Make it look beautiful...
Finally a warm day, no rain or drizzle, perfect for gardening. Perfect for weeding, and trimming, and picking posies for the house. Fragrant flowers are especially welcome.
View from Patio
First of all I went over to the Stumpy Garden and pulled out (wearing gloves) all the annual nettles from compost I'd spread a few months ago. Then I continued clearing mess out of the rest of this garden.
Make it look beautiful...
'Make it look beautiful' was my motto for the day, and that I certainly did. Chopped down some Oak tree sprouts (which were as tall as I am, oops) and pulled out lots of annual grasses. Didn't quite finish, though.
New Rhododendron Bumble Bee
The two new rhododendrons I planted in April 2025 are flowering. Nice. They are both called Bumble Bee.
Lime Philadelphus
Friday 13th November
Another great day for gardening - not too hot, no wind, with nice cloud cover. For the last three hours I've been working my way from the Pergola to the Glass-house, weeding and pulling annual forget-me-nots from the edge of the garden. Am wearing shorts and summer gardening shoes with no socks (because of the biddi-bids).
Chain-sawing...
Non-Gardening Partner did some chain-sawing for me - a half-dead Pseudopanax in the driveway, some dead Cordyline branches, a scruffy New Zealand Marbleleaf shrub/tree by the water race, and other assorted targets.
Three more hours later...
I have been really, really, really good. The back lawn edges look amazing - I just sat on the grass, sliced with my spade, and nipped with my secateurs. I cleared three barrowfuls of mess and one of forget-me-not mulch. I will mix it with horse manure.
The Back Lawn
So six hours work, and really great results to show for it. The cricket has provided good listening (because New Zealand has been batting really well). Interesting - I 'found' the rose Teasing Georgia in the Glass-house Garden, and another Moonlight rose nearby. They must have been been submerged in greenery for the last few years. Oops.
Apres-gardening, I tried out a 'new' dull olive green outfit. But I didn't like it. The colour was not fresh and alive enough for a gardener who has been immersed in nature's beautiful array of greens, plus the beautiful pinks and apricots of the roses. So it's back into blue...
Now silly?
And how silly am I? Asked NGP why I kept on getting 'Black Friday' ads from sock manufacturers (I am an online sock shopper). An American thing, pre-pre-Xmas socks? He didn't know. Then I checked today's date. Oh. I get it!