Looking Back Over 2021
Have been looking back over 2021. Highlights? Lots. Medium-lights? Maybe just a few. No lowlights, not for me, anyway. Garden challenges? Definitely. Like removing the dead rambling rose from the woodshed roof. This may become one of next year's highlights - it could all year to remove! Eek!
Garden Awards for 2021
Here are my Garden Awards for 2021. This year I re-read all my journal pages for 2021, so that the latest December flowers and shrubs didn't have an unfair advantage. Impartiality is important! First of all, the Shrub of the Year : shared equally between the vibrant Choisya Sundance in the Hump Garden, and the spring flowering Camellia, variety Takanini, a gorgeous muddy black-red colour.
Golden Choisya and Camellia Takanini
Rose of the Year
The Rose of the Year award goes to Canary Bird, the first rose to bloom, with its beautiful lemon flowers and clean green ferny foliage. Always a surprise, and so very much appreciated.
Canary Bird Roses
Garden Feature of the Year
The Garden Feature of the Year award goes to the Gnomes Reading Stump. I love it! And so do the gnomes in Book Club...
Book Club Gnomes on the Reading Stump
Best Plant Idea
For 2021, my best plant idea has been to buy in new Lavenders. Healthy growth, beautiful purple colours, and the bees love them. Worth spending money on.
Lavender
The year has been filled with new small-scale developments, but my Best New Garden Idea has been to build a small wooden retaining wall and fill in the lower slopes of the Hump Garden with spare soil, compost, horse manure, whatever. More garden to fill up with more plants! Yeay! No photograph, sorry.
Most Memorable Moment
There have been many memorable gardening moments in 2021. But the Most Memorable Moment was one I never saw coming. In July Lilli-Puss was returned to me, after being missing for six years. I'd totally forgotten about her.
Lilli-Puss
The Silliest Moment of 2021 was definitely falling through some rotting planks onto the top of the Septic Tank - and getting stuck therein. Definitely no photograph for this! Luckily nothing was badly hurt, so I got the giggles and felt very, very silly. Eventually managed to wriggle myself free.
Photograph of the Year
To choose the Photograph of the Year, I've ignored all the luscious pictures of raindrops on roses and the beautiful green-scapes. It's dogs and cats, I'm afraid, and I've gone for the sentimental rather than the well-composed, wonderfully artistic shot. Three furry friends going for a walk. Aww...
Going For A Walk
As usual, huge thanks to Non-Gardening Partner for chain-sawing, lawn mowing, and fixing irrigation pipes that I sliced through with my spade. Oops. And for the cats and dogs for keeping me company (well, sometimes) in the house and the garden. Thanks to the bees for visiting my flowers all year round. And thanks to the bell-birds for their wonderful birdsong.
Goodbye 2021
Hope you've all had a groovy 2021 in your gardens. All the best (and even better) for 2022.