The merry month of May...
Ha! 'Tis the merry month of May, when the Moosey Garden slows down and thinks about stopping, just in case winter arrives early. The merry Head Gardener would like lots of great gardening days with good day temperatures and no wind, please.
Prosperity White Roses
Saturday May 1st
Here is my May Mission Statement - well, it's more like a pledge - a wheelbarrowful of promises. I promise to trim all shrubs and perennials that need it, and rake all the leaves that fall, and clear all the garden borders, and shift anything whose position is really silly. I promise to divide anything which is too big, and not waste the pieces.
Plants for Wintering Over
I Promise...
I promise to burn absolutely all my dry rubbish (gum, flax, and cordyline leaves) as soon as the fire ban is lifted, without moaning or groaning at Non-Gardening Partner to help me, keeping safe, and not annoying my distant neighbours with clouds of scary smoke. I promise to sort out all the plants which over-winter in the glass-house BEFORE they are struck down by the first frost.
I Promise...
I promise not to be a boring dog owner, or to try and cheat in the Most Valuable Cat Competition by mentioning little Minimus (my grey catlet) on every web-site page (hee hee - I've just got her one valuable MVP point).
But most of all, I promise to cook really nice, healthy meals for Non-gardening Partner, understanding that his big May job is helping me construct my new garden shed from a kitset. Pleading my lack of strong upper arms, I will do my best to hold things up while he hammers. And if he happens to mention that it is really silly of me to want a garden shed I will ignore him.
Unknown Rose
Today in the Garden
Today I've planted most of the remaining Agapanthus - all in the Wattle Woods behind the garden seat. The soil is dryish and poor in quality, with so many Wattles and Eucalyptus trees, but Agapanthus will thrive and look good in all seasons. All the whites are together, and I've thrown all the excess roots by the fence-line. These should sprout and I'll have even more plants! Yippee!
I still have all my Gunnera clumps, cleared from the water race edges. I want to replant all the bulky crowns in one place, without any floating off downstream. Aargh! NGP suggests holding them down with pockets (?) of river stones. So first thing tomorrow morning we will get a trailer load of stones. Good idea - seems very sensible.
Later, Apres Gardening at 4pm...
These autumn days may still be warm, but we lose the light earlier and earlier. After 4pm things start to appear quite gloomy, and that's usually when I stop gardening. Naturally this is the best time to critically look at the garden - everything looks wonderfully indistinct. And there are still plenty of pretty roses, colourful dahlias, rich purple petunias flowering...
Gunnera Seed-Head
Monday 3rd May
Yesterday would have been a great gardening day, but... At least I dragged NGP around to ask him about potential Gunnera planting sites. We watched a flock of tiny waxeye birds hopping and dancing along the huge seed-heads. Yet another semi-rhetorical question for the Moosey journal - do waxeyes actually eat the little orange Gunnera seeds? They seemed to be pecking at something, and I'd love to think I was providing good bird food...
Today the big planting is starting. I need stones, so I'm taking my bored dog down to the river. I can do this.
Later, After Three Cold Hours...
After working in the cold water my toes and heels are numb - and possibly the foot bit in-between! But the Gunnera by Car Bridge are planted in place, with stones to help. The rest are in position, downstream from Rooster Bridge, but I've decided to dig out an ancient (not really) Pampas Grass to make room. These grasses are horribly 'cutty', so with bloody cuts on my arms (as well as the complaining feet) I've retired for the day. The feet are just starting to tingle with happiness, by the way. Must be the hot cup of coffee - and/or merino socks.
Nancy Steen Rose in Autumn
A couple of random thoughts before I recline on the TV couch to watch Miss Marple... Firstly, my Nancy Steen Roses. You beautiful things, blushing pink in the autumn air - it's your flowers I've been taking lots of photographs of, and gushing about.
My Hawk :- You might enjoy reading about the days I spent looking after the hawk. Warning - details of her diet are not for the squeamish...
And one more thing - call me a romantic, but while in the water I watched a dark brown harrier hawk circling high over me. Was it my hawk - the hawk I looked after? Sentimentally I've decided yes. She does remember me, and is keeping an eye out, just in case. Hellooooo, Ground-Mother... Hee hee...