Somewhere along the way I lost a day. I don’t know what happened to Wednesday. I gardened all the way through Thursday thinking I had two more days before the weekend. Only to find out I didn’t.
I planted hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of bulbs this week. Maybe that’s the reason I lost Wednesday. I remember all the things I did. I just can't remember which day I did what. I cleared and weeded two and a half gardens. I added compost and planted bulbs in 4 raised beds. I pruned a pohutakawa tree by half and dug up the easy two-thirds of an agapanthus growing into a tree. I planted 3 roses. I broke my birthday spade. I planted out seedlings. I weeded. I composted. I mulched. I tidied the garden shed. I bought a new vase. I visited my flower farming friend Gaylene of Fowbow Flowers, and we swapped cuttings and seedlings, and talked for hours about growing flowers. I sowed seeds, potted on seedlings and planted out seedlings. I bought and planted out another hellebore in my emerging woodland garden.
I also designed a couple of stamps and cut and printed one of them.
One of the themes that threaded its way through my thoughts this week was a list of my favourite things. The first is the vase in the photo above. A present from my friend Sal.
Here’s the before and after of the corner bed in the back garden. I took out a huge rosemary (which I’ll take cuttings from). I had to make room for 3 bare root roses I bought from Bunnings. I made sure I put in a path for the dogs (if I didn’t they’d have made one anyway). I have two apple trees in this garden. A big one at the back and a dwarf one at the front. I’m going to add some climbing roses later in winter. I guess you could call it a kind of orchard garden.
I love designing fonts and all things to do with lettering. I’m going to have two stamp designs which I’ll print on the brown paper for wrapped flower bunches. My dream is to integrate my art and design into my bunches of flowers. I’d like to hand dye ribbons using plants I’ve grown. But that’s for the future.
Most of the week took me to these two gardens. The driveway garden and the sloped garden beside it. I finished planting out the driveway gardens with daffodils. I noticed how the pohutakawa tree by the fence cast shade on it during the day. So I pruned it. Then I set to work weeding and editing it (the sloping garden that is). I need to make a pathway for the dogs and an area for them to sit and watch the world. That’ll happen next week.
One of my favourite things is this bulb hole maker that my friend Sophie gave me. I’m sure it has a proper name but I can’t think of it. I use it to dig out trenches for the bulbs, as well as individual holes. It fits nicely in my hand.
Here’s another favourite thing. My birthday spade. My husband gave it to me many years ago. I should’ve taken better care of it. Not leaving it outside. Not leaving its lovely wooden handle to dry and crack.
I was digging up a NZ grass (see the long strappy leaves in the photo above). I used the spade to leaver it out. And it snapped (the spade not the bloody grass).
My newest favourite thing is this vase I found at the op shop this week.
Here’s another before and after. I weeded these raised beds (carefully because lots of flowers have self sown) and chopped down the dead stems of flowers (leaving their roots in the soil). Then I planted Dutch Iris’s and gladiolus nanus (which sold out very quick this year).
Here’s a favourite stinky thing. Compost. I have an unconventional composting method. It came about because I hate rodents and I have a shortage of space. I drill holes in the bottom and bottom third of plastic rubbish bins (with lids). I fill them up in layers. I always leave a layer of old rotted compost in the bottom. I put in a layer of food scraps (I compost all food - everything), a layer of brown waste (paper, cardboard, sticks) or a layer of old potting mix. And so it goes until it’s filled up. Then I forget about it. And then one day it’s ready to use. And the bits that haven’t finished decomposing go back inside.
Some of the bins I’ve buried in the garden (just the bottom third), near fruit trees).
Jute netting is one of my favourite things. I managed to track some down at Bunnings. I didn’t want to use plastic.
The hellebores are flowering in my emerging woodland garden.
My final favourite things: a yellow trowel from an op shop (I love the size and the pointy blade), and The Project Coordinator and Community Liaison Specialist, assisting me in the ‘Garden Expansion’ project.
