December New Years Eve

The gardening year has drawn to a close. It's been the most colourful year ever, filled with incredible flower and foliage experiences. With all the time spent in the garden I should be a much wiser gardener...

Friday 31st December

More overnight rain for the Moosey garden. Compared to other years the paddocks and lawns are beautifully green. There's no fire ban, no irrigation required. Even the Frisbee Lawn is beautifully green and lush.

I am sick of being sick (and we're only talking about a head-cold and a slightly cut little finger here). What a wimp. About time this sulky gardener counted her blessings and stopped being so boring. OK - When in doubt, write a gardening list.

Things to Do in the Garden Today (without complaining)
• 1. Dig out rusty rose in the Dog-Path Garden.

Right Mr No-Name Rose - I don't care how lovely you smell, or what your famous breeder (David Austin) says about you. Out, out, damned rose!

• 2. Shift flax in Hen House Garden.
• 3. Do something with remaining flowering annuals.

Compost or plant - it's really simple.

• 4. Clear Hump path.

This shady task to be taken when the sun gets too hot (optimist).

• 5. Find the puppy's lost string of smiling sausages.

And there are to be no more boring moans about sneezing, noses running, or sore fingers. The year 2004 will be finished on a positive, affirming, non-boring (if possible!) note.

Late Afternoon...

I'm back. I'm feeling better. But it's raining - at least I've managed three hours gentle pottering. I did absolutely none of the items on the list (except I found the grinning sausages in the catmint!) - finishing the year as contrary-minded as ever. The Pond Paddock gardens are weeded, though - and all the edges are trimmed.

I've been thinking about the gardening year in review - wondering about the best things that have happened, the rose which has performed the best, and so on. I've got a list (naturally) and a few different categories (naturally). Here goes..

The Best of 2004
• Best Gardening Idea: Getting Back to Native New Zealand Plantings

The pittosporums, hebes, native toe toe, and flax plantings in the Hump and the Wattle Woods are brilliant. Finally I have lost my ridiculous rhododendron mania - ridiculous in that for years I kept on planting them in totally unsuitable locations.

• Best Rose Performance: The Woodshed Scrambler

This pink rose covers the woodshed roof and seems to have been blooming for months. I can see it from many different parts of the garden, and from the upstairs windows. This is what I imagined country rose gardening should look like!

• Best New Plant: My Silly Self-Sown Verbascums

The Verbascums arrived on the water from up-stream, and they are now quite a forceful little colony. I love their soft yellow colour.

• Best Old Plant: Red Flowering Weigela

I never realised what a beautiful coloured background this shrub provided in late spring. My early pink roses looked all the lovelier because of the Weigela flowers.

• Best Taken-For-Granted Plant: Gunnera

Each spring the Gunnera sneakily starts growing - and suddenly it's huge and lovely! Each year it's larger than the year before. What a stunning plant!

• Best Time of Year: The Month of November

This year I had much more gardening time in November to watch for things like the new rhododendrons flowering. I discovered a flower on my Tree Peony. In fact I seemed to find all sorts of new things - seeing them for the very first time.

And what about the Finest Moosey Moment? Probably discovering the close-up button on my camera after having owned it for over four years. Check out the grasshopper! Oops!

Happy New Year!