New Years Eve
Sunny Flowers
I can't believe how fast time goes - molto allegro, whenever I peep at the calendar. It's the last day of the year 2007, and there are so many things in the garden I've still not done. But wait - what about all the things I have done?
Monday 31st December
New ideas which have worked? Old mistakes which have been sorted out? And those natural micro-mini-disasters which I've taken in my stride - like huge trees falling down? There really hasn't been a 'worst moment' in the garden this year - just heaps of best ones!
Like the Hen House Gardens which have looked wonderful all year, even if my chooks have been banished from them. My hens have enjoyed free-ranging in the orchard, and the hebes and renga renga lilies in my garden have enjoyed being peck-free! I feed hundreds of the neighbourhood birds each day, and the rabbit (aargh!) that lives underneath the hen house is in great condition.
And the sun-blocking trees in the Hump, pines and gums, which have all been seriously topped. More sunlight, more air, lots of shredded mulch - and more space to seriously garden! I've spent many happy weeks of the year 2007 clearing out tree remains. Did I say happy weeks? Hmm...
Goodbye B-Puss :- B-Puss has his own memorial Cornus called Eddies White Wonder, planted in the Hazelnut Orchard.
There's been a little pet sadness, with my eccentric young white cat B-Puss passing away. But so much pet joy - Rusty the dog chasing helicopters and planes out of the sky, the oldest cats Jerome, Stumpy and Mugsy living through their seventeenth year in good health... Those three foster kittens who I didn't have the heart to give away, Percy, Histeria and Lilli-Puss, now all country cats living the good life...
The Year of the Cats and the Dog
Fluff-Fluff has gardened his fluffy cat-heart out all year, squeaking and lolling in the dirt in front of my hand digger. Eek! Tiger the fat tortoiseshell has done some disgraceful things - for example piddling in the pantry and on the brand new TV. And getting fatter, cleaning up the leftovers from all the other cat plates.
New Moosey Cats
I've built new lawns and new gardens, I've mulched and mulched, I've built my own flowering annuals, I've watched the flower waves of aquilegias, then foxgloves, then verbascums spread through the whole garden. Oops - those verbascums are strictly supposed to be in one place.
Welcome!
Winter Travelling
I went off travelling in the cold winter month of June, visiting a friend's beautiful Brussels garden, zooming around the west coast gardens of Scotland, and then arriving in hot Alabama to visit another friend's beautiful garden. I spent many happy days wandering around open gardens with pencil and notebook in hand, making ridiculous lists full of new things to add to the Moosey garden back home.
Add in a few super-hospitable relatives, a few days stopover in friendly Singapore, and there's the perfect quick-as-a-flash Grand World Tour - all accomplished with the minimum of fuss, an incredibly small back-pack, a huge camera card, and only one pair of spectacles lost! I arrived home with a slightly healthy tan, packed away my summer clothes, and got straight back into some winter gardening. Brr...
Garden Growth
The Hazelnut trees in the orchard are bigger, and 84.6% (that's twenty two out of twenty six) of the climbing roses on the archways are happy and healthy. I've planted (that means I've spent a little money) lots of new things - rhododendrons, roses, and other shrubs - and tried to prune and trim things properly.
I've really tried to take notice of my new plant labels. I've tried to provide the necessities of plant life for every tree, shrub, flower and foliage plant. There have been some modest successes...
Weed Matters
It's been a reasonably good year weed-wise. I seem to have spent over half my gardening time weeding, and over half my writing time complaining about it!
- 'Not enough science in the Moosey compost recipe.'
- -Moosey Words of Wisdom.
The water race banks have never been so weedfree. But my home-made compost has certainly kept me busy - it's been full of little green things, which have grown into big green things - aargh! There's simply not enough science in the Moosey compost recipe!
So on this final 2007 gardening day I can feel proud. My garden, with me, is one year older and growing well. I have brilliant cat and dog company, good friends, and I love my family very much. I love my garden. Nice.
The Water Race
And I'll be back!