Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Sunday 3 April 2011

Have I mentioned I don't do things by halves?

Some of you may remember that the smaller portion and I went mad and each ordered about 450 bulbs.  Making a grand total of  900 bulbs (or so).  With nowhere to put them.  So heavy duty weeding, pruning and tidying was called for.

Twenty garbage bags of weeds later I realised we needed a skip.  And then himself and I had discussions about what size we needed.  He said the smallest (two cubic metres) and he could use the extra room (hah!) to clear out some of the crap in the garage.  I said we needed a bigger one and ordered a three cubic metre skip.  Which we have spent the week filling.  With garden produce.  The garage is as crap filled as ever.


Not only is the skip full, the smaller portion (and a neighbour) have jumped up and down on it three or four times to enable us to nearly meet the requirement that it be filled no higher than the water level.

And we didn't finish.  By a long shot.  However, most of the bulbs have arrived so another skip and more of that sort of insanity in the garden will have to wait until we have planted the bulbs.  The remaining 50 to 100 bulbs are not expected to arrive for a fortnight.  Will we be ready for them?  I know not.  Perhaps.  Or perhaps I will have collapsed in a screaming heap.




We do however have some space for planting.  The daffodils will go in first, then the iris and the tulips afterwards when hopefully the weather will have cooled down a little.  We can see down some pathways for the first time this season! 



We have also uncovered some things that were largely hidden by the undergrowth.  Including some of last years bulbs (I had wondered whether they had rotted in our almost unheard of damp weather).




The vegetable garden on the other hand ...



In the forefront of the photo is the pineapple sage, flowering its little heart out.  Also the lemon verbena (ditto).  There are many tomato bushes too.  And herbs.  All largely concealed by the rampant raspberries.  Which I have decided I will dig out and confine in a half wine barrel or two next year.  But bulb planting comes first, even though collecting the produce is like a jungle expedition.  The veggies just have to wait.

I am seriously impressed and surprised at our achievements this week. Or to be more accurate at my achievements.  Himself just needed the motivation, and most days I had done a few hours in the garden before he got up.   Bending is as difficult and painful as ever.  Reaching over my head is a new area of frailty.  But somehow it got done.  And I bought a long handed digger so I should (fingers crossed) be able to plant the bulbs.  I will probably put them in their little holes using the long handled barbecue tongs.  I plan to use the tongs to put the blood and bone as well so I guess we will need a new set of tongs.  A small price to pay. 

I have just remembered (dammit) that tonight is a night I have to stick a needle in myself.  When that is over I plan to have (and enjoy hugely) a glass or perhaps two of red wine.

14 comments:

  1. You should be very proud of your labors! I'm impressed and exhausted just reading about them! Myself, last night I went straight for the wine, without any garden work as the earning of my reward...

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  2. Great work and you've already got a beautiful garden even without the bulbs!

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  3. A job worth doing is a job worth doing well i say and you've acheived that. Looking forward to seeing the result of your labours when the bulbs blossom :-).

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  4. I'd count that as a job well done. Well done!

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  5. Exciting times. You should probably book a massage to go with the red wine after all that back-breaking labour!

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  6. I love your garden. Why are you sticking needles in yourself? Don't you have a lackey to wait on you hand and foot and do the sticking of the needles? and serve you wine and cakes......

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  7. Phwoar! Look at that ... foxglove? Gorgeous.

    What a lot of work, but your bulbs will look beautiful. I've just put in some giant alliums, and have some pink bluebells and daffs in bags waiting for me to clear some more grass. It makes a person wish spring would hurry up.

    In raspberry news: the local Bunnings had some on its marked-down-buy-me-now-before-I-die shelf so I've put three canes in. I'm going to take a leaf from your raspberry book and prune them regularly.

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  8. Thank you all. It was v hard work, but I think (hope) it will pay dividends later.
    River: If anyone has to stick needles in me I would prefer to do it self (are you listening Jazz?).
    Mitzi: A massage does sound good, but at the moment I couldn't get onto a massage table. I went to the pool and water walked this morning so I am hoping that loosens things up. (Walked in not on water).
    Alexis: Yes a fox glove - shouldn't be flowering now, but much appreciated. Great that you found some raspberries closer than here - I think that they fruit on last years canes so you may need to be careful with your pruning.

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  9. Ok... I won't ever again feel overwhelmed at the thought of simply watering the potted plants on my porch! (They're carnivorous and require dragging gallons of distilled water around... still...)

    Such a beautiful garden, I can almost smell it. Wow! Can't wait for the pics when those bulbs get going...!

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  10. Wowsers, that is a LOT of pruning. Absolutely amazing! Well done, both of you and the neighbour who can jump :)

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  11. Thanks for the raspberry pruning tip! I'd heard something of that sort. If I can organise myself I'll make a sort of trellis for these guys, and pin up the potentially fruiting canes as they happen so that it's easier to prune off the ones that won't fruit.

    My dad spent many weekends of his middle age tromping around with a pack of round-up on his back, spraying blackberries in paddocks, so I know what rampant buggers brambles can become.

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  12. "I have just remembered (dammit) that tonight is a night I have to stick a needle in myself."

    If it's no longer fun, why do it?

    My, but you like Chlorophytum (here, they're called spider plants or airplane plants). I counted five of them and wasn't even trying. Digitalis (foxglove) grows wild here in Oregon, and is frequently seen along shady roadsides. I think I spotted a eucalyptus. They're an import here, and don't get very big this far north, but do well in California. Now that I know you and he can do more work than I can, I really must extend an invitation for a extended visit.

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  13. Snowbrush: That was a few years ago - but the work continues. I am again weeding, weeding, weeding - and he is (sometimes) putting the bulbs in because I cannot bend well enough.
    Many spider plants because tbey are happy with little water and don't mind cold either. No wild fox gloves (sigh) and we have three very large eucalpyts. Yay.
    The needle? Medication. Not fun. Still doing it and wondering why.

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