Recent Garden News
Head Gardener
The Recent Garden News page displays the fifteen most recent additions to Mooseys Country Garden. This should help visitors keep up with what's going on in my garden.
Gardens are always growing and changing - there's always something new to see. And, as I love writing about my garden almost as much as being in it, there'll always be some new Moosey ramblings to read, or new pictures to look at. Perhaps the garden activities of my summer will warm up a northern hemisphere gardener's winter days. I know how much I enjoy my mid-winter garden visits to summery places.
Two weeks can be a long time in the life of a garden. There's inevitably some repetition, so please be understanding if I'm saying the same things over and over again. I hope you'll enjoy seeing what I've been working on recently...
-
Poor Pebbles...
- No gardening today. Have been looking after Pebbles the dog, recovering from a wee operation at the vet's. The silliest, tiniest grass seed had burrowed its way into her rump, resulting in infection, a cut with four stitches, and a slim-line bucket on her head for ten days...
-
A fresh start......
- Right. A fresh start to July is needed. The winter solstice is now in the past. Hopefully there'll be less drizzle and grey gloominess in the weather. And hopefully I can crank up my gardening volume (which has been rather muted of late). Here's the idea. As long as I do at least two hours each day I will be getting somewhere...
-
Look on the bright side......
- It's yet another grey, drizzly day (we've had a few of these), so all I'm really doing (apart from sniffing and sulking) is walking the dogs. Each time I get back inside my socks (and therefore my feet) feel cold. I'm feeling rather dull. But the garden is full of wonderful little bursts of colour - and lots of green to enjoy. Best to look on the bright side...
-
A gloomy, grey week!...
- It's time I did some good winter gardening. Who cares if it's gloomy and grey and drizzly? I jolly well shouldn't. It's not too cold - just a gentle touch of bleak mid-winter, that sort of thing.
-
Mid-winter......
- Mid-winter - it's almost time to prune the roses and trim the ferns. And it's almost Camellia flowering time. Yeay! Early bloomers like Weeping Maiden and Tinsie are already 'at it'. Hope their flowers won't be too badly affected by the frosts. The deepest so far has only been minus two degrees Celsius - I enjoy a very friendly, moderate winter climate.
-
Variety...
- Aargh! It's almost the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, the turn-around of the gardening seasons (well, not quite - colder days are to come). With everything to look forward to. But at the same time, everything to enjoy in these winter moments, filled with so much variety...
-
The wading suit......
- The banks of the water race are getting their annual (well, it jolly well should be annual) clean up. As well as the Gunnera to trim there are Carexes and Phormiums to deal to. And excessive weeds. And Shasta daisies to cut back. So it's time for the donning of the olive green wading suit. Yeay!
-
Winter weeding......
- Winter weeding. The ground is moist, my knees are muddy, and the weeds slither out of the soil easily, handfuls of them, roots and all. They are all lushly green and very damp. So many weeds! So this is very satisfying weeding, yes? Yes. I suppose so...
-
Frosty......
- A couple of frosty mornings are a nippy reminder to take winter seriously. Face it head on! Shift all half-hardy pots (particularly the pelargoniums) into the glass-house, finish trimming the dahlias, get mulch onto the garden, and so on.
-
Some proper winter gardening......
- Aha! I have done some proper winter gardening. Not so much, but some is better than none. And not just raking leaves, either (though there has been some of that). Today I've been planting! Yeay! It's drizzly but not too cold - yet.
-
Welcome to Winter!...
- It's winter. Ta da! Fanfare of trumpets, as out come the warm winter garden clothes, woolly socks, hat and gloves. I have big plans for this rather ominous day, the first day of winter. First, the bonfire ash needs to be scooped up and spread in the orchard. I rather thought the tractor could do this...
-
Autumn leaves...
- Interesting botanical fact : only eleven New Zealand native trees are fully deciduous each winter, and they don't seem to provide any autumn colour. All my beautiful autumn trees are immigrants from the northern hemisphere. They are all so very welcome.
-
Animal farm......
- I've been helping Non-Gardening Partner clean up suckers in the Hazel Orchard. This is farm work, rather than gardening, which might explain why the orchard's climbing roses get a little neglected (oops). Animal farm : Pebbles the dog comes with us, and sits staring at next door's cattle.
-
Leaves......
- he so-called new leaf - it's time to turn it over. A most peculiar phrase, and not really garden-applicable. Have mooched through Winnie the dog's first post-operation week. No need to do this any more. All is OK.
-
Dogs......
- Have just take Pebbles my younger dog for her orchard walk and talked to her. Have made a promise to her to be nicer and more understanding. Because sometimes, just sometimes, I lose patience with her - big time!