Gardening Activity Plan Decisions On An Overcast Day

Somehow, when gardening I find that there are these moments of peaceful calm – where everything has been done for the moment and the time is right to just lean back and take in the lush environment – which are usually followed by a couple days of frantic busyness.

I feel myself entering the frantic stage right now.  So, I’m making the only sensible move.  I’ve made myself a vat of coffee (see pic above) and have had some nibbles – which have included pineapple Jaffa cakes and basic but yummy salad on crackers. Yes, yes; I know what you’re going to say.  What a weird combination!  Well, weird can be good and I happen to like both things with my coffee – not in the same mouthful but following the idea of having dessert after a savoury meal.  So, to reiterate, I’m being a sensible adult, inhaling coffee and trying to figure out my gardening activity plan (for the remainder of today and the rest of the week) while talking to a blog post. 

Snort.

Today’s the second day of overcast skies and rainy weather in a row.  When I was walking the dogs I realized that a cloud had actually descended onto the hilltop I had walked to – it’s a lovely, comfortable feeling having a cloud envelop you in the warmer season.  Besides the type of coolness present, there’s a little tingle that happens to your ears and nose – it’s not unpleasant at all.  I loved the sensation today, it reminded me of some other times I had found myself in a cloud.  One was when I climbed up El Avila mountain in Caracas with some friends.  I’m grateful to be in a place now where that memory and feeling was able to come back to me.  These things are precious in life. 

But, I digress! Let me get back on track with a gulp of coffee.

I’m very thankful for the change in weather as watering my garden takes a very long time – even with a sprinkler doing the job.  It can sometimes get tedious, having to remember the specific time points to change the sprinkler location.  I have about 11 watering points in the front flower garden so far, and 8 in the rear veg and fruit garden.  I do need to install some water butts and get an irrigation system going, but that’s not on the agenda for this week.

This week my structural Hebes have started to flower and they need to be shown off for their efforts.  So, I need to do some weeding.  These Hebes are in my front corner garden project area so I really should do quite a lot of weeding all around the various flower bed areas bordering the pathway.  The pathway hasn’t progressed more yet, there’s a bit I’m waiting on the Hubs to do that involves some timber edging.  He’s going to bend the timber a bit and grade it as the pathway is on a slight slope.  No stone chips can be thrown down to create the pathway until this is done, so I have to roll with things and change my plan of action for that project area.  It seems that I have to use my lovely hoe-pick (mattock hoe to anyone who wants to add one to their tool collection – it’s a fabulous thing!) and get going with two bordering flower beds. 

These beds bordering the bottom and far side of the pathway have plants in them already which I planted over the last few years.  The bottom one has a young Leylandii, poppies and a blackcurrent bush.  The side one has some Shasta daisies, a Pieris, and more of my floribunda roses.  My Ox-Eye daisy seedlings have come along very, very quickly and they need to be planted out.  These daisies have more of a delicate foliage to the Shastas, so I think I’m going to plant them in the side garden border.  They will be shorter than the Shasta daisies and I think they’ll provide a nice, simple and very honest combination.  When I say honest, I mean that I don’t want this garden to seem out of place in this very rural location.  I’d like it to seem as if these flower choices are natural in their location.

So, I have to dig up the wild grass that seems persistent in growing here. 

I think I might have to wield my hoe-pick today.  As it’s overcast it will surely be an easier task today in the cool air, rather than tomorrow’s predicted hot and sunny day.  So, I guess that’s that decision made.  I have to cut a lot of grass soon (both the front and back garden need it) and that needs a hot sunny day, of which it will take up most of the day.

I do have seedlings that need to be transplanted from their seedling trays to individual pots.  But, since transplanting Ox-Eye daisies is on the list of things to do, and as that activity will free up little seedling pots, I have to deal with these daisies first.

I never had a choice, did I?  Not really.  I have to do some heavy grunt work today. Sigh.

So, like the well-informed, competent, productive adult that I am; I’m going to get more coffee.  I just have to resign myself to the fact that the other important things I wanted to do today will just have to be done tonight or moved down the list to another day.

Definitely another coffee is needed.  Good chat, blog!  Decisions made. Thank you.