Moosey News : March 2006

Dear Subscriber,

March is my very first month as a fully retired gardener. Hee hee! Will I get bored? No way! Will I produce even more detailed journal pages, recording every retired moment? Hmm... I suspect March will be a most interesting month.

This month's features :

1. Gardening Books
2. Retirement, Finally
3. Gladioli
4. Terribly Serious Garden Topics : Pruning
5. Ligularia

Regulars :

6. Plant of the Month : Canna Bengal Tiger
7. Animal of the Month : Tiger Cat
8. Garden Quote : Self Seeders, from Penelope Hobhouse
9. Garden Gallery : Spring Daffodils
10. Forum Focus : Garden Touring
11. Gardening Advice : Enjoy Being Lazy in the Garden
12. Searching for Moosey : The Hebe, the Dog and the Wardrobe
13. Coming up this month : Retirement

This month's features

1. Gardening Books

What should a try-hard garden writer do, desperate for inspiration? Visit the local library and lounge in a comfy red armchair, with a good selection of gardening books!

2. Retirement, Finally

It's not that one can keep on retiring (like going on a diet, or giving up coffee) - there does finally come a time when it is real, and a new stage in life begins. Suddenly, one week in February, I take the plunge, and officially become a full-time gardener. My retirement resolutions make compelling reading...

3. Gladioli

Ha! A country commendation for this typically suburban flower. My gladioli patch is small but stunning - and I can promise you the colours are most tasteful...

4. Pruning

In an attempt to get some terribly serious gardening credibility, I am writing a series of informative articles about terribly serious garden things. This, my first attempt, tackles the thorny topic of pruning...

5. Ligularia

My new purple leaved Ligularias promised much style and splendor - they haven't quite yet lived up to their beautiful photograph on the plant label. Early days, though - and late spring was rather dry - excuses, excuses...

Regulars

6. Plant of the Month : Canna Bengal Tiger

In honour of Tiger the fat Moosey cat, I've chosen this striped Canna as the plant of the month. It's been growing strongly in a pot all summer...

7. Animal of the Month : Tiger Cat

Tiger cat is also the animal of the month. Not only has she successfully vanquished the Scary Stairs Monster, but the new kittens Fluff-Fluff and B-Puss really like her. The perfect bossy older cat-sister, she organises chasing, scampering and climbing games for them, and attends all their many meal sessions as their official taste-tester. Sardines in Aspic get ten out of ten!

8. Garden Quote : Penelope Hobhouse on Self Seeders

This inspiring garden writer makes so much good sense. Her advice on allowing self seeders to grow in your garden is as follows: 'Maintenance [of self seeders] depends on an observant eye and a controlling hand'. There's a short paragraph on her in my article A Good Gardening Read...

9. Garden Gallery : Spring Daffodils

It all depends on whether you garden 'up there' or 'down here' - I'm referring to the northern or southern hemisphere. You'll either be waiting for those first spring bulbs to flower, or checking the catalogues and thinking about restocking! The first image in the seasonal picture gallery is of my very favourite daffodils, first to flower in the Moosey spring...

10. Forum Focus : Garden Touring

Moosey visitors are a much travelled lot, very knowledgeable about famous gardens to visit, plus the more important matters of garden touring style. Orange shoes? Pink pants?

11. Gardening Advice : Enjoy Being Lazy in the Garden

It's far too easy to either be working hard in the garden or thinking about the work one should be doing. A guilt-free garden is important to enjoy - reading by the water, snoozing on a shady lawn, philosophising on a sunny seat...

12. Searching for Moosey : The Hebe, the Dog, and the Wardrobe

Hebes

To celebrate the new sensible, thoughtful, retired Moosey, I have chosen sensible search engine requests to answer. The first - 'Can hebe plants be moved?' Answer - Definitely yes. With water, and a top trim, hebes seem to survive anything.

Dog in Snow

The second, 'dog in snow', allows me to direct you to the most beautiful photograph ever taken of a dog in snow - it's Rusty the red Border Collie in the Pond Paddock.

Gardening Clothes

Naturally the search for 'gardening clothes style' has to be answered. As the owner of at least twelve blue gardening shirts, I consider myself the style expert. Until I publish the Moosey Gardening Wardrobe in full, I'd like to direct searchers to the equally important concept of apres-gardening clothes style, fully explained in the Moosey Glossary.

13. Coming up this month : Retirement

I'm sorry to go on about this, but I expect the Moosey garden to leap ahead, when the head gardener can spend every hour of every day in it. What on earth will I be able to moan about? Look out, all you weeds, edges, and dead-heads!

I hope you enjoy your March, whether you are 'springing' or 'falling'!

Cheers,