Garden Journal 2001

My 2001 gardening year seems to be full of new plant arrivals. Armies of rhododendrons and armfuls of roses keep on appearing, and the garden, of course, has to expand to accommodate them all. So there is much digging...

Happy New Year!Happy New Year!...
Happy New Year 2001 and welcome to my fifth year of garden diaries...
Battle!Battle!...
I do battle with the Golden Hop, but lose gardening momentum as the return to work looms. I wonder what it would be like to garden full-time?
II've forgotten to stake the dahlias......
Summer rushes on, and yet again the gardener has forgotten to stake the dahlias. Late developers start to grow, while other plants start to die down...
Canterbury needs rain!Canterbury needs rain!...
Canterbury needs rain. The fields are dry, the garden is dry, and many of the plants are protesting. March is the month where things start to slowly change...
Contrasts...Contrasts......
April is a month of contrasts. Some days feel like mid-summer, hot and long. Other days are chilly, and there's not enough time to be in the garden. When will the first frosts start?
EasterEaster...
Easter starts my first two week holiday for the year. There are nursery sales and mail order deliveries of plants to look forward to. It's too early for the winter clean up, though.
My burning month...My burning month......
The leaves on the trees are starting to turn golden and red and fall to carpet the ground. This May will be a burning month as the fire ban has only just come off.
Colder winter days...Colder winter days......
Help! May has suddenly disappeared and it's June. That means colder winter days, frosts on the ground, and thermal underwear on the gardener.
Crunching frosts...Crunching frosts......
July brings a new month, even more wintry and cold. There are morning crunching frosts, log fires when it gets dark, and weak winter sun. It's strange though how the weeds keep growing.
A four seasons gardener?A four seasons gardener?...
It's the second week of my official winter holiday. The frosts this year have been quite spectacular - whatever happened to the tough four seasons gardener?
The month of hope...The month of hope......
August is the month of hope, as the days slowly lengthen. Early in the month the shy blue crocuses are in flower, and by the end all the borders should come alive with yellow, white, and apricot pink daffodils.
The official month of yellow flowers...The official month of yellow flowers......
September starts off as the official month of yellow flowers, from the citrus yellow blossoms of the fence-line Wattle trees to the bright yellow miniature daffodils and the creamy primroses. By the end there will be blue and red flowers, and lambs, as spring takes over.
A great feeling!A great feeling!...
I AM ON HOLIDAY!! It's a great feeling. I've spent the first hour of my first holiday day around sorting out my latest garden photos. I am about to make a list - calmly and serenely, for there is no rush today. The hours of sunshine are stretching out before me.
Working hard...Working hard......
I keep working hard throughout the second precious week of my spring holiday. If I could just disappear from work and stay in the garden for ever!
Too beautiful to be true...Too beautiful to be true......
This is the wrong time of year to have to be at work. Plants are growing quickly now, and the garden sometimes looks too beautiful to be true.
A rhododendron phase...A rhododendron phase......
I am having a rhododendron phase - hopefully I will be rewarded by beautiful flowers on healthy bushes - well, that's the plan!
Roses and green foliage...Roses and green foliage......
Roses are in bloom, there are more and more patches of yellow daylilies flowering, and everywhere there is a mass of green foliage filling up all available gaps, nurtured by the rains and the early summer sun. The garden gets more and more colourful daily.
The days of aphids and roses...The days of aphids and roses......
These are the days of aphids and roses - I try to have freshly picked roses (aphid free) for the house, bringing the fragrances and colours of the garden into each room.
Early DecemberEarly December...
December has sneaked up on me again. It means summer, children arriving back home for Christmas, and the start of summer holidays spent gently pottering in the garden. If there are enough cloudy days it might mean digging a large new border.
Major digging plans... Major digging plans... ...
I have plans for major diggings - typical, since it's bound to be too hot to turn them into reality. My summer cricket listening starts up in earnest.
ChristmasChristmas...
I'm going to get tough about my roses. By now I can see if they are measuring up to their label promises or not. Shape up or ship out - something like that. Merry Christmas!