Morning coffee...
Paddy Stephens Rose
Sitting on my patio table with my morning coffee. Yes! What a beautiful morning - no rain! Sunshine = happiness! I started writing down my plans on paper. A nice, old-fashioned thing to do, a lovely, positive thing, yes?
Here's what I wrote first : This afternoon I have to light my bonfire. Aargh! Why? Because it's there? No. Because there's been no rain for two days now, and the pile is drier. Rose pruning starts in a week or so, so there will be lots more stuff to burn.
I know, I know. Burning bonfires is not pleasant, but there's no other way for me to process the masses of gum bark and leaves around my garden.
Then I wrote the following list - check out the title :
The Most Boring List Ever
- Shift patio pots of Pelargoniums (nasty frosty weather is coming).
- Shift pond decking pots of Cannas (ditto).
- Clear and sweep patio path and steps.
- Rake up more leaves.
And finally a stern sentence, a reminder of gardening protocols :
Memo to self : you CANNOT do winter gardening in your good Salewa walking shoes. NO WAY. NO!
it all sounded rather grumpy...
It all sounded rather grumpy, but actually I ended up having a wonderfully positive day. Boy, those Canna pots were heavy! They're in the glass-house, and I promise to repot them soon. I plodded around an awful lot, delivering barrowloads here and there.
Bags of Leaves
Then it was bonfire time. Wandered around the house gardens three times looking for my rake. Found it by the pond. Then plodded off to collect up gum bark and dead Cordyline leaves. But my bonfire worked really well. I'm ready for the nasty frosty weather which is forecast.
Where is Speckles?
Please come back, Speckles...
But where is Speckles, my wild stray cat? He hasn't come to the cottage for his meals for three days now. I worry that he will annoy someone and get himself shot as a feral cat nuisance. Please take care, and please come back, Speckles.
Next morning...
Phew! Last night Speckles came back. He had two dinners, then curled up in his snuggly blanket in the verandah cat box as more rain (hello, rain! I missed you - not) pelted down. I lay snug in bed listening to the Ashes Cricket commentary (am hoping that Australia wins, hee hee). So glad that I burnt that bonfire. And that Spex was safe, warm and dry, with a full tummy. Such things matter a lot.
Saturday 1st July
Non-Gardening Partner had sort of agreed that he would chain-saw down a hopeless apple tree below the glass-house this weekend. 'Remember you said you'd chain-saw down that old apple tree' I said at morning tea. No response. 'You said!' I nagged (couldn't stop myself). 'I only said I might' said NGP grumpily. Did I really want the apple tree sawn down? Why did I want it down? Didn't I like it? I muttered something about no sun, no blossom, no apples. Silence. Hmm... Went outside in a sulk and did some very wet weeding by the pergola. I spent ages leaning into the garden to chop down a huge green Carex grass. My feet got wetter and colder, and then - yippee!
Winter Chain-sawing
Along came the man with the chain-saw. It took him all of ten minutes. I've only just begun the clean up - have collected one barrow load of logs. I am lopping up small branch lengths for kindling for next winter. The scruffy little bits go on the bonfire, along with the rose Lavender Lassie which was inter-twined in the tree. Most of it had died back.
Very exciting...
It will be very exciting for the Holly shrub, which now has more room and light. And for the gardener (me) who has four hundred dollars worth of vouchers to spend on new shrubby plants.