My 'warts-and-all' winter garden!
Percy the Ginger Cat
Welcome to my 'warts-and-all' winter garden! There's nothing startling to see, but hang on a minute - what about the early yellow spring bulbs? And the beautiful pink and red Camellias? And Fluff-Fluff and Percy, most ornamental of ginger gardening cats...
Thursday 18th July
Good morning, Percy. Nice of you to 'drop by' (kerthump, clunk, rattle) the cottage once an hour, every hour, last night - and eat all Minimus's food. Now I see you salivating on the patio table, watching the birdies on their bird feeder. Stop it! Your tummy is well full of food.
And Fluff-Fluff, I see you are there too, drooling, as still as a statue. What's going on in that tiny fluffy brain of yours, I wonder...
I have a croaky throat, and the beginnings of a head-cold, which seems so unfair. However, this is nothing to moan about. It's such a mild winter's day, and I should be able to garden for hours and hours. I'm going to start trimming the ferns (all messy and brown) and pruning the roses in the Pond Paddock. Some are shifting over the paddock from the shade into the sun.
Fluff-Fluff the Cat Watching the Birds
I have to start my rose pruning early - could this be because I have rather a lot of roses? Oops. And still a few in pots waiting to be planted. I will be sensible and use two wheelbarrows - one for the burning, the other for the composting. I'm going to take lots of photographs, too, even though it's winter.
Later...
I've gardened for six hours and I should feel so satisfied. Hmm... But I'm having trouble staying awake, and it's only 5:30. I know I've been good, but some days winter gardening is fairly unspectacular.
Herb in the Brick Spiral
I trimmed three wheelbarrows full of fern leaves, and raked leaves etc. for the bonfire. My rose pruning was a little random, but some of my silly roses are still trying to flower. I can't stop them doing that. Not just yet - a tiny splash of colour goes a long way.
Friday 19th July
My head cold is much worse and I am feeling very sorry for myself. Remember the three rules of blogging?
- Never write when drinking wine.
- Never write when tired and grumpy.
- Never write when snuffly with a head cold.
So rather than writing I'm going outside to sweep the paths around the house, and then find some awful garden maintenance jobs that can be satisfactorily accomplished when in the lowest of spirits.
Lunchtime...
OK. I've been doing the dourest, most uncreative garden tasks that I could think of all morning. But funny little things have been spoiling my grumpiness - like the beautiful smell of the herbs that I've been trimming in the herb spiral, and three silly roses (Sharifa Asma, Guy Savoy, and Ivey Hall AKA Sunny Smiles) which refuse to stop flowering. And I can't help smiling at them as I trudge past with a wheelbarrow full of stuff.
Three Winter Flowering Roses
The thought is to have a break and then to return to the garden. This time I'll try and find tasks that are even worse. It seems the more I'm determined to sulk the less there is to sulk about!
Much Later...
I went off in my car to get cat food, coffee, some head-cold drugs, and some relaxing herbal bath-soak. I also bought a retro concrete garden gnome - he's busy reading a good book, and I do so approve of reading gnomes. Then I spluttered and croaked and burnt my bonfire. Well, I don't know if I feel that much better, but I have done lots of things. I've got clean hair, and my own good book to read, too. Nice.
Spiky Red Camellia
Saturday 20th July
Sniff, sniff, cough, cough, sneeze, sneeze... I'm going back to bed. I thought I'd feel better, but I feel worse. But shouldn't head colds be the simplest of things? A cure, a cure would be nice.
Sunday 21st July
Now I feel even worse than yesterday. Enough said. I have moved myself into the upstairs bed, for a change of scenery. All I've done today is help tail the lambs. We have eight accidental lambs, four boys and four girls.