Garden Journal 2015

2015 - a new year, new expectations, the same garden - with the same older but wiser gardener? Aha! We'll see. As the years go by I seem to become more random and rather less responsible. But I love my garden even more, and I try my very best to be a good gardener. That's all that matters, really. So join me for a romp (maybe 'ramble' is more apt) through the garden in 2015. Forgive the double negative, but I can't promise not to be repetitive and a little boring. Occasionally I might wander off the track and talk about musical things, or even shopping - shopping? Eek! And there may be a few grumps about garden maintenance, but they'll be easily ignored. If you enjoy reading my gardening journal even half as much as I enjoy writing it, then that'll be great. Hope you do!

First of the gardening listsFirst of the gardening lists...
Happy New Year! Remember that list that should have kept me well and truly occupied in the last days of 2014? Well, I'm starting to finish it, if that makes sense. A new year, 2015, the very first day, and my very first gardening list! Aargh! This is a scary omen.
Strawberries and gnomesStrawberries and gnomes...
Summer holidays, sunny weather, timeless days. What day of the week is it? No idea, unless I check the calendar. But it's also time for some non-sentimental decisions regarding the strawberries and my oldest garden gnome.
Wall pheasants!Wall pheasants!...
I have wonderful news regarding my collection of retro wall ducks. A new pair with a touch of blue on the wings has flown down in the post, together with a trio of wall pheasants, all safely packed in disposable baby nappies, hee hee...
Garden In Disgrace...Garden In Disgrace......
My garden is in disgrace. It has let itself go to seed, so to speak. There are too many weeds. Everything is too messy. Welcome to the first 'Humph' of the gardening year. As the hard-working Head Gardener, I refuse to take all of the blame.
Garden Journal In Disgrace!Garden Journal In Disgrace!...
Now my gardening journal is in disgrace, as well as my garden. The days have been too hot to do anything garden related. There's been little to write about. It is, after all, mid-summer, and there are friends to meet for lunch in cafes, dog parks to visit, books to read...
Semi-disgrace...Semi-disgrace......
What a funny month January has been! First the garden, then the gardening journal, and now Winnie the doglet is in semi-disgrace. Come here? Not likely! In the car? Nope. Don't want to. This way? No way! Drop it? Not a chance. Hmm...
Silly...Silly......
Sometimes some gardeners (me) show a total lack of common sense. Like mad dogs and Englishmen, silly gardeners tend to go out in the mid-day sun, just to end up pink-faced, hot and bothered. And I've been very silly of late...
Gardening with Winnie...Gardening with Winnie......
Gardening with Winnie the puppy is never dull. She digs holes in the middle of the house lawn. She bites the watering hose and delicately dismantles the potted succulents. I struggle past her with an armful of rubbish. Ooh, goody! Tug-of-War!
Thin on the ground...Thin on the ground......
Gardening has been a little thin on the ground of late. Would it be decadent? Lazy? Or just totally self-indulgent, to watch the Downton Abbey Christmas TV special after breakfast? I really should be slurping my first cup of tea while pulling out some weeds...
Crescendo poco a poco... Crescendo poco a poco... ...
My pianissimo gardening voice needs to increase in volume. The first week of February deserves this! I am really, honestly, going to spend whole days outside in the garden. My gardening achievements will shout out, fortissimo.
Summer in the Wattle WoodsSummer in the Wattle Woods...
The Wattle Woods are beautiful in summer - shady, private, and green. They are (potentially) the perfect place to relax with a book and a cool drink. Well, they jolly well will be, as soon as the paths have been cleared, and the messy gum bark and leaves raked up...
The on-again off-again summer gardenerThe on-again off-again summer gardener...
Hello. It's me. Again. The on-again off-again summer gardener who's either fizzing with excess energy and gushing huge, mind-boggling plans, or languidly lolling on the TV couch muttering 'too hot' or 'too tired' or some such nonsense.
Ouch!Ouch!...
