So much growth...
Foliage in Middle Border
Suddenly it's November! So much growth, so many changes, so many weeds, so many aphids...
Saturday 4th November
I had to spray the roses for aphids - there is an aphid festival going on, they have even moved onto the aquilegias and scabious. My hand held puffs of pyrethrum spray and finger-squashing were fun but pretty ineffective. I am not proud of myself.
I cleared under the BIG GUM and put more pots there. It looks - well - rather contrived... I raked lawn clippings and spread them on new Pump House Garden, which looks hopeless. Then, after tea, I decided to take a glass of wine and stroll around the whole garden, like the gardeners in the magazines do, relaxing and enjoying the peaceful dusk. Humph... I saw all the weeds in Middle Border... retreated to house, very depressed...
Sunday 5th November
It's 6.30am and I am about to deal to Middle Border. At 4.30am (after we had just lost the cricket) I decided on the spade slicing technique, followed by extremely thick newspaper, old soil and assorted stuff, and topped by slabs of lucerne hay which Stephen has donated. Bah! TODAY WILL BE BETTER...
Much much later (6.30 pm)
Hmmm... I am about to do the owner's tour with glass of wine again. This time I hope it will be more enjoyable.
Today I decided to pretend that the garden was going to be open to the public, just to see how hard this would get me working. An interesting experiment which worked really well - I did all the edges, weeded like a lunatic, and kept going for 8 hours. I actually did things that I've been putting off, like digging out the lovage (I think it's called this - weedy thing with hairy stems and little blue flowers) from under the big Mutabilis, and spreading compost in needy places. I planted pansies. Unfortunately I ran out of newspaper for Middle Border's new weed-free look, but will ask my friends at work (which does not mean that I want to be a person who goes to work).
Humph...
Saturday 11th November
7 am - another grim day as I plan to lay more newspaper. Have taken midweek dusk rambles with Stephen and have decided that the garden is just not good enough. There are no inviting paths going places and the garden design is far too small-minded (I can't even counter this by claiming that it is a 'plantswoman's garden').
Saved by Sweeping Lawns
The sweeping lawns are the best part... I can see the entry in the (theoretical) open garden tour brochure - 'a small-minded garden saved by sweeping lawns'...