Early christmas present

My sunhat. Put to use in December, just before Christmas. What an amazing day. Blazing sunshine, no wind, a brilliant blue sky, a great weeding project, a compliant cat. Who could ask for more?

They had forecast 14C but it felt much warmer than that.

I knew what I wanted to do today: get the entire wildflower bed cleared.   And transplant most of the achillea up to the top vegetable bed.

I had done the worst of the work last week; but there was plenty to get my fork into.   Lots of rocks, lots of weeds, some brambles, and I had to make sure I didn’t damage the poppy plants that have germinated all through this bed.   You can see the greenery that is left.

I have kept some of the small achilleas, and moved some to the back of the bed. Why it’s just like a border – tall to the back, small to the front.

Except I’m going to be sowing Pictorial Meadows wildflower mix here instead.

But I have spent a good fun hour uprooting more verbena bonariensis plants from the potager and planting them into this lovely weed free and soft soil.

My little companion would come up to me every hour or so for a chat. Well, actually for a cool down and a pat.

The silly cat had chosen the strangest place to sleep considering it’s a Sunday.

He was right out in the open on the track leading down to the orchard.   Weekends around here mean hunting; and that can mean stray dogs bounding up to us, lost.

Either Artur is getting deaf in his old age, or he just doesn’t fear the yelping of dogs anymore.   Or he was so thrilled with the hot sun that he didn’t care where he slept. As long as I was in view.

We worked on all day, (Artur working on his tan) pausing only to feed the fire every hour or so and I am naturally paying for the overdoing it bit.   But I’m only an hour off an aperatif, so it should stop hurting then.

And it was well worth the effort; I have a blank canvas ready for a spring sowing.   I may put in a few more of the vb plants when I give the potager a good tidy. But I think I’m pushing my luck in all this transplating.

Verbena bonariensis are on the edge of their range at this altitude.   It would take just one more week of a cold snap like this February (minus 18C with a freezing wind) to kill off a lot of these flowers which are out in the open.

Part of me thinks these vebenas survived this cold weather and are already adapted to sudden cold; but I’m putting them under pressure by transplanting them. So I might just leave them where they have self sown until Spring.

That and not being able to lift a fork because my back is killing me.   Take your pick.