The solitary gene

 Me.
Weeding in the Hump Garden

Maybe most gardeners have the solitary gene. Pianists, too, are used to being the only one. And I am both these things. So being locked-down is easy for me, right? Got my piano, got my garden, so I'm OK. So, after four, or five (or six, or more) weeks, my garden will be immaculate and my Bach will ripple along effortlessly? Hmm...

Bach and gardening...

At the moment Bach is rattling rather slowly, like a rusted old Massey Ferguson tractor. But hey! Such a tractor once crossed Antarctica to the South Pole. Since today is going to be a Bach and Gardening day, I should make a list of objectives. What to do in the garden? I know! Prepare for the first big autumn burning session. Aargh! Don't want to.

And guess what? It's started to rain. Yippee! I can stay inside and practice Bach's six rather lovely violin and piano sonatas. It's high time I organised Non-Gardening Partner (the resident violinist). Back later.

Much Later...

I did more hand and knees weeding the Hump, mainly clearing the network of paths. Kept finding potatoes in odd places. Am amazed by the growth of the Cercis tree. There is so much green growth in the Hump Garden, which is only a year and a half old. Testament to the power of loads of horse manure and mulch...

 Agapanthus on the left.
Cercis Tree in the Hump Garden.

The Fred cats are too lazy to come gardening at the moment - lucky, because I've had bird-company. For the last three days a friendly blackbird with bright orange eyes has been hopping around after me, presumably checking for worms.

 Hard work being a cat!
Lazy Fred Cats

Sunday 29th March

Aha! Day Four of weeding in the Hump. Today, four very damp and grubby hours, crawling around pulling out Lamium from underneath Viburnum shrubs, digging out stacks of pretty little green grass seeds, further dead-heading the dahlias - not because I'm a fusspot (heaven forbid!) but so they'll produce more late flowers for my bees. Again that beady-eyed blackbird has been following me. Again I've been dealing mainly to the paths.

Got so wet and grubby that I've had to shower and change, going apres-gardening at 2 oçlock in the afternoon - my goodness me! Have gently indicated to NGP that he might like to play his violin later. Perhaps the B minor Sonata. He's ignoring me (the log burner is going, and he's spread himself out on the dog couch with the dogs and his ipad. Hmm... It may be my fate to Bark alone...