The need to weed...
Corokia Flowering
The need to weed my garden is getting rather serious. Some days it feels like an impossible task to get on top of. But chemical weeding is not really my style. What to do? Just get on with it, little and often.
Saturday 17th October
So have just spent four hours doing some really annoying weeding by hand. I've been clearing the end of the Dog-Path garden, just upstream of the Plank.
Built a wee stone wall, covered the weeded garden it hugs with bags of horse manure, and planted two rugosa roses out in the sunshine by Willow Bridge. Am trying my best to do everything properly. I understand that horse manure will have weed seeds in it.
Bought a couple of cherry tomato seedlings from the veggie stall down the road, as well as eggs and two big pots of spotty Ligularias. Have planted my lettuce seedlings in patio pots - three in each, should be enough growing room. Now it's time to have a shower and go apres-gardening. That's a good feeling.
Sunday 18th October
On my way home from singing Palestrina I stopped at the Garden Centre. I bought two hand diggers, one hand scraper, and a pair of gardening gloves to make weeding more efficient. Grabbed some tough shrubs - three Hebes, one golden Escallonia, one variegated Weigela.
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Weigela Flowering
All are now planted near the rugosas, and I've pulled out a lot more weeds. Much easier when I don't use my fingers like a claw!
The most dreadful sound ...
I moved upstream past the remains of the old Willow Stump. Sat down to pull out millions of nettles and Ligularia seedlings. Heard the most dreadful metal clattering sound. Oh no! The lawn mower must have 'found' one of my missing hand tools (I've lost five). It trundled back to the garage, and very sheepishly I wandered over to check and/or apologise. Phew! Not me - the culprits were two rock-hard pinecones, hidden in the grass. Weed-killed the brick koru path (am allowed), and then went apres-gardening.
House Wisteria
Yeay! Planting new shrubs is much more creative than weeding.