Feb 2008 Week 3 - Yet More

Yet more? Hmm... I am doing so much work in the garden this week that I need three pages to talk about it? The Moosey Garden must be in a magnificent state...

Tuesday 19th February

Actually, parts of the garden are. The waterwheel is turning, the wriggling stream is wriggling, and my new pond is the perfect size. The Wattle Woods have been transformed by running water and a raking, planting, path-laying Head Gardener. There's a stone retaining wall, new flaxes, and much new greenery. And a lot of new magic...

I love the new garden at the end of the Hump. And I've finally reached a sensible conclusion about the whole of the Hump. Its depths are a designated area of outstanding ordinariness, of no scenic interest what-so-ever, for dumping rubbish. Only the lawn edge needs to be tidy, and more screening plants - pittosporums in particular - are required. There's to be one small path which leads through to the front paddock and doesn't linger. All other paths are to be dismantled.

What should I do first this bright and sunny morning? A list!

List

1. Bike ride with Rusty the dog.

My friends and I are cycling a 50km rail trail in two days time. I should be in serious training.

2. Dismantle remaining Hump path.

See above paragraph regarding the re-classification of The Hump.

3. Spread twenty-one bags of horse manure.

Oops. The garage is rather fragrant.

4. Trim all lawn edges.

Newly mown lawns, and suddenly my garden borders look full and interesting, rather than messy. What a con!

5. Shift sad roses.

Particularly two yellow Flower Carpets and two budget red roses from the Driveway Border. And find the lost Mary Rose, smothered by red dahlias in the Island Bed, a dreadful fate for such a beautiful English rose.

A sensible gardening person would now do the list items in order. And will!

Later...

But a sociable gardening person with friends to visit and car insurance bills to pay might only get the first two items actually done. Oh dear.

Thursday 21st February

I've been intrepid these last two days, walking in the hills and then today 'gourmet cycling' with my friends on a rail trail - Motukarara to Little River and back. It was a beautiful trip on a windless day, past birdlife on the lake, sheep dozing on the causeway, shimmering still water, old apple trees seeded from fruit thrown out the train windows... And a lunch cafe with beautiful salads, quiches, samosas, and a 'cheesecake brownie' that was absolutely worth cycling 23km for!

Snug in the leading breakaway bunch in front of the peleton, on the causeway by Lake Ellesmere, I though and thought about the state of the Moosey Bridges - and ended up more confused than ever. The ambience of my surroundings should have helped...

Bridging the Gap?

Each garden area by the water race needs a bridge of its own. This simply cannot happen. But the Plank is disreputable and thoroughly wobbly, and there are huge areas over the water which I'm too lazy to go round the long way to visit. Oh dear. Head down, ride like the wind...