Paths...
Oops. Path problems in the Hump Gardens. What am I? I am a path. Where am I? In a lovely garden. Why am I? To give the lovely gardener gentle access to stuff. Am I important? Not as important as the plants and trees. Oh. That explains it, then.
Cercis Tree in Hump Garden
So do the black-currant bushes get shifted? The shining Anemanthele grasses dug out? Is the path totally decommissioned? My rule is simple : no tree branches (Cercis) can be removed or lovely shrubs (the beautiful species rose Fenderlei) pruned or beautiful plants (the striped Phormium) shifted. So if the path between any of these lovelies doesn't fit any more, then the path goes.
Summer Bee
Sort out the paths...
So today I sort out the Hump Garden paths while I weed further down the slope. And this is where - oops - I'm thinking of building a new path. Hopeless! It will be long and straight and will be a dividing line between beautifully planted well-behaved garden (above) and weedy mess (below).
Five hours later...
Started by blocking off a piece of one path. The huge stump has now become a destination - a perfect end-point, to be sat on with a cup of tea (see photograph). The next path shifted easily - only Agapanthus had to be dug out and replanted. Flattened the soil, edged it with logs. Not a problem. This path now also arrives at the big stump, before slithering down to the bottom of the garden. Suddenly the big stump is the Destination de Jour, hee hee.
Sitting on the big Stump
Sunday 16th January
Went into the Hump Garden armed with spades, diggers, the kitchen scissors. The plan was to shift the path by the ever-expanding Cercis tree. Hmm. Forgot how hot and sunny this part of the garden is in mid-summer, close to midday. Silly. Lasted all of half an hour, but have affirmed that I am doing the right thing.
Attacking the Dead Rose
Meanwhile Non-Gardening Partner has been tying without success to pull the remains of the dead woodshed rambling rode off the roof of the woodshed, using the tractor. He has gone off to buy new tarpaulins for the dog kennel runs. So we have both been stymied - what a groovy word!
White Buddleia
Later...
I love the new path at the bottom of the Hump - it's half done, and follows a tough, fat irrigation pipe. More of an access for gardening path than a route - at the moment it stops at a thicket of rogue potatoes. But it draws a line (hee hee) in the sand (almost, hee hee), separating the cultivated (so to speak) garden from the messy dumping place by the shelter hedge.
Meanwhile, the dead rose is proving difficult for NGP and his tractor, but I have faith. He is an engineer. He works out how to fix things.
Butterflies and honey bees are all over the new white Buddleia shrub. Beautiful - no wonder that it's also called a Butterfly Bush.