Ouch. Sitting on the bench in the Wattle Woods crying my eyes out. One of the huge Wattle logs I'm shifting had rolled back out of the wheelbarrow, landing on the calf of my leg. Enter Winnie the sympathetic puppy to lick away my tears. Well, for about five seconds...
Gushing and rambling...Gushing and rambling......
If I limit the gush and ramble in the gardening journal, then this should infiltrate my gardening, making it more robust and focussed. Yes? Maybe? Worth a try? But I'm still allowed to gush and ramble about the cats and dogs that share the garden with me.
Mary, Mary, quite contraryMary, Mary, quite contrary...
Oops - it's March! One sixth of the gardening year has already been used up. And my goodness, my March gardening moods are proving to be very fickle. Mary, Mary, quite contrary, me.
Think Think 'pre-autumnal'......
OK, March, here's an idea. You should be thinking 'pre-autumnal'. Calm days and a glorious second flush of roses, cosy nights with an extra blanket on the bed. But still you're persisting with too much heat and no rain - rather difficult for the garden.
Dear Minimus...Dear Minimus......
Dear Minimus, my Pond Cottage resident cat, let me explain why at five o'clock this morning I grabbed my favourite pillow and evacuated the cottage. I'm not ungrateful when you wake me up to show and share a little mouse surprise. But a large live rat! Eek!
LetLet's do something......
Nice - a new week in March in which to do new things. Not elderly, like last week. Brand spanking sparkling new, starting today. C'mon dogs, let's do something. I know - let's go and take some photographs of the roses. They're looking rather beautiful. Oh - you'd rather go to the dog park?
Too much March mooching...Too much March mooching......
There been too much March mooching. And Non-Gardening Partner is away in China, so I've been trying to think of a special garden project I can surprise him with. Perhaps the creation of my own 'great wall' somewhere? I'm not so sure I need another stone wall, but I love building them...
Days of dogs and roses...Days of dogs and roses......
Hee hee. We (the dogs and I) have settled into our gardener home-alone routine. In the morning we go to the dog-park. Then we drive home via the rose nursery, which is having a sale. So the car ends up full of dogs and roses...
A No-Spend WeekendA No-Spend Weekend...
Right. I'm having a no-spend gardening weekend. I've found my favourite hand scraper hidden underneath the Astelias - no need for a replacement. And I've just bought - oops - eighteen roses from the rose sale. No need for any more at the moment. I'm saving myself for the Easter weekend nursery sale.
The first autumn bonfireThe first autumn bonfire...
The first autumn bonfire should be a big moment, the start of a new chapter in the gardening year-book. But I'm feeling less than enthusiastic. I don't particularly enjoy the concept of a bonfire, but in the country, with Eucalyptus and Cordyline debris, one has little choice.
Happy EasterHappy Easter...
Happy Easter. I have a choice. Either I pop down to the Easter nursery sale to spend my spare money (?), or I sink into in a chair and drink. But it had better be iced water. Shovelling and barrowing soil in the hot sun is so tiring. I've been doing this for about three hours.
'April Acumen'...
Oops. Have just realised that it is far, far too late for 'March Madness'. My goodness, how quickly the months pass me by. Quite like the idea of some 'April Absurdity', but suspect a measured approach to the first real autumn month might be better. So I've chosen 'April Acumen'. Thanks for that, thesaurus.com.
Gardening is my housework...Gardening is my housework......
OK. So why would I ever want to watch a video of an amazing kitchen mop? Silly spammers. I'm a gardener. I'm much more likely to peep at a self-unfurling hose or a sentient autumn-leaf rake. I don't 'do' mops. Gardening is my housework.
Not long now...Not long now......
Just two more days and Tiddles the tabby gets her stitches out and her head-bucket off. Being a cat (and therefore a superior analytical animal) she's never accepted the bucket as being a natural part of her - unlike each of my dogs. Woo hoo! My neck is bigger! Aargh! So how come I don't fit through the door? I did yesterday.
Custard?Custard?...
The official word from Non-Gardening Partner : 'The Weather is going to turn to custard'. Not the most nerdy of descriptions, and certainly lacking detail. What type of custard? Home-made with real eggs? A cardboard container from the supermarket deli fridge? A packet mixed with milk? Hee hee...
