Summer in the Wattle Woods
The Wattle Woods are beautiful in summer - shady, private, and green. They are (potentially) the perfect place to relax with a book and a cool drink. Well, they jolly well will be, as soon as the paths have been cleared, and the messy gum bark, branches, and leaves raked up and removed...
Saturday 7th February
Now these tasks I can do easily, since gardening legends (me) are experienced at garden maintenance. But two huge piles of firewood logs (wattle, and extremely dense) need to be barrowed out. This task is daunting, and I need a strong-arms bloke to help lift the heavy ones.
Summer in the Wattle Woods
Unfortunately Non-Gardening Partner has filled his weekend with flying sessions (a rather glamourous way to escape my clutches). But that's OK. He did take a whole day off work mid-week to look after the dogs while I went hiking up Mount Oxford.
Prunus Nigra in Summer
Later...
I've made a really good start to the clean-up in the Woods. I am always making 'good starts' - one day I might make a good ending, hee hee. Anyway, I started (that word again!) cleaning up the little stream which runs down through the wattles, wondering why there was such a small water flow. Enter NGP fresh from roaming the skies above. Down to earth for him - something else to fix. The lower of my two orange river pumps has now been dragged out of the water. It needs new bearings.
Sunday 8th February
Aha! Already I've been working for five and a half hours, with the two new kittens keeping me company. Tiddles the tabby has been zooming back and forth over Rooster Bridge, with Buster hidden in the waterside ferns watching. Winnie the puppy has been a nearby nuisance, digging holes in inappropriate places, and covering her tummy with dirt. Eek! But all has healed, stitches come out and bucket comes off tomorrow.
Please, a Lamium-Free Garden
Invasive but Welcome...
Ground cover Lamium (the invasive yellow flowering variety) covers the gentle slopes underneath the Wattle trees. Do I like it growing here? Absolutely yes, even though it spreads over the paths. I also like the clumps of Anemanthele grasses. They are of varying ages - babies, juveniles, and bulky adults gone to seed (sounds familiar). Both these plants are very useful for dry shade.
I've put the hoses on to water the sulkiest of the Wattle Woods roses. Now my plan is to shift in some clumps of Agapanthus and finish cleaning out the little stream. There's still a lot of rubbish to rake out, but the Wattle Woods already look delightful and feel more cared-for. I'll take my camera and try to capture the leafy essence of this lovely area. Then perhaps shift the last of the firewood? Ground control to NGP...
Just One Hour Later...
Blast. I ran out of late-afternoon oomph, and only managed to collect one barrowful of mess from the sunny side of the Wattle Woods Garden. So there is still much to do. But not as much as there was this time yesterday.
Wattle Trees
I love the big trees so much. They make stunning shapes above the shining greenery.
Monday 9th February
Well, well, well. Nature is finally watering the garden. It's been drizzly-raining. No gardening today, just some wettish walks with the animals, plus dog-visiting, with Winnie minus her bucket. After a minor confrontation with the neighbour, who doesn't think that a total fire ban applies to him, I went to the dog-park to - ahem - cool off. Nothing like a zooming black and white puppy dog to cheer me up again. Dogs are such good company that it's impossible to stay in a sulk.
Off For a Walk
And cats, too. Mustn't show favouritism...