I think mine is still recovering from the storm. Dad decided to minimise any hazards by lopping back the apricot tree close to our house, although the peach tree seemed to survive the wind. I put the arch back up but am loathe to prune the hardenbergia as it's just coming into flower.
Some bulbs shoots are now appearing and I'm hoping to complete some beds - the camellia bed needs to be totally weeded out where the driveway is and groundcovered with pratia or leptinella. I have rearranged it so several plants have come out and it is now with gardenia radicans, fuschia, and ferns.
I am trying to get the colour scheme right but nothing really matches with the camellia which I did not plant and am very annoyed as I can't just rip it out. Also the soil is only a few inches deep cos underneath is that horrible black plastic, rock hard clay and stones. I've pulled out as much plastic as I can but can only put shallow rooting plants there that like it somewhat damp.
Another bed that looks like a dogs breakfast at the moment is the one I look at from my window. I've decided the bog salvia does really well there and you'd think it would be easy to obtain more from the garden centre but no, they only sell the salvias that like it well drained. Every plant label for all the other perennials says ' likes well drained soil ' and I'm thinking well where are all the plants that like mud???
Apart from building a 3 feet high tower bed and bringing in a truckload of soil I'm just waiting around for the miracle plant that adores clay or maybe I could just plant Kauri trees there as that was what was originally here before. I was surprised that the pink cabbage tree, that was meant to be for Mary up and died, as that was supposed to be native to the area. I thought you just couldn't kill cabbage trees.
It rained again on our planned St Giles church working bee so only managed to offload a few clivia on the side bed to be planted next Saturday. I did a quick weed in the rain but my body was telling me to stop already and have a nap. I have to ignore all pleas to do the Woodside community garden now because other gardens desperately need my attention. I went all the way to Papakura to pick up plants, so it has to be worth it. Thankfully I have accomplished that mission the only thing is now the rains have saturated the soil and it's hard to dig anything at the moment. I hear squelch squelch and it's mud.
Joanne and I tidied up the Baptist church garden last week but we could not dig anything at all in one bed as it was hard as rock. So the snapdragons are not going in and now are residing at my place. However they might have a chance next week, if there are no more storms. The perils of living in clay country.
The neighbours tidied up the tree that had fallen down on their roof but they should have just chipped it and given it to me because pine needles make really good mulch. I have my eye on some newspapers in the garage to build a no-dig garden if I can also get me some lucerne hay. Dad claimed they were special newspapers as he seemed to be hanging on to ten copies of the day Princess Diana died but I reckon you can just read that on the internet or look that up on the microfiche plus why would you want to remember that anyway wouldn't it be more fitting to bury her in the garden and grow...English roses? It could be the Princess Diana memorial garden except well, I think she wasn't into gardening all that much. She was a brave lady walking over all those hazardous landmines though which is what my place would be if I didn't garden it. Here we are just walking over fallen feijoas which reminds me I need to make a feijoa pie tonight.
