I still haven't finished my rose pruning...
I still haven't finished my rose pruning. And the weather has finally decided to turn wintry - rain, sleet, light dustings of snow, and a chill wind from the deep south. Humph...
Friday 27th August
Today snow is forecast to sea level - hard to argue with this, since the Moosey garden is definitely above this height. I have therefore decided on a policy of complete denial. I'm about to go into the garden to clean up the piles of next year's firewood (seems appropriate). Then I'll do some more rose pruning and burn the rubbish pile. Just let it dare snow before I've finished!
Brave Little Pansies
Hmm... I have returned to the house a little prematurely. It's just too cold - I'll try again in an hour or so. I also feel a little lazy (this is perfectly OK and allowed). It's too windy to burn my rubbish fire.
It's Snowing!
And now it's snowing. Ridiculous. What about spring? What about daffodils and jonquils and grape hyacinths and tulips and bluebells gently swaying in a balmy breeze?
Pink Spring Blossom
This weather is miserable. I have given up.
Saturday 28th August
Humph again - again it's cold, and snow is forecast to sea level. What a non-garden-friendly couple of weeks we've had! Today I am giving the weather the morning hours to improve - it's possible that I'll only get in some quality glass-house time. I dread to think of my germinating seeds (the glass-house isn't heated). We're lucky we're not having any lambs this year.
This afternoon I will defiantly gather up some spring flowers for the house.
Later in the Afternoon...
Hopeless - too wet, too windy, too cold.
Garden Gnome
Sunday 29th August
It's still cold and damp, but thankfully there's no southerly wind. I'm going to try really hard to accomplish more of my winter-clean-up tasks, and I'll head into the glass-house for breaks. There's a psychological barrier I need to overcome (actually it's much simpler - more like a good book, a comfy fireside chair, and the log burner flaming merrily). If I get too cold outside I can always go for a brisk walk (doesn't quite have the same appeal)...
If I don't get any good gardening done, then I am not allowed to rejoin this diary and ramble - my punishment will be a forced silence for the rest of the day. We'll see if this does the trick!
Lunchtime - Three Successful Hours Later...
It did! I have done all sorts of important things in the glass-house - sowing more seeds, taking more sliced cuttings of lupins, for example. And I have pruned the pergola roses. I am an exciting winter gardener again - pity about my boring rambling diary reports!
Monday 30th August
Finally - Sunshine! Blue skies! Frost! - Oh well, it means I have to wait until 11 am before I can successfully weed anything, but at least I can be operational today. I wonder if I'll finish the never-ending rose pruning? Firewood collecting and stacking? Trimming and cutting back of scruffy perennials? Burning?
I have lots to do. I'm off.
The First Flowers of the White Camellia
And I'm back after two lovely hours in the sun. I've cleared the small Laundry garden and pruned a couple of standard roses rediscovered in the undergrowth. This garden is full of Shasta daisies and Heleniums - two rather annoying perennials - but until I have definite plans for remodelling and replacement they stay (I get annoyed with the daisies soon after flowering, and they don't smell very nice).
Much Later, Apres-Gardening...
I am back! - or my gardening alter ego certainly is! I have cleared and weeded the garden near the Laundry, affectionately known as the Septic Tank Garden. I've trimmed an over-large yellow Banksia rose and let in heaps of light. Hopefully the Stella D'Oro daylilies underneath will appreciate that and actually flower this summer! I have had attentive, gurgling chook company all day - rooster has even posed on the handles of the wheelbarrow! I have burnt my rubbish. Moosey the Late Winter Gardener is definitely BACK!!!
Winter Berries
Tuesday 31st August
Today I am home all day, and the weather looks good. Yippee! What shall I do first? Stacking next year's firewood would give me a feeling of responsible forward planning. Finishing the giant rose prune would give a sense of finality. Weeding the vegetable garden and enlarging it (hee hee) would celebrate the circle of life. Finishing the clean-up of the Septic Tank garden would be the down-to-earth option. Hmm... so many delightful choices... and it was delightfully fragrant working yesterday near the Daphne bushes by the laundry...
Late Lunchtime...
It has been a few weeks since I could proudly use the words GARDENING LEGEND. Ha! I have been super-productive - the vegetable garden is now super-sized, and the Laundry Seat is clear of plant debris (like self sown lavenders growing in the gap between the planks). My cricket radio claims that New Zealand Spring starts officially on September 23rd - according to well known gardening personality Rudd Kleinpaste (known for his love of bugs and insects). I am going to assert my independence - the Moosey Official Springtime WILL START tomorrow!
Now it's 4 pm and I have done over five hours work in my garden. I think I have almost finished the rose pruning, too - Clair Matin and Mermaid are done, as are the Ballerinas by the pond. I am really tired.