Responsible and wise...Responsible and wise......
An oddly satisfying autumn task of great importance - the final organising of the firewood. Some is even stacked on the back porch for these colder weeks, and next winter's lot for log-splitting has been collected in a pile. Without complaining! I feel terribly responsible and wise, having such a long-term view...
A GAP fortnight?A GAP fortnight?...
Ha! Forget the idea of a 'Gap' year. I'm having a GAP fortnight - a Grand Autumn Project. Autumn has finally arrived properly in my garden, and I am going to remodel the Hump, a rough humpy bit of land covered in trees and scruffy shrubs. I am designing a decent dog circuit for Winnie my younger dog...
Normal transmission...Normal transmission......
Right. After a short rain delay, normal gardening transmission is about to resume. My Great Autumn Project (a long dog-path through the Hump) beckons! I have a list, the items of which will be found lurking, camouflaged, in the undergrowth below. A guerilla list! It's been very wet these last few days...
Tidying the Herb SpiralTidying the Herb Spiral...
I've promised my Herb Spiral an autumn tidy-up. The plants (not necessarily herbs) are so overgrown that the bricks have disappeared, and there are dandelions in the circular path. This is not a spiritual look at all. The mint has escaped from its pot, and Bowles Golden grass has self-seeded everywhere.
May the force...May the force......
May! May the gardening force be with me. I know I've said that before. As I'm sure the gardening force will indeed find and energise me. I've now declared it to be late autumn, so May may turn nasty at the drop of a hat (or a leaf) Which brings me to my first May question...
Day-Fusion?Day-Fusion?...
My days fuse together while this autumn weather is benignly warm. Today (I think it's Thursday) starts like all those other yesterdays. I get the dogs up at dawn, then with big Fluff-Fluff and Tiddles the tabby we start our first walk along the new forest path in the Hump...
Yippee!Yippee!...
Yippee! I'm off to pick up Non-Gardening Partner from the airport - he has been away for a couple of weeks. I hope he isn't grumpy or tired, having only flown from Vancouver. I have plans! Winnie's dog agility equipment in the long term, but in the shorter : Would he like to mow all the lawns?
Cats, Mice and Clocks...Cats, Mice and Clocks......
Clever Percy (my ginger hunter-cat) has brought yet another live mouse into the house. As custodian of the outbuildings, that's his job done. Black Buster has given it a languid poke and then wandered off to fight my 2000 piece jigsaw (much more fun). Aargh! Tiddles the polydactyl tabby, you are my only hope...
Lists, lists...Lists, lists......
I'm in a list-writing mood. It's completely OK to be in a list-writing mood, as long as one doesn't become obsessed. Many random, disconnected things need itemising, to help keep my late autumn garden in order. And there are lots of new threads...
Quasi-dig?Quasi-dig?...
To dig or not to dig. That is the question - I'm talking about garden border enlargement here. When in doubt, dig? Or when in doubt, don't dig? Maybe quasi-dig? A quasi-dig takes a modest piece of lawn and slices off the turf horizontally...
Aha! The first frost!Aha! The first frost!...
Aha! The first frost (but only minus two degrees Celsius). Only! Hopefully all my daisies and pelargoniums scattered around the garden will survive this little scare. But guess what I have to do as soon as possible? Get some potting mix, dig up all the half-hardies, and put them in the glass-house.
A magical inspiration in winter?A magical inspiration in winter?...
I blame my new garden library book. Why can't my garden be a magical inspiration in winter? High expectations. Aargh! Then reality. Starting at the beginning, the entrance to my garden does not entrance. Weeds, rough edges, random mess, rough grass... Humph.
Some Frost Photographs...Some Frost Photographs......
Aha! A strictly seasonal plan - take photographs of frost (minus six degrees Celsius overnight). This means waiting for the sun to cast a few of its morning sparkles around, otherwise there'll be pictures of gloomy, grey-blue nothing-ness.
