Gifts for the garden
At this time of the year (mid to late spring) my garden gives me a lot of joy. In return, I do my best to nurture everything, to water, trim, cut back, and weed out anything overly aggressive. I give thanks every morning and evening for the trees, the shrubs, the flowers - even the lawns.
Today I have some gifts for my garden. A friend is downsizing, and has kindly given me two big pots of daisies. She also has three Escallonias and an Iceberg rose in large pots that she doesn't want.
New Ducks...
And there's more - I'm also buying two rather stylish duck-sized garden ducks off her. Trouble at the pond, though - the gnomes are not keen to share their garden-space. Apparently the ducks will be 'too noisy'. Really? Have you ever heard a gang of garden gnomes chattering and boasting about their day?
More gifts for the garden - lettuce seedlings, a Lavender with white flowers, and a tomato called Hamlet from the stall down the road. And some new shears. The Op Shop often has garden tools, and there's usually a reason why they've been ditched. But my latest five dollar purchase is wonderful - shears that are already sharp, don't need tightening, and are easy on my hands.
Rose Woodsii Fendleri :- This must be the most beautiful old fashioned rose I grow. And very generous with seedlings, too.
Today I've spent three hours weeding annual grasses out of the interior of the Hump Garden, where the species rose Woodsii Fendleri is resprouting and suckering madly - the perfect place for a perfect rose. A junior sycamore tree has died. I've sliced off some cuttings of variegated Scrophularia. Need to give my fingers a break.
Saturday 18th October
Picked up the new plants and the ducks. Now to put them in the garden. Where? Not sure.
Later...
Oh boy! Oh joy! It took rather a lot of doing. Two of the Escallonias had been potted in clay. It took lots of water and 'finger combing' to get the roots free of the solid stuff. I got in a total clay mess. But now they are all planted in the Septic Tank Garden, together with the Iceberg rose.
New Ducks by the Cottage
The ducks are happy in the wee cottage garden, separated from the gnomes, but close enough to the pond that they can sneak over for a midnight swim.