Motivated?
I've been inspired - no, not the word - motivated - by my wheelbarrow. How old and useful it is, how much I love it being green, and how quickly (or otherwise) I can happily (or otherwise) fill it with garden stuff : tools, rubbish, plants, gnomes...
Green Wheelbarrow Over the Years
So here's the plan. There are so many different gardening things that I need to be doing, each and every day. I think I can already hear a groaning sound... Each day I must fill the barrow with :
- At least three loads of trimmings from garden borders. This includes rose prunings.
- At least three loads of rakings from paths.
- At least three loads of random things like firewood, stones, etc.
I must burn the burnables, dump the dumpables, stack the stackables, and dispose of the disposables. Easy. The number three is so satisfying. When you make a good start doing just three things you've almost finished them. I also need to barrow leaf mould onto the new garden behind the Shrubbery. Yippee! Some of last year's bags of oak leaves have magically transformed. And over the weekend I have to fill and empty the trailer once. I have three choices : a load of stones, a load of top-soil/compost, or a load of mess shifted from the Hump.
Trust This Wheelbarrow?
Oh boy! I can definitely hear someone groaning. This is serious, considering that I have two singing rehearsals and a weekend concert to tra-la-la in. Hmm.
Much Later...
Three words. Simplicity. Satisfaction. Success.
Sunday 26th July
I had a great morning, barrowing loads of top-soil/compost into the garden around the Herb Spiral, weeding around the pergola, and pruning roses. I found lots of little seedlings of Queen Anne's Lace, and tried to be careful. I did three of everything.
Monday 27th July
Today my car is at the garage all day, and the day temperature is rather balmy. It will be a great day for gardening. The morning has already started off beautifully with the dawn birds noisier than ever. Singing in the spirit of spring, perhaps? My own patio birds are busily fluttering over their fresh bird feeder, a new piece of pineapple, and a little cup of honeyed water. Tiddles sits on the outdoor table pretending to be a tabby cat statue. Hmm...
Part of the Allotment Garden
So what shall I do first? Incorporating my three-loads-of-everything barrowing plan, I will work in the Allotment Garden. I also need to tidy up the edges - some ill-mannered vehicle has run over and dislodged the logs.
Later...
I did some brilliant gardening in the Allotment Garden, halted rather nicely by the arrival of my Primo for a little pre-lunch Brahms piano dueting. And she bought me some sushi! Three more hours, to add to the two I did this morning, makes five. That's pretty good, I reckon.
The Allotment Garden is very long. This afternoon I've been mainly weeding, and I still haven't quite reached the last section with the new roses. But I've been thorough. I've dug up strawberry plants and put them in a huge terracotta pot. I've dug up self-sown Lychnis plants from the driveway and planted them. I've found more wood to sure up the sides of the gardens.
Still No Fence...
There's still no fence between my driveway and next-door's. Naturally the dogs poke around in the same location that I'm gardening, to be near me. And so it was that the neighbour's car (going pretty fast down her driveway) nearly ran Winnie over. I was really furious. I shouted at her : 'SLOW DOWN!!!!' Fair enough?
Sunny Yellow Calendula
More Allotment thoughts : the miniature Agapanthus gets badly frosted, and should come out. Also it would be nice to have a few more Pittosporums on the high stone-edged part of the garden, to further screen the next-door cottage. OK. So tomorrow I try to finish the whole area quickly. For the dogs' safety I want to spend as little time by the driveways as possible. Now I'm going to have a nice hot bath, to soak away my dog anxieties. Grr...