Rain Gardening and Rodents...Rain Gardening and Rodents......
So what would I like to do today? Watch the little birdies crawling with delight over their bird feeder? Count the very last of the pale autumn leaves as they flutter sadly down? Find the mouse which an unknown cat let loose underneath the couch?
Blame the Leaf Mould?Blame the Leaf Mould?...
Trying to encourage my reluctant bonfire, burning soggy loads of fallen leaves, is such poor gardening practice. What on earth have I been thinking these last few days? Losing my leaf-mould-making confidence is no excuse. Shame on me!
Three dogs!Three dogs!...
I've jumped in the dog deep end. Escher, the brown German pointer x chocolate Labrador dog is now living in my house. So today I am going to work in my friend's garden with three dogs. I have complete confidence that this will work out. Dogs love gardening. Oh yes, they do.
Getting on with business...Getting on with business......
Good garden news - after a week doing mainly dog-things (outside) and playing the piano (inside), the gardener in me is back, trimming edges, raking leaves, getting on with business. You name it - I've done it. Except crank up the bonfire. I am not speaking to my bonfire at the moment. We are estranged.
Just one garden thing...Just one garden thing......
So here's the plan. Each day this week I'm going to choose just one garden thing and try really hard to finish it, rather than choose a garden area to work in. Garden areas are never finished, but it must be possible to start and finish a 'thing'. Surely it is...
No snow, please!No snow, please!...
Aargh! One degree! But no snow, please. I'll settle for cold, dull winter rain any day. Not that I mind a bit of bad weather. Anyway, there's 'no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.' To quote John Ruskin.
Strike while the ironStrike while the iron's hot......
Garden-wise it's always sensible to 'strike while the iron's hot'. Like picking up horse manure when it's free, regardless of what (or who) else is in your car. or whose car you've borrowed and are driving. Oops.
LetLet's hear it for brown and green......
Aha! Now am reminded why I, an obsessive gardener, also have a gardening journal. It's because on frosty winter mornings it's far too cold to do anything digitally real. So what to do? I know - nosey through last summer's garden photographs, looking for beautiful scenes to put in the web-site's garden tour...
Nothing too glossy...Nothing too glossy......
Tasks for this weekend, and the week to come - nothing too glossy, no major digging, no need to spend money, just good old plain winter garden maintenance. Something for the dogs - a new path! How very exciting! And fern trimming - the ferns are all turning brown, and they tend to plant themselves next to paths.
Designer dogs...Designer dogs......
Gardening boots? On. Gardening jeans? On. Gardening dogs? Got them. The plan - start to finish the new dog-path, which runs from the back of the Shrubbery right along the hedge-line. It has been totally dog-designed. Where the dogs have gone, so has the path. Go, you good dogs, go!
The Pond Garden needs me!The Pond Garden needs me!...
Something very connected has happened. Last night I was looking at photographs of the dogs swimming in my pond. Now I am inspired! The Pond Garden needs me! It needs my rake, and my hand scraper (which I think is lost), and my weeding thingy (?) and my nippers. And most of all it needs my energy...
SUB-Woman?SUB-Woman?...
Let me introduce myself. I am Super Used Brick Woman, or SUB-woman for short. Not only am I a hard-working deconstructor of a large brick courtyard in town, but also an expert stacker of the afore-mentioned bricks on pallets. I work in the sleet and the winter rain...
Re-Chooking...Re-Chooking......
I have another winter project, but (hee hee) this one involves money as well as garden energy. I am 're-chooking' Henworld (the foliage garden next to the old hen house), since my original flock of ceramic poultry is much depleted.
Garden Vouchers...Garden Vouchers......
Waiting for a rather large garden store gift voucher to arrive in the post. The longer it takes, the more fun I have planning how to spend it. Today I'm visualising a trolley full of Pittosporums, fat-leaf Cordylines, and black plastic. Yesterday it was sensible consumables like gardening gloves...
Goodbye, little house...Goodbye, little house......
