Winter solstice time...
My gardening for the next few weeks will be weather (particularly frost) dependent. It's our winter solstice time. On frosty days I can't pleasantly garden until midday.
Meanwhile, to pretend I am keeping busy I have written a list of specific Stumpy Garden tasks :
- Dig out more miniature Agapanthus from behind the pond and plant around big stump. This will look soooooooo pretty
- Finish digging out rogue Ligularias and rebuild the stone wall.
- Dig out all oak tree seedlings.
So I will need the spade as well as the kitchen steak knife, hee hee...

Looking down the water race
A week later...
Oops - a whole week has gone by since I reported in with my journal. The days have been either too wet or too cold to work for more than a couple of hours in the garden. So what have I actually done?
I did plant those divisions of miniature Agapanthus along the lawn edge of the Stumpy Garden. They look great! I've done some good weeding, and started trimming the large cluster of Gunnera by Middle Bridge.
Waders report...
The waders still aren't leaking. When one buys such items second hand one does have to hold one's breath, so to speak. Why were they so cheap?
Naughty dog!
Yesterday afternoon I was doing so well weeding the Allotment Garden, until Pebbles the dog misbehaved. First she barged through my hopeless boundary fence to harass next door's dog. She wouldn't obey me - no way was she coming home. Finally she reappeared, then charged off down my driveway (nearly knocking me over), and unfortunately uncovered a large pheasant in the grass by another stretch of the fence. Then it was all on - a nasty dog attacking a silly big brown bird.
Pebbles :- Pebbles is an interesting dog - not a very good listener...
Finally managed to grab her, did my scolding pointy finger act, put her in her kennel, was so cross. Returned to the pheasant, but it was gone, hopefully not badly injured. Couldn't find it. What a dodgy dog.
Alas for today - no gardening. Just the coldest of days, two bored dogs, and me busy writing music arrangements. Woof, woof, and tra la la...
Thursday 25th June
Oh dear. Soooo sorry, garden. It's still too cold and too wet for me. Five degrees and driving rain. Brr...