Hello, sun!
Have had three indoors days in a row, busy and happy, but not nearly as nice as being outside. Hope to make it up today. Hello, sun, nice to see you up there shining brightly. Hello, daffodils.
Pretty Daffodils
Ha! I have Non-Gardening Partner home all day, and I am keen to organise him. I'm thinking morning cafe coffee, wheelbarrow loads of mulch, chain-sawing... But better prganise myself first.
Three things :
- Bonfire : Sweep patio and pond decking, collect at least two loads of rose prunings, trim Miscanthus grasses.
- Septic Tank Garden : Finish spreading horse manure.
- House garden : trim ferns, prune Compassion roses, trim conifer, etc.
And three rules : Don't stop until finished, don't moan, and don't get distracted (unless by something amazing and beautiful).
Green Hellebore
Four hours later...
My day started well, but then I moved into the Jelly Bean Border. This was neither amazing nor particularly beautiful. The ground was soggy and muddy and my shorts got very wet, sitting down clearing out mess. Trimmed Carexes and Phormiums with the kitchen scissors. Too many Carexes! Somebody has let them grow unrestrained in here.
Then - oh no! Oh no! I found some Lamium. A low blow, seeing more of this annoying ground cover. Cleared around several wee Azaleas which were getting swamped. Ever so slightly disheartened, I left the piles of mess in the garden and stomped inside.
Five years of mess...
But I'm not really moaning, honestly. This garden was last cleaned up properly in 2020. It's now 2025. What did I expect?
Apparently back in 2020 I removed five loads of mess. I reckon there'll be twenty five, at least. But I can do this. And I can clean up after myself.
Saturday 23rd August
Had one of those silly 3am Worrying Sessions. What to do with the green Carexes in the Jelly Bean Border? My mind swirled around and around, the problem (and the Carexes) got bigger and bigger. Couldn't get back to sleep.
But there actually wasn't a problem at all. In the clear, cold light of morning the answer was obvious : dig out the big ones, trim all the others, and pull out all the tiddlers. How silly. Really silly! Almost as silly as worrying about Speckles the stray cat missing his dinner. Of course he was there waiting in the morning for his food.
Cute Fred
The Yuccas are planted...
So today for four hours I cleared out lots of mess. I finally planted the three free Yuccas in large pots and placed them on the cover of the Septic Tank. Spent half an hour digging out nearby Lamium that I'd missed. And then - oh boy! Oh joy!
More Agapanthus!
Guess what our trailer, parked in the driveway, is now full of? Yeay! Clumps of species Agapanthus, with some Renga Renga thrown in. Yes!
Two small but related questions : How busy can one gardener be? Is there such a thing as too busy? Answers : As busy as he or she likes. And no way!