Practical versus impractical...

I have some practical garden plans. I have some impractical piano playing plans (last night's was to play every piece of piano music Albeniz ever wrote). My days need to be structured, for reasons of self-esteem.

 Before expansion.
The Birthday Rose Garden - Summer 2007

Tuesday 27th March

I can't remember making any gardening goals regarding March, but I'm running out of March time. Oops. A list, in paragraph form, is required.

The Birthday Rose Garden

I have new birthday presents to plant. But... I've also had an idea for enlargement - that means digging. I'm unhappy about the irises, and the peonies are all over the place - far too random. What to do? Buy more roses?

 A most interestingly coloured rose.
Burgundy Iceberg Rosebud

The Willow Tree Garden

I'm not happy about the back of this garden. My three standard Blushing Pink Icebergs, of which I was sooooo proud, all flower pointing the wrong way. And the Burgundy Icebergs are proving to be a difficult colour to present successfully. Oops.

Since I cannot shift the sun, I need to shift other things to make space for them - or shift the roses themselves. Blast! What to do?

The Dog-Path Garden

This is another garden which still has the wrong edge curves and needs - ahem - to be enlarged. Also the large variegated Scrophularias, buzzing with bees, are taking up far too much space. What to do? There are some disappointing roses in here, too. What to do? Dig out and replace? Give up and plant hebes?

I'm not grumpy, honestly. But trying to play Albeniz at 7:30 this morning, before that first cup of tea, was a mistake. There wasn't enough light to see properly, and I couldn't get the notes going fast enough. So I went for a long sulky bike ride with Rusty the dog. And now I seem to have more questions than solutions.

Enough. Time to put head down and work off my garden blues. Then I can vacuum the piano room and play the piano all afternoon in an atmosphere of tidiness and cleanliness.

 Aargh! When will I learn, remember, and stake my dahlias?
Its Floppy Dahlia Time!

Mid-Afternoon...

Hee hee. The Birthday Rose Garden is a little rosier, and a little bigger. I've shifted a peony clump, but decided that the irises can stay until next summer, as they haven't flowered yet. I also cleared a space in the Stables Garden for any iris overflow - and found some huge iris roots well hidden underneath the new ornamental grasses. So I've broken these up and replanted them - I realise they probably won't flower, but they wouldn't have, anyway!

 Too many, too late - but my chooks love them.
Beans

Thursday 29th March

No gardening yesterday - I went walking on the Peninsula. And today I'm not sure how productive I will be - it's damp outside, and I'm feeling lazy. I'll grab my Gore-Tex and take Rusty for a walk, then load my wheelbarrow with the bags full of newspaper - I could do some muddy mulching.

March Vegetables

Also my March vegetable garden needs some work. I should be harvesting the beans and the courgettes, as well as hunting for tomatoes in the depths of the sweet peas. Hmm...

Lunchtime...

No! This simply will not do! Rusty the dog and I am going for a bracing bike ride, and I will discuss the day's plans with him. It's like this - either I do some decent gardening or I vacuum the house, upstairs, downstairs, every room - and I vacuum the inside of my car.

Friday 30th March

Hee hee. No vacuuming! I have expanded the Welcome Garden. It's a much improved first impression, and should make garden visitors want to see more.

'Always have your garden ready for visitors.'
-Rosemary Verey, English Lady Gardener.

Not that there are any garden visitors - this is my current trick, borrowed from Rosemary Verey, as I aspire to having a visitable-at-any-time garden. I may not have the garden helpers that she's had, though...

This afternoon I have three basic plans. One is to fix up a little more of the new Welcome Garden (laying newspaper and mulch). The second is to cut down all Shasta daisies from assorted borders. The third is to get my beautiful Albeniz piano piece going faster.

 Time to clean them up!
Floppy Shasta Daisy

Saturday 31st March

I've almost done it, honestly! I've almost finished mulching the New Zealand native garden which welcomes hypothetical visitors into the Moosey property. That means I can almost go to the big Easter sales which are almost starting! I am patiently waiting for my mail-order bulb box. Today I am going to finish off the March month in style. I will try to clear every path-way, weed every bed... Ha! A gardening song, to the tune of 'Climb Every Mountain'...

Gardening Song

Clear every path-way,
Weed every bed...
Tidy every border
Til you find your - lost secateurs?

Aargh! I should stick to Albeniz (I love his piano music) and borrow the shiny new orange pair of secateurs that I 'found' in the garage. Oops. Think they belong to the Hazelnut Orchardist.

 I like the red foliaged sedum.
Sedums by the Dog-Path Seat

Late Afternoon...

I think I've been really good (that makes me sound like a five-year-old, oops). I've been weeding and digging new edges and clipping back perennials and building up a little stone retaining wall in the Dog-Path Garden.

Life With Animals

It's also been a Life With Animals day. The little dog down the road visited, and my cats were quite funny - it was interesting to see their reactions to a Jack Russell in their kitchen. Tiger hid underneath a little table, while Fluff-Fluff the Fierce charged straight at the dog. And B-Puss showed that the B in his name can stand for 'Brave' - he also made alarming advances, sideways, with his back fur all puffed up. Dear little Mugsy bumped into the dog without noticing - but she does have a blind side, and is a little mentally challenged...

Well, March, my mulching month, you're finished. Thank you - you've been a great month.