Messy and Scruffy...
My lovely garden. My messy, scruffy January garden, soon to be my messier and scruffier February garden. Because February is supposed to be a messier and scruffier month. Eek!
Bit of Mess
But I have proudly finished deconstructing the Yellow Wave Phormium by Middle Bridge. Haven't cleaned up my mess, nor have I picked up the gum bark from the lawns. So who exactly is messy and scruffy?
Monday 29th January
I was out yesterday at a musical doo. Had fun - barged into the Dixie band to play tambourine (my friends also joined in on washboard and cahun, alarming the tuba player). While I was out, Non-Gardening Partner very kindly mowed the lawns over the water race. So today I had a long bottom-sliding session trimming and weeding in the Stumpy Garden. Stashed the bags of firewood underneath the hedge. The borders look sooooooo much better with mowed lawns.
Watering the Hedge
Wednesday 31st January
First I cleaned up Middle Path, carting off loads of Phormium leaves which had been blocking the path. Wasn't I good to remember this? Inspired by the possibility of tripping over them and landing in the garden, I was.
Then I put the hoses on the Allotment Garden, particularly the rugosa hedge roses. I started cleared out old Lychnis, Campion, and Euphorbias, trimmed back rugosa suckers, and uncovered the Red Fountain Cordyline. Still alive, under all that mess!
Mad dogs and gardeners...
Not only do mad dogs and gardeners go out in the midday sun, they sometimes do so for nearly three hours! But there was a cooling breeze and a hose nearby to freshen up my face. Have decided that the Allotment Garden garden gets the prize for the messiest, scruffiest border in my garden. It misses out on the big irrigation, and previous plantings (e.g. roses) have suffered dreadfully in the dry dusty soil. Even the weeds suffer from lack of moisture!
Agapanthus
The Allotment Garden needs to be thoughtfully replanted. Last autumn I dug out most of the smaller roses, but I left The Lady of Megginch behind, oops. So sorry! How about Agapanthus? This is my go-to plant for dry and difficult places, and I have spare plants which can be dug up and relocated. Not silly. Not too scruffy, either!