The inner-weeder...
Dandelion and Forget-Me-Not
Inside every good gardener lurks a placid, slow-paced, well-behaved weeder. One who is happy to kneel (or sit) in the mud for hours, teasing out tiddly weeds with their fingertips...
Thursday 6th September
Hmm... Where's mine gone? Yesterday I weeded for four hours. I sat, knelt, lunged, bent over, and sprawled, coaxing unwanted little green things out of the garden. I filled my wheelbarrow three times with weedy offerings.
My fingers got filthier and filthier. I got crosser and crosser, and kept wanting to give up, ending the day in a dissatisfied, disillusioned heap on the dog couch. 'Humph' was the word - weeding was a hopeless exercise, it didn't suit my style, and why should I even bother?
Not the sort of day to inspire entertaining garden journal writing, that's for sure. And absolutely nothing worth taking a photograph of.
Alkanet
But today...
But today - yeay! The worm has turned! I managed to reconnect with my inner-weeder. It was simply a question of scale, the same as hiking in the mountains. One has to adapt one's expectation of how far away things look, and how long things take. One's attitude to both time and size needs to be modified. Only then can one live 'in the moment' and enjoy inner peace. Definitely applies to garden weeding.
And so my weeding went really well. I even liked what I was doing. I cleaned around the Herb Spiral, shifted in some seedling foxgloves, and spread mulch on the circular path. A decision - no vegetables by the spiral any more. The surrounding gardens are going to be dedicated to flowers.
A Herb Spiral is a peaceful and spiritual structure - well mine is, though the idea of planting three Rosemaries in the top compartment might have been a little 'OTT'. Anyway, as a random, well-meaning but lazy cook, I prefer my veggies in functional pots on the patio. Potted up some rainbow beets and some pak choi to emphasise this idea.
Rosemary
And now - what do I want for my birthday? It's soon. A trailer load of fancy-pants 'garden mix' for the Herb Spiral's surrounding garden is what I want, so I can then plant all my excess roses in the spaces. Brilliant idea!
Spring in the Wattle Woods
Finished the day wandering around the Wattle Woods just enjoying all the shrubs and trees. I love the greenery in here. I love the different textures, and the paths. I love the Wattle trees and their bright yellow spring flowers. Didn't really see any weeds worth mentioning. Phew!