. Or grab the kitchen scissors and cut some roses for the house.
Not so easy...
The organisation of Non-Gardening Partner is not so easy. He is supposed to help clean up the gun tree bark which has started to drop and play violin sonatas with the pianist (me) - three Bachs and a Debussy. He wanders off just as he's required (though he did mow the lawns yesterday afternoon).
So everything for the garden in 2023 seems to be working well - including the gardener. I've cleared the edges around the driveway lawn. I've spent hours digging out weeds etc. from the Hump Garden, with one of the Fred cats keeping me company. Have stopped trying to work out which Fred - a bit dangerous to lift the tail to check (Red Fred has a small gap in one of his tail stripes)
Fred showing his tummy
I've replanted Lychnis and miniature Agapanthus plants, dead-headed roses. Just early mornings and late afternoons, enjoying up to four to five pleasant gardening hours.
Pink Rose and White Sport
Back in early spring I planted three friend-gifted standard roses in the Hump garden. They are happily flowering - two are almost certainly Margaret Merrills, but the third is a puzzle. It's a fragrant fluffy pink, sporting (and I use this word correctly) one stem with fluffy white flowers. See the above photograph. A very, very fragrant rose. My friend didn't know its name.
Magenta Lychnis
Friday 6th January
A hot day - about thirty degrees Celsius! so I've been into the water race behind the Stables, nicely in the shade. Oh boy! There's been a huge amount of growth, both desirabvle and undesirable. Rhododendrons fuller and fatter than ever, grass weeds everywhere, Phormium leaves blocking the way, rogue Gunnera with roots reaching half way across the water channel. Oops. Spent two hours, happy and cool, with the kitchen scissors and the breadknife - brilliant garden tools.
Easy!
Gardening really is easy - wish it was just as easy to get NGP to practice his violin! Any suggestions? Chocolate? Donuts? A pizza loaded with ham and pineapple pieces?