It's the last day before the little house in town 'belongs' to the demolition team. We are off to pay our last respects, and get one last trailer load of bricks. I'm building up the walls around my Herb Spiral, just adding one layer. Even if the bricks are liable to be knocked off by a zooming dog...
Presents!Presents!...
Aha! Good morning, garden. This week I have a lovely surprise for you. Presents! Including a blossom tree. I will then spend the rest of the week weeding, poking, raking, digging - and planting things! Yeay! I promise...
Motivated?Motivated?...
I've been inspired - no, not the word - motivated - by my wheelbarrow. How old and useful it is, how much I love it being green, and how quickly (or otherwise) I can happily (or otherwise) fill it with garden stuff : tools, rubbish, plants, gnomes...
Hanging out the washing...Hanging out the washing......
For the middle eight weeks of winter the sun is too low and gutless to hang any washing outside. But today I did take some things out to the washing line. And so I noticed that the little Laundry Garden was overdue some tender loving care. And new shrubs! Yes, I am definitely allowed some new shrubs.
Feeling small...Feeling small......
It's OK to feel a bit small as a gardener. There's just me, and the garden is big. Small is comfortable, even if it takes me far too long to half-finish anything. But just occasionally (like today) I seem smaller than ever, as if I'm shrinking away. Then I start feeling small-ineffectual and small-sad...
New wriggles!New wriggles!...
Nothing in the garden has to be finished in one day, right? In fact, it's often better to stand back, think about things overnight, change a little something the next day, maybe wait until the weekend to get another opinion. I'm referring here to the new design of the little wriggling stream - new wriggles!
I love the Camellias...I love the Camellias......
Great outpourings of love, now that more of my beautiful Camellias are flowering. I am so grateful that they're strong and healthy. And when was the last time I gave a Camellia a treat with compost and organic matter? Oops. Camellias are the early spring stars of this neglectful gardener's garden.
Where is Percy?Where is Percy?...
A new week, and nearly spring, so I should be feeling suitable active, excited, energetic, enthused... But I'm none of those. No need for any self-analysis as to why. Just head down, gardening clothes on, and do the work, I reckon. You see, Percy my ginger cat is missing, presumed - who knows? I can't find him.
Sounds easy...Sounds easy......
A sensible, measured approach to the 'building' of my new stream is needed. So the idea is to glide gracefully (i.e. work my way) up its length, rather than jumping around all over the place. And I'm tidying the gardens on each side as I go. Sounds easy? Should be.
Hollyhocks and Honesty...Hollyhocks and Honesty......
A slushy, wet winter's day - perfect for cleaning up the flowering annuals web-pages. This is usually lots of fun. I find new, colourful photographs, and refresh any jaded text. Aargh! I've done two of the oldest pages and have stopped. Hollyhocks and Honesty, your pages are a disgrace.
I can...I can......
I can do this. I can. I can do slushy mud-gardening. I can dig planting holes and barrow soil in the drizzle. And I can finish my little stream in the Wattle Woods. Please? Pretty please?
Sulking...Sulking......
OK. Finally caught the winter virus that has been tripping lightly through my family and friends. Well, I think I'm back, after sulking, semi-sick in bed for the last three days. Put it this way - today I washed my hair, took the dogs to the dog park, and did some weeding. Weeding! Aargh!
Signs of regrowthSigns of regrowth...
No more sulking. I mustn't spoil early spring any longer. It's not fair on the tiny blossom, or the early rhododendrons, or the little purple violets, or the Hellebores, whose subtle colours I adore. Such uplifting signs of regrowth. Time to get over myself. I might miss something!
Nearly spring!Nearly spring!...
Thought it might be time to peep at what I was doing this time last year. Just checking, really, to see what I've forgotten I should have been doing. If that makes any grammatical sense at all... Wow! I was absolutely full of gardening energy, confidence - and nonsense!
Things are happening...Things are happening......
Exciting things are happening this month. September is the start of spring down here in the southern hemisphere. Yippee! September is my birthday month. Another yippee! And five years ago on the 4th September we had our big 4am earthquake, when I thought it was all over for me. Well, it jolly well wasn't...
Spring weeding...Spring weeding......
