Gardening in the mud

It’s been ages since I’ve been able to have a good go at the garden. How well I remember moving the plants from the back of the house. The deep roots and reluctant foliage. It’s now time to start moving them back.

Off the terrace, the beginning of the garden is divided by the steps. There’s the Crazy Patch (left) and the Chutney Bed (right). The Crazy Patch is going to have to wait a bit longer because we want to look at getting the fence replaced but the Chutney Bed can be started.

The rain hasn’t helped, though we seem to have excellent drainage and, because of the building works, the soil is easily turned. Even so, there’s a lot of mud, something that Emma seems obsessed with.

First thing, though, having walked to the station with Mirinda, the roof needed my attention.

Climbing through the Green Room window, new broom in hand, I proceeded to sweep up the leaves and shift the water into the drain at the end. I found the places where the rain puddled most obviously and swept them dry. There was a lot of leaves in the drain so I cleaned that out too.

Meanwhile, Day-z was wandering around, looking for me. I watched her looking around the garden, poking her nose into my office, checking down the side of the house. Through the roof lantern, I watched her searching for me on and behind the furniture. Meanwhile, Emma stood at the bottom of the window waiting for my return. She’d watched me leave the room while Day-z had been downstairs so it makes sense.

Anyway, roof finished, I had some plants to put in around the water feature. I finished off the box around one end then planted a row of white cyclamens along one side. I then finished off with three Erica arborea ‘Albert’s Gold’ (virulent green plants, to the layperson) at the step end.

I stood back and thought it looked excellent. Emma agreed so, in celebration, she walked through them all.

I then put some more plants in the lower raised bed, filling a few holes with a couple of red berry plants and pink cyclamens. It’s all looking very cheerful and, hopefully, will continue in that vein throughout winter…or at least Christmas.

Having completed the easy bits, I then went to town on the Chutney Bed. I’d made a big start last week and continued from where I’d left off.

The Chutney Bed is quite shady (because of the beech tree at Clive’s Corner) so Mirinda indicated which plants should be transported into it. The main ones are the two acers. So, just as the rain started (again), I dug a deep hole, put some chicken manure in the bottom and plonked the potted acer into it…without the pot. I then gave it a bit of a water, noting the irony as the rain started doing more than merely sprinkling.

That put paid to the gardening and the rest of the day was spent in housework.