Fix up the flaxes...
Oh boy! It's turning into a Fix Up the Flaxes month. More and more of the larger Phormiums (I have quite a few) are splitting apart. They've had a bumper flowering season, and their stalks are really heavy.
Trim These Phormiums!
Today's gardening started off really well. I spread compost out on the new garden area by the back lawn and sorted out the roses for transplanting within. Blast - couldn't find my hammer to nail up a rail between the old fence posts. Needed this to prop up the Zepherine Drouhan roses. Task incomplete.
Went off to trim the nearby Phormiums - had to stand into the water race to do the job properly. My feet got cold. Arrived at the biggest Phormium, a bronzy-brown one. Eek! Not good - half of the fans had split right away, leaves and stems were trailing down in the water. Blast! This flax needed a total trim. By now my feet were far too cold. I couldn't find my favourite sharp little steak knife. It started to drizzle. Humph. Had to stop.
Shasta Daisies
I know, I know. I should take better care of my tools. But I thought I'd been doing so. Garden goblins getting up to mischief in the night, perhaps?
Golden Smiles Roses
Rusting hammers...
Non-Gardening Partner says that all my hammers have probably been left lying in the garden somewhere, and are going rusty. Thanks for that!
Next day...
So NGP nailed up the rail for my roses, while I spent two hours in the water trimming that Phormium. Puzzled away - should I just take off the flopped over leaf fans? Or should I take the whole plant down to the ground, then wait for it to resprout?
Chose the latter. About one half of the leaves are dead, time for a complete rejuvenation, I reckon.
Drizzle...
Drizzle is forecast for tomorrow. But if I am already half wet in the water race, it shouldn't stop me, right? I can finish off the flax, and also slice down the green Carexes next to the variegated Arondo.