Love Lychnis
Lychnis
I love Lychnis. Honestly, I really do love it. I love how generously it self-seeds and fills my borders with flowers. I love the colours - white, magenta, and all the pinks in between. But...
Do I love trimming and cleaning it up when its summer freshness has gone? NO!
After some hot days with the noisiest blustering wind, today has been rather weather-peaceful. I've had a wonderful day, too. It started with me sitting in the breakfast chairs with a pot of tea, looking out at the beautiful big gum tree, and giving thanks for what I was seeing, or, to be more truthful, what I wasn't seeing - oops. No neighbour's fences, no next-door houses, and so on. This view is of my own making, my own interaction with nature, and my goodness I am blessed for this.
Pebbles with the Kittens
Gentle dogs...
And loving it that my dogs are so gentle and caring towards the new Fred Kittens. Pebbles is their attentive, self-appointed nanny. Tiger, senior cat, hardly notices them. Kittens? What kittens?
Today Red Fred and Black Fred have been exploring the Olearia hedge and the back lawn, while I've been working in the gardens there. Humph. For four hours I have done little else but trim and pull out Lychnis.
My idea was to 'do' the Herb Spiral gardens and then move on to the Campion filled garden by the washing line. Campion - another weedy self-seeder which demands a rather robust clean-up.
Well, this never happened, because the Herb Spiral Garden was chock-full of Lychnis. And why, why, why does it take so long to pull out? Oh, I leave the newer plants and trim their stalks off (Lychnis is a perennial, though after three years the base of the plant get really scruffy).
Lychnis Mess
Brought the kittens inside, then virtuously wheeled five loads of mess over the the fence line. This activity seemed to take about half an hour. Why does every repetitive task take so long? Because it is being repeated, I guess...
Gardener Selfie
And now I look back over my day, glowing with pride (and the House Merlot). The dogs have been wonderful. One of the Fred kittens got 'left behind' and cried. Immediately both dogs went to find to the kitten and licked its face gently (Pebbles also sneaked the lightest of bottom-sniffs). You're not lost, little Fred - look, we're your family and we're here here, they seemed to say. Aww.....
The Kittens