Blog-busted...
Aargh! I've been blog-busted? Lots of online 'personalised' ads for seniors' socks are suddenly popping up, offering me relief. Compression socks to get me back on my feet. Whatever! I must have blog-moaned (once) about an aching toe. My gardening feet do the business very well, thanks. Even if they are a little on the 'senior' side, hee hee...
These Boots are Made for Weeding?
The ad algorithms just don't get me. But wait - whatever has happened to all the self-winding magic watering hose ads I used to be bombarded with? Those were much closer to the mark. But enough of this nonsense. What have me and my energetic, non-aching feet been doing these last days? Well, not so much that I can start crowing, but enough to croak a bit. Yesterday I raked gum leaves off the Hen-House Gardens and paths, and trimmed Phormiums. Thus I fed a two hour bonfire, in which I successfully 'burnt' my best hand digger. Oops.
Autumn - the back of the Isand Bed
And as I raked up leaves, more and more floated slowly down. Autumn is in mid-flight now, and many of my ornamental trees are already naked. The leaves on the lawns are fleetingly glorious - all too soon I'll be raking and bagging them all.
Today has been interesting. First I did weeding and thinking. I weeded the potato patches in the Hump, and decided they can join the main Hump garden, which is planted with roses etc. So the initial paths I created are now unnecessary, and this is where the thinking comes in. What are the natural routes that a garden wanderer would want to take through this area?
Roses Etc.
'Roses Etc.' is a much overused planting concept in my garden. It allows me to deal with roses (and other plants) which are struggling, over-crowded, or over-shaded, and has nothing to do with good 'garden design'. Some years ago I went through a major rose rescuing phase, scooping up everyone's unwanted and unloved shrubs, thorns and all. Other shrubs then get poked in the gaps, and this all-sorts of everything mentality does not guarantee a harmonious garden look. But does this bother me? Not in the slightest...
As I poked at the soil and pondered, my dogs snoozed in the sun and the Fred cats played with an unfortunate mouse. Came inside to have lunch, dozed off in a chair (only for five minutes, honestly). Woke up to rain. Rain? All my tools were still outside, and I hadn't finished. So I returned, trundled ten bags of horse manure over to the Pond Paddock Garden, and laid more path edges for the new path underneath the flowering cherries.
Sorry...
Then I came inside, rather damp, to find that the mouse didn't make it. Sorry about that.