Out of control?
Am still cleaning up the garden. I am always cleaning up! There is so much growth to - control? Don't like to use that word, but it does rather apply. And I love seeing the results. More enjoyable than cleaning the house.
Tiger the Cat
Friday 7th February
Today I did some grunty gardening in the interior of the Hump Garden where dearly departed Tiger the cat rests. Hello Tiger!
Carefully (!) I dug out a huge pink dahlia (hopelessly crowded out by the Miscanthus Zebrinus) while Tiger slumbered on underneath, blissfully unaware. Collected and dumped three barrowfuls of mess (mainly Campion and Lamium).
Off to the vet...
Earlier in the morning I'd gone with Non-Gardening Partner and Winnie to her dog-therapy vet. Some plans to help her - a cot mattress for a dog bed, rugs for the kitchen's slippery floors, heat packs for her 'shoulders' and so on. The vet senses discomfort as opposed to pain. OK so far.
Winnie and Pebbles with Fred the cat.
Sunday 9th February
Did lots more grunty gardening yesterday afternoon, working solidly for three hours. Alas, finished far too late in the day to clean up anything. But al least the secret little courtyard in the Shrubbery is a secret no longer - it is reachable!
Courtyard in the Shrubbery
Periwinkle (beautiful nuisance ground-cover) has been removed from the path, and the Escallonia shrub pruned to allow access. I also put the watering hose on the sulking Esk Sunset tree (poor thing).
A plan AKA a list...
Today, after visiting my family, I have a plan, AKA a list :
- Clean up yesterday's mess. Yes, yes, I know. I should've done it. But I didn't.
- Plant pieces of Renga Renga in the Pond Paddock garden. Yes, yes, I know. They've been sitting in a bucket of water for three days. I forgot. Sorry about that.
Much, much later...
Done. Easy as! Also cleared the path into the side of the Shrubbery, trimmed dead wood off Souvenir de Madame Leonie Viennot (a beautiful large-flowered rambler). Cleaned up as much gum bark off the front lawn as I could manage, so the lawn could be mowed.
Agapanthus Friends
I dumped six barrow loads of mess. SIX! NGP says that my mess piles have never been so big, in his memory of the garden. Either I am becoming more thorough in my cleaning up, or the garden is growing at a ridiculous rate and generating more mess. Probably a bit of both?
House Lawn and Garden
And everything looks so good. No gum mess laying around (for now), beautifully colourful dahlias, and a freshly mown lawn. What more could one want when gazing out the house windows?
Monday 10th February
So what was I going to do today? Gardening, gardening, and then some more gardening. But it's drizzling and I'm feeling lazy, cosy and warm inside. Oh well.