In a bit of a gardening grump...
Humph. You don't want to know. Oh alright. It's a very pianissimo 'humph', anyway. My gardening afternoon has been as follows: shovel a barrowful of woodchips. Wheel them to a path and tip them out. Scoop up (or heave, according to weight) all nearby firewood logs. Wheel these to the firewood stack. Return to the trailer which is still horribly full of woodchips. Let the circle be unbroken, by and by, until bored.
Apple tree Border in Early Spring
Remember about multi-tasking, zoom inside to industriously make bread for family. Discover right at end of process that a) the bread-maker yeast has run out and b) there is an ancient jar of plain yeast in the fridge, use by date five years ago. How do you use it anyway? Forget the woodchips, waste precious time driving to supermarket to buy bread-maker yeast.
Saturday 25th August, in a Bit of a Grump...
But, but, but... As I wheeled my wheelbarrow (through gardens broad and narrow?) I did notice the following colourful spring things flowering in the borders.
- Pink Bergenias.
- Prunus nigra.
- Several pink Camellias.
- More daffodils.
And it's really been a gorgeously warm spring day. In the middle of the afternoon I tried out my video camera on the garden gnomes around the pond - dare I peep at the results? It will look as if I've gone completely batty, but at least I didn't recite all their names - phew!
Garden Gnomes
Remove the 'Humph'
Now the bread is building itself, and I've got some beers in for the rugby later this evening. So that initial 'humph' can be removed from the soundtrack. I'm totally happy with my day - finally.
But, oh dear! There was so much wind that my garden gnomes by the pond videos are distressing. I'm too wobbly, and so is the vegetation, with leaves blowing this was and that. I'll try again tomorrow.
Sunday 26th August
Oh yes - it's been another brilliantly springy day in my garden. I've been ultra-busy spreading yet more barrowfuls of woodchips on the Wattle Woods paths. I've also shifted more firewood logs, and attempted to do some less-fuzzy videos of my garden gnomes around the pond. In my glasshouse I've checked and watered my seeds (lots are now showing), planted some small divisions of Stachys limelight (which I adore) and taken even more basal cuttings of lupins.
Pseudopanax :- Pseudopanax are also known as Five Fingers. Their leaves are green and glossy.
I've had to decommission a tiny part of the oldest Wattle Woods path. Two Pseudopanax shrubs on either side are just too big now, and their foliage is far too gorgeous to be pruned back for a mere path.
Also, with my new puffy bottle I've carefully squirted nasty weed-killer on as many dandelions as I can find. There's no point half-weeding them - they just grow again from their deep taproots.
Sunny Polyanthus Flowers
Thanks, Non-Gardening Partner...
And there's even more to record! Non-Gardening Partner has chain-sawed down a huge leaning gum tree, so lots of logs are scattered over my Cordyline Grove. And no damage to the plants, I might add. I'm now going back outside to clean them up, and then I have just two more barrowfuls of woodchips to spread. NGP and I will finish the day getting a refill trailer load, for me to use this coming week.
NGP has been an absolute gem today - a ruby, perhaps, since that's his birthstone, associated with the values of love, success, integrity, passion, and promise (thanks, Google). I think he's as proud of my work as I am of his. We both work hard on the property, each using his/her individual expertise. Our expertises are very complementary. Expertises? That plural looks very odd.
Ooooo - I hope at least one of my garden gnomes by the pond videos has turned out OK. I haven't seen them yet, because I'm waiting for the battery to recharge. This is terribly exciting...