Spring is amazing. The first blossom, speckles of light, airy colour covering the branches of the trees. Green growth low to the ground - new Gunnera leaves, daylilies and trilliums sprouting... And weeds. I have a new theory regarding spring weeding.
Think like a dog...Think like a dog......
I have a new attitude (not that there was so much wrong with the old one). It's a dog attitude - immediate, uncomplicated, outdoorsy. Think like a dog. Get up, wolf down breakfast. OK. Let's dooooooooooo something! No fiddling around loading the dishwasher, sweeping the floor, having a shower...
Lovely spring sunshine...Lovely spring sunshine......
It's a spectacularly warm day, for September (spring) - twenty-two degrees (Celsius). Wow. So beautiful. I'm off to do a little light weeding by the house. Shepherd's purses, beware! I should just shrug the gardening shoulders and smile, but that lovely spring sunshine will give the weeds even more 'oomph'. Hmm...
Yet another new rule?Yet another new rule?...
I have a new rule. Yes, another one. Every morning when I get the dogs up I have to pull out one hundred shepherd's purse weeds. I have to keep count - and keep an eye out in case a dog's body charges past and knocks me over.
Hurry slowly...Hurry slowly......
Quickly, before I miss anything - outside with the camera! But there's more to mid-spring than just chasing blossom around the garden and lunging to click at daffodils. Take three deep breaths, spend some slow time, read a book on a seat, enjoy the sights and smells (love the Daphne). Hurry slowly.
Tiny treasures...Tiny treasures......
A good thing about doing lots of hand weeding - one works on a small scale, searching for and identifying tiny things. Amongst the weeds I've found little seedling roses, little Alchemilla Mollises, and Lupin seedlings struggling underneath shrubs. And a wonderful discovery - variegated white Honesty babies.
Visiting AkaroaVisiting Akaroa...
So here I am in Akaroa, a quaint little harbour 'village' surrounded by semi-rugged hills, in a wee cottage surrounded by huge Camellias, trees breaking into leaf, native evergreens. Through the bush a dreamy view - grey-blue stripes of water, distant lumpy green-brown hills. But I am THE most hopeless holiday person...
How silly!How silly!...
I wonder how many gardeners sit in a holiday house overlooking a beautiful harbour, the table covered with lovely books to read - and then write a list of gardening tasks to do when they get home. How silly!
A choir of grumpy old men?A choir of grumpy old men?...
Sadly for the blossom trees (and the little birdies in their nests) huge winds are forecast this week. They could gust up to 160km per hour. The wind sounds like a choir of grumpy old men who can't stay in tune, and just keep on and on, moaning one minute, roaring the next.
Trifles...Trifles......
These last days have been full of trifles. Spring has turned up the temperature, so there's been lots of sneaky watering, and quite a bit of semi-sulking. Gardening content? Minimal. Oops. Fire engines, dead cars, and sore knees - read on!
Cars, Knees - and Garden Visitors!Cars, Knees - and Garden Visitors!...
This is the new, improved, non-sulking version of me. The one that sets realistic goal and enjoys working hard to achieve them. The genuine gardening version, that doesn't moan about their aching knee, or panic when garden visitors are arriving in less than a week's time.
Parallel Garden JournalsParallel Garden Journals...
OK. Parallel journal entries. One half-empty, one half-full. Grump versus grin, sigh versus smile, jolly Jekyll against humphing Hyde. If positive reinforcement is required, please read only the italicised items, and look at the pretty pictures.
Faith, energy, and time...Faith, energy, and time......
I have to write about how beautiful the spring garden is looking. And how lucky I am to be a gardener with faith, energy, and time - the three gardening essentials. Prepare for effusive, sentimental gushing - someone has turned the tap on!
Garden maintenanceGarden maintenance...
Spring is supposed to bring out the fluffy gardening romantic. Alas, this weekend the gritty GM (garden maintenance) person has taken over. GM - a pair of dirty initials. I am watering, nursery-womaning, planting, clearing and burning all the gum and cordyline leaves.
