January - February

Summer holidays mean relaxing in the garden and reading, so garden seats become a priority. We won't talk about the cricket...

Thursday 1st January

Right. It's time to start some diary organising. The euphoria of my summer holidays starting has been replaced by the Moosey Mooch. It's time for lists to be written, with items ticked off. The gardening days must be satisfying, with maximum use.

Today's List
• More horse-poos.
• More digging by pond.
• Start the Most Valuable Cat Competition.
• Plant the tomatoes - where?
• Deadhead.
• Water.
• The cricket - eek!

The nor-wester is annoying. And cricket is amazing and boring, all at the same time. How can this be?

Friday January 2nd

Today started with Stephen chain-sawing in the Wattle Woods, me helping. Then I spent two hours pottering around - I cut back the green lavender (shredding the prunings with my scissors), planted out some foxgloves, and spread some horse-poos on the JAM Garden. It's starting to look pretty good.

Saturday 3rd January

Oops - Happy New Year! Its supposed to be 30 degrees today - not an ideal gardening day.

Sunday 4th January

I worked for three hours deadheading and shredding (that rhymes). The Driveway Garden needs water. I'm waiting for cloud cover. There isn't much to do except sit in and enjoy the garden and read lots of books. Stephen has put together my new cheap kit-set park bench. It is installed under the tree lucernes.

Monday 5th January

I spent three hours on the park bench reading two silly Agatha Christie murder novels. Cats visited me. There isn't much to do in the garden, but I know this won't last.

Wednesday 7th January

I am in a seat building mood, inspired by my park bench. I am going to build seats out of the sleepers and bricks from Judith Anne. Then I can sit on them and read summer books.

Thursday 8th January

I have built two seats, one at the top of the JAM garden and the other by the stables. I sat on both and shifted hoses - that's all I did today.

Friday 9th January

Now I am going to sort out the Wattle Woods with a path. I have made new 'soil' with twiggy compost and horse-poos and I have a trailer full of river stones.

Later...

I need heaps more stones!

Saturday 10th January

Lots of shoveling and raking and spreading horse-poos on the new bits in the Wattle Woods. I am really tired.

Tuesday 13th January

I still need more stones! But the path is working and I've planted some cheap hebes and shifted a flax. I am thinking to incorporate a seat in the path - I have a plan drawn on scrappy paper!

Thursday 15th January

Today I'm afraid I am going to digress. We suck at cricket (HUGE LOSS last night). But my seat has worked. I sat on it with cats today. Also my favourite gardening shorts are too tight - I need to face things fair and square. It's not a silhouette enhancement program that's needed - it's a healthy eating diet!

Friday 16th January

I spread more horse-poos and pea-straw on the new "soil" in the Wattle Woods. But I have inadvertently mulched my cricket radio. It is lost.

Saturday 17th January

I heard my cricket radio crackling faintly in the pea-straw in the Pond Border. We are reunited. It is too hot to garden today. I have been swimming (well, floating really) in the pond. In fairness to the trout I don't stand on the bottom (muddy).

Thursday 29th January

I have been really lazy writing up this diary. That's because there isn't much to do in the garden this time of year. But I have started a major new border digging project by the stables. I do sneaky watering and dead-heading. I am also refining the shape of the curved edge of the Pond Border. The white frothy Omphalodes and the blue Viscaria are flowering now. Cool.

Friday 30th January

I have been cheated! The Lambs Ears that were supposed to be giant (according to the catalogue) are just plain normal. I'm trimming the flower stalks off them. I'm off to trim the Moonlight Achillea, and do more watering.

Saturday 31st January

I sneaky watered all day - there are some very dry spots in my garden. The phloxes in some places are finished. I wonder if I chop them back if they will reflower? Don't think so. I quite like them, they are a no-nonsense sort of summer plant.

Sunday 1st February

Crisis! I have watered my cricket radio. I am hopeless.