Roses, roses, and more roses...

 The roses here are two New Dawns.
Patio Rose Arch

New Zealand loses the rugby world cup. Roses, roses, roses, and more roses. New Dawn is struck down by rust. Paths get stone-edged...

Saturday 6th November

It is now - six? days since we lost the rugby world cup. My garden has gone very bouffy, with rain and drizzle all week. The roses are starting! I seem to spend my life clipping edges - this seems somehow symbolic? And I have new gumboots - this is a good thing. I will now go outside and put them on.

Later that day...

Ha! My new gumboots are cool. I did great things in them, including digging the edges of the Frisbee Border. Now it is BIGGER. Tomorrow I will weed the new Rugosa border and I might dig it a bit bigger. Might not too.

 Plants are starting to bulk out nicely in here.
Hen House Border

Sunday 7th November

We are still hopeless at rugby. Aussie kicked butt in the final. There is a cool deep dark pink rugosa flowering. I am an idiot, I didn't write down any of their names when I got them.

The tall aquilegias have gone all floppy. Clair Matin rose seems early this year, so does Fruhlingsmorgen. Lots of roses are out now.

Saturday 13th November

Stephen and I went on a garden visit to Lyddington. Wow! I like the idea of enclosed areas where you end up on a seat. None of my seats have any sense of enclosure, or feeling of secrecy or isolation. My philosophy of paths needs re-thinking. I have to stop just putting them where the dog goes. I wonder what Middle Border will look like when the trees are bigger.

Sunday 14th November

Today I went out to the Rugosa border and decided to dig out the path and edge it with river stones. Then I ran out of oomph after about two hours. Hopeless! The roses are looking quite amazing - this spring has been rather rainy and so everything is growing fast. Cecile Brunner up the driveway has gone so crazy. But I have a CRISIS!!! New Dawn is UGLY with rust and leaves are dropping off (when did that start to happen?) A bald New Dawn is not a very nice sight near my front doors. Ugly Baldy Rusty New Dawn rose - in November - bah! Tomorrow I will get Stephen to round-up the NASTY GRASS.

Saturday 20th November

I am getting very disheartened by the NASTY GRASS, I keep poking at it with my hand trowel. And I have to start digging and weeding Middle Border.

Shall I edge all the new paths with Waimakariri River stones? I could plant lots of Iris confusa.

 This plant gets bigger... and bigger...
Unknown Spikey Plant

Sunday 21st November

Paths with stone edging have been affirmed. Stephen and I visited Stonehaven in Mid-Canterbury. I liked the paths that went nowhere. There were lots of dead-ends. And foxgloves and silly spiky pineapple plants. Paths where you lost your sense of direction. Paths with stone edges. Ha!!!

Tuesday 23rd November

Hee hee!! I am in Auckland in a wee hotel. Tomorrow I am off to the Ellerslie Flower show with my friend Astrid. Don't know what to expect, but it's pretty exciting - an old lady's adventure...

 Tree stumps don't figure in my landscaping plans!
Stumped in Middle Border

Back Home Next Evening...

I wasn't inspired to write much about Ellerslie. The displays were silly - they used small juvenile sized plants (like 6-inch gunnera in a small pot - BAH!) in the designs - small grade plants crammed into unrealistic planting situations. The plant stalls were cool, but all I bought was a cotton night-dress. The advertising blurb claims I will now be able to 'dead-head decently'...

Saturday 27th November

I did edges. That's all I did. My cool and groovy plan for expansive lawns over the water race has forgotten one small thing - 24 large gum stumps. Hmmm... Explosives?

Sunday 28th November

Wow! I have had an amazing day. I had 1 hour of wet stone shifting, then Stephen and I went on a garden tour. When we got home I cleared NASTY GRASS. I have another design dilemma besides the gum stumps - the rugosa rose side of the Hen House Garden is too small.