Still Cleaning up The Hump...
Cleared Path into Hump
I am loving my garden this winter - much more than my house, hee hee. I love working with the outside things, while the house floors gather dust and the carpets gather cat and dog fur. And now, the second installment of my clean-up of The Hump.
Sunday 24th July
Each evening I sit by the log-burner, crowded by the furry creatures, reading big gardening books. Ah - the dreamy gloss of high summer. One of my books tells me that 'to create a garden is to search for a better world'. Maybe? Or maybe not, for me. What do you think?
Anyway, here I go, back into The Hump. What a wonderful day - a shining winter sun, a refreshing wind, and three barking-mad dogs for company. What more could one want? An undergardener, perhaps? A glass-house manager?
Five Hours Later...
Refreshing wind? Definitely. Noisy like the dogs, and cold too, but not a problem. I've had a very productive day, working my way right along the edge of the Hump (AKA the edge of the Driveway lawn). I've planted some Agapanthus, and potted up lots of little foxglove seedlings growing in the grass.
The edge of the Hump
Another path into the Hump has been re-edged, and the ground cleared of gum leaves and pine needles. Several Pittoporums and Ake Akes have died (no irrigation, and low summer rainfall for two years now) and I've sawed them down. All the rubbish is now piled up by the end of the garage, waiting for a wind-free bonfiring day.
Grevillia Flowering
Concerning cats and jigsaws...
After my shower I started my new jigsaw. Fluff-Fluff appeared from nowhere and climbed into the box. Then Buster launched herself into the lid. Now the fun begins. One reaches out a languid paw, swipes a jigsaw piece, and chews energetically. I didn't like the picture much, anyway (the garden flowers were out of focus, totally fuzzy).
Uber-floriferous...
One of the joys of doing a 'country cottage' jigsaw in winter is oohing and aahing over the flowers. And making promises to ones own garden - yes, you will have squillions of colourful annuals this summer. Yes. I promise. You will make a really dense floral statement. Uber-floriforous you will be!
Monday 25th July
Woke up still feeling proud about yesterday's achievements. Obsessed? Hmm... Took the dogs along the newly trimmed lawn edge on our morning walk. They showed their appreciation by pee-ing on the new plants.
Queen Anne's Lace :- This is such a pretty annual, as long as you're happy that it self-seeds.
I am always losing the kitchen scissors (and not exactly in the kitchen, oops). So on the way home from the dog park I bought three pairs, two 'multi purpose', and one 'garden snips', plus some secateurs for the rose pruning. I also have four bags of potting mix - I can pot up all my self-sown Queen Anne's lace seedlings, if I get 'the hump' with 'The Hump'.
Purple Garden Bench
Today I am going to - that phrase again - 'try and finish'. This Hump garden is easy pickings, though. Fix the paths, rake the mess, cut down the dead things - done. No wind today, so I'll be able to burn all the rubbish. Oh joy. Love-hate that winter bonfire.
And Six Hours Later, Dusk...
It's been another brilliant day. I pottered away for ages clearing The Hump - I am halfway around the Driveway Lawn now. Then I wandered over to get the bonfire going. In between barrowing loads (and there were lots of these, because I was burning three days' worth) I potted up several rescued coloured Phormium hybrids and some tulips, and gently lowered an Anemanthele grass into the big maroon pot.
The Dogs
Now the dogs and I are relaxing inside by the log burner. All the cats have been fed, and the evening casserole in the slow-cooker is ready. Haven't lost any scissors yet. Life is good. And does Facebook know something that I don't? I keep getting advertisements for an 'Academic Seniors' dating website. Oh my goodness. Might meet Non-Gardening Partner on it. Now there's a thought. Hee hee...