Christmas garden presents...

A cotinus, a miscanthus and a variegated cordyline are welcomed into the Moosey Garden. My Christmas garden presents (some rose archways) are installed. Merry Christmas.

Monday 15th December

I started out today weeding in the Septic Tank Garden - enjoyable, as the weather was quite overcast. I dead-headed Abraham Darby (I always seem to be doing this). Then I watered (ditto). I did some work in the front of the JAM Garden - there are too many gaps in there! I trimmed the rose Pimpifolia (have I spelt that right?) which was far too sprawly, and pulled out the remaining foxgloves. I definitely need more shrubs.

 Iceberg the white rose flowers just before Christmas.
Cat in the Driveway

Tuesday 16th December

I did absolutely no gardening today - not even any watering! I finished my Christmas jigsaw (an odd summer tradition), read a cool book on grasses, and then the rose arches arrived! Yippee! I can buy lots of climbing roses - better do some serious rose research.

My plans for tomorrow are to water in the glass-house, pot up my dianthus cuttings, and hope that the hot nor-west wind stops blowing. All my foxgloves have been blown horizontal. Who stakes their foxgloves? Hmm...

Wednesday 17th December

I've cut back the low-growing blue penstemon by Mary Rose. The hoses are on. I've also cut back the perennial cornflowers. I am trying out a new, high quality mulcher-shredder (i.e. a brand new pair of kitchen scissors). I've watched a very mature, highly seasoned and extremely stinky rabbit carcass disappear into Taj-Dog's digestive system (he's NOT sleeping on the bed tonight).

By the way, we suck at cricket. Just as well this isn't allowed to be a cricket diary.

 I like using the New Zealand native carexes in plantings.
Carex Buchananii

Thursday 18th December

I keep wanting to write heaps of trivia in this diary. Oh dear! I've gone apres-gardening (in my new plum-purple linen apres-gardening shirt) and it's only 11am. However, I am on a watering mission to look after the top of the Pond garden and the Mary Rose Border (by the house - have to look after my name-sake roses).

I have planted out all the plum-purple annual cornflowers (same colour as my shirt). They have been very strange germinating - it's taken two attempts, the last lot are really late but look healthy. I mush buy some more dwarf daylilies. I must buy some shrubs

.

Later

I did it! I bought some flaxes, TWO Miscanthus (sinesis zebrinus), a variegated cordyline for $50 (ouch), a Carex Buchananii and a Cotinus. Cool. I have always wanted a cotinus. Now I have one. I am content.

 The perfect place for an archway.
My Christmas Present is Up!

I have just returned to the garden - it's 7:15pm. The rest of this afternoon was horribly windy - most unpleasant. I sat and read my garden books and talked to the cats. Where should I plant the new flaxes? I need to make a list of things to do tomorrow.

Things to Do Tomorrow

Friday 19th December

My head is crammed full of ideas. Should I plant the bronze flax next to Graham Thomas? Which rose should grow on the Pond archway? A red flax by the Frisbee Lawn archway?

Saturday 20th December

My younger son has cut off his dreadlocks. But this is a strictly gardening diary!

I still have too many ideas. I could shift delphiniums (too big, too blue, they break and fall over). I should rethink the JAM Garden - more paths? I must plant all the new flaxes. I could buy more shrubs...

Maybe I could buy a small specimen tree for the wee garden by the house decking. Then again, one of my new large bronze flaxes would look nice there, if a little traditional.

Later...

I didn't actually do much, because it rained a bit. I did a lot of thinking, though. I tried to be really sensible and thought about structural planting schemes for the ill-designed JAM Garden. I planted the (ten!) new tussock grasses, as well - though not in the JAM garden. They were distributed around the house gardens to give some foliage interest among the roses.

Sunday 21st December

The JAM Garden may get the Cotinus AND the Miscanthus! What shall I do first today? The second rose archway leading into the Pond Paddock is now dug into position, looking pretty cool (looking pretty bare until I plant a rose or two to cover it!). The rose arches are my Christmas present. We are off for a trip to the mountains (where it should be cooler).

 Taj-Dog is tired out after working hard in the garden with me...
Tired Dog

Tuesday 23rd December

I've only managed two hours of gardening today - it's very blustery and too hot. I pulled out the Echiums, and hand-shredded them with my scissors.

Wednesday 24th December

It is going to be 28 degrees today, so I will start my gardening earlier. I'll do the edges around the Pond Gardens and listen to the running water. The fifty dollar cabbage tree (I have NEVER paid so much money for a plant before) is going into the big pot, then I am going to spend the day shifting hoses.

Thursday 25th December

The new Cordyline still isn't planted, and one of the purple ones has been eaten by some unknown insect - maybe a moth. Merry Christmas.

.

Saturday 27th December

I cleared the heaps of dry compost under the Wattle trees. There was a bumble bee nest there with lots of half-sized bumble bees zooming around. I tried to let it be. Also the almost-black fantail twittered and swooped around me. Now I have two more feet of Wattle Woods Garden, and space for a path. I have shifted lots of Iris confusa. The Wattle Woods are organised!

Sunday 28th December

Gosh - what should I do first? Strike and pounce on some unsuspecting weed?

Wednesday 31st December

All I've been doing is trying to listen to my cricket radio (a crisis with the Lancaster Park pitch - the bowlers' run-ups were left uncovered, and the umpires had to call the game off), and pottering around a bit weeding and watering. A predictable (and slightly boring?) way to end the year 1997.