In the gardening moment...In the gardening moment......
Have the courage to live completely in the gardening moment, I tell myself. Don't keep looking back, sad because the blossom is over. And don't reach forward too much - you'll only trip over something. Watch your feet!
Bouff!Bouff!...
Good morning to my early November garden. What a transformation! You've gone 'bouff', puffed out your beautiful chest, put on your super-flowery fat-suit. Where to begin? Aha - the roses! Agnes the pale lemon rugosa, Fruhlingsgold, once flowering and so simply single, dark, brooding Othello...
Work, plant, plan...Work, plant, plan......
Late spring/early summer is the time to enjoy the garden, not plan and plant things, or do any work. According to the garden journalist in the newspaper. Really? She must have an under-gardener weeding daily, and a wiry old man doing lawns and edges once a week. And not like flowering annuals. You see, I don't agree with her.
Molto rubato...Molto rubato......
Garden tempo - molto rubato! Sometimes things move so slowly. I've been doing daily checks of the peony buds (seventy-five of them). Apart from the early corals, there is no action. A watched peony bud never opens? And four precious Alliums in the Perennials Garden are just sitting there. What are they waiting for?
End of an eraEnd of an era...
It is with some sadness that I report the end of an era. I am retiring my beloved Lady Scarpa hiking boots, which have provided ankle and foot support over many a mountainous and forest-filled trail. Today I have confronted my old-lady feet. I have bought some new high-tech latest ultra-light hiking shoe-boots. At least they are still Italian...
A long line of A long line of 'oopses'...
Oops. The latest in a long line of 'oopses'. I've possibly made yet another BIG mistake. No need to panic - yet. I just need to think very carefully about this pretty plant. It's Goldenrod, Solidago, and in the most inhospitable garden I've ever created it is running rampant. I take full responsibility for deliberately planting it there...
A scary month!A scary month!...
The November garden is hurtling through the calendar, leaving days, weeks, and weekends scattered behind. Now it's time to plant out the last of the flowering annuals and start dead-heading the roses... Eek! What a busy, scary month!
Stinking hot...Stinking hot......
Suddenly, stinking hot weather. Did I mention the word stinking? I have just shampooed two naughty dogs after their illicit visit (yet again) to next-door's rubbish pit. And I have rung the pollution hotline and made a statement (that sounds nicer than the word 'complaint').
Summer holiday mode already!Summer holiday mode already!...
Something very sneaky has happened. Without meaning to, I seem to have switched into summer holiday mode, rather early. I'm reading, writing, going out to cafes, singing and playing the piano - everything under the sun except doing the gardening. Oops. Hello December, by the way.
Dear Mister Smelly Dog...Dear Mister Smelly Dog......
Dear Rusty, Mister Smelly Old Dog, a bit lazy, a bit slow, sometimes a bit of a needy nuisance. Let me reaffirm what a wonderful dog you are. You are such a good dog. So well-behaved! Soooooooo good.
Not disheartened, no way...Not disheartened, no way......
Have come inside after three good hours of clearing and weeding. Feeling good? Not a bit! The word 'disheartened' comes to mind. I have to give myself a mental shake. I am not gardening with land mines or polluted water, when that word would be horribly appropriate. Just an unwanted weed - oxalis.
Well intentioned?Well intentioned?...
I think my garden is missing me. December is my 'should be doing' month, and I run around in a continuous loop - the dog park, lunch with friends, piano practice, the Christmas jigsaw, a fruity cider, to bed with a book, the dog park, and so on. My gardening efforts are well-intentioned but sporadic.
Christmas WeekChristmas Week...
OK. Successfully avoiding the cash-crazy shopping malls, I am busy singing carols and getting the garden ready for Christmas. I haven't even been to the local nursery. Think I've bought quite enough new plants for this year, hee hee.
Lazy last days of 2015Lazy last days of 2015...
Lazy days, afternoon snoozes, cider in the evenings, meals outside on the patio, panting dogs and lolling cats for company. And Bach and Schumann on the piano. Too early for my New Years' Resolutions? No way.