9/11 remembered sadly and quietly...

9/11 - remembered sadly and quietly, with some gentle gardening and hopeful thoughts about world peace. Ten years ago I planted the rose Golden Tribute, as my small tribute. It's a beautiful rose, and has lots of new spring growth right now.

 In memory...
Golden Tribute Rose

Sunday 11th September

Today I'm going to work my way around the Jelly Bean Border. I walk past this garden every night on my way to Pond Cottage, and so it's getting a facelift. In gardening terms that means compost. I've shifted the little cherry red primroses, hidden underneath ferns, to be nearer the edge, and there's room for more hostas! Birthday hostas! To go with the last of my birthday compost, hee hee...

 View from the Laundry path, peeping throught the Rosemary.
Pond Cottage in Spring

Right. Calm down, Moosey. Non-Gardening Partner has done my chain-sawing, and now my birthday compost has arrived. Yippee! This is a great base upon which to build a gardening day.

Much, Much Later...

What a day! Phew - six hours without a break, trundling around with the wheelbarrow. I've now cleared even more of the gardens near the pond. Weeds - the ones I call my October weeds - have popped up everywhere, a month early! I've had the hoses on watering the Camellias and rhododendrons, just in case, and I've rescued two coloured red Phormiums, squashed by the snow. They are in pots, visible as I walk past to the cottage.

 Planted in memory of Sifter the tabby cat.
Roger Hall Camellia

I am too tired to write much, though. I've had a brilliant day, and one small bottle of beer has been enough to necessitate a rather early bedtime. Hopeless!

Monday 12th September

Correction - I did take a short camera break yesterday. I am much more Camellia-aware this spring, and the shrubs behind the garage are now in full bloom. As big white by the Sleep-Out browns disgracefully the oddly named 'Jury's Yellow' nearby has taken over its beauty spot, with pinks and reds further along. So I have lots of new pictures. Lots!

Sifter's Camellia

And Sifter the cat's memorial Camellia (a red, named Roger Hall) is just flowering in its patio pot. It's really beautiful, towering out of a ring of purple pansies.

The red rhododendron in the Wattle Woods is now in full bloom, as is pretty little pink Graham by the path - he's a rhododendron too. With my new policy of having see-thru borders, Pond Cottage looks lovely, framed by these shrubs and the white plum tree blossom. And the huge Wattle trees are still covered in yellow flowers. Photographs, please!

 The view from one of Pond Cottage
Spring in the Wattle Woods

Today I will be more leisurely in my garden approach, in sympathy with my slightly sore hip from yesterday's relentless activity. I blame all the duck diving, up and down, to pull out weeds, plus wheeling barrowfuls that were too heavy. So, having analysed what causes the problem, it's up to me to be disciplined enough to fix them! I am also allowing myself to write lots and put up lots of photographs. Share the garden beauty, I say.

My morning mind is full of energy and delight in the garden, and I've set myself a varied and flexible timetable:

And then there's my compulsory burn-the-mess in the late afternoon, plus the half hour checking the seeds in the glass-house. My goodness - what won't I get done today? Aargh! Don't answer that! The spring sunshine is beautiful, and new growths are sprouting on all the roses. Looooovely!

 Creamy yellows by the house.
Lots of Daffodils in Flower

Much Later...

Only five hours work today, and I started with a decent hands-and-knees weeding on the edge of the Frisbee Lawn. I've placed the new single Adirondack chair just so, underneath the trimmed variegated Pittosporum. Then the compost went behind the pond around the roses there, and so did one of my hoses. I finished the day standing (untrousered) in the water race trimming leaves off waterside Phormiums. Snow has damaged them, and I have the choice to ignore or trim off. Hmm.... A bit of both, I reckon.

Tuesday 13th September

Swimming, first, then a bit of shopping and sushi, and then maybe the garden. This afternoon I pick up my new birthday gnomes. It can be a bit off-putting sitting on Pond Cottage's verandah, feeling dreamy and alone. Suddenly one is aware of a host of little chaps in red hats over the pond, all staring. Aargh! Company! I reckon I might have close to fifty garden gnomes now, and to think that I started off with one bachelor chap, only five years ago. It's a sure sign of aging to start collecting ridiculous things and not to know when enough is enough? Hmm...

Wednesday 14th September, Early Morning

Eek! A sudden decision - Daughter of Moosey and I are going hiking all day, to take advantage of the beautiful balmy spring sunshine. I have my birthday gnomes (they are so groovy) and I also have a carful of birthday Agapanthus, which cost me one dollar. Most of the clumps are the dwarf variety, and today's gardening will be to plan while hiking. Either I plant them all in one place, or I scatter them around in gaps. Decisions, decisions, decisions...