Rudderless!
Pink and Red Fahlias
Aargh! I am rudderless! Non-Gardening Partner has gone back to work (I thought he had another week off). I'm not sure exactly why I'm missing him - it is only 10am, first morning on my own. What a silly billy I am. Hmm...
Monday 26th January
I've spent two hours working on a music arrangement for my jazz choir. Now after a hot coffee I'm into my gardening shorts to continue my flax removal. I will need even more self-discipline now that I'm back on my own. But wait - I have my two barking mad dogs for company. I can talk the them, yes?
Three hours later...
Have done it. I worked really, really hard. After much repetitive slicing the Phormium is now reduced to a stump. Lots of Carexes are also sliced out (roots left in, because they stabilise the water race bank), and my feet are recovering from immersion.
Phormium Stump
After lunch I will read a bit more of my sad library book. 'Sad'? I mean that the story is sad, and I worry about the characters, so I choose not to read it in bed at night. Then I will return to my water race work.
Three more hours later...
Yeay for me! Cleared up my mess. No use trying to fill the wheelbarrow - the flax fronds just slip off. Carried eleven well-balanced heavy armfuls over to the fence line.
Bully Arondo...
Then went back in the water and did a lot more Carex clearing. Tidied up around the variegated Arondo, removed the dead stems. Bit of a bully, this plant. Probably shouldn't be growing it. Definitely shouldn't be growing it! Oops. But it doesn't set any seed (like Gunnera does) to floating off down the waterway.
Wow. What a wonderful day. When NGP comes home I can tell him all go about it, in great detail. Lucky, lucky chap! I ended up not missing him much at all.
Wednesday 28th January
Yesterday was an indoors music day. Today the sun has finally returned, and I've taken down another Phormium- the species green one near Willow Bridge.
Got scratches all over my arms by working so close to the huge Gunnera leaves. Old skin. Blast. Never mind. Superficial.