Mow, no mow

viburnum 2012A breakfast dilemma: is it too wet to mow?   I arrived yesterday and everything is beyond lush.

Who would have thought that six days could produce such growth? I swear the peas have grown a foot.   I had to add two more rows of twine around the poles to try and contain them.   Their tendrils were starting to seek out all sorts of strange resting places.   None of them madly convenient.

Oh. I just turned around and looked out the window. No mow. It’s raining.   Rats.

I will have to see if there are any indoor tasks I can do.   And there is always clean the office. It’s getting messy in there.   But I am saved. ‘Clean the bread oven area’.   That’s almost outdoorish, and something fun to tick off the list.

The very first thing I did yesterday was to cut flowers for the house. My favourite thing.   The Gertie Jeykll roses are now coming out.

And the viburnum shrub in the courtyard is flowering well.   It needed a rather radical prune two years ago, so I lost the flowers.   But this year I am well rewarded for the patience.   But the wind is already buffeting the flowers.

viburnum vase

It’s such a shame that this wind and rain might batter it a bit.   Just getting a few of the branches into the vase involved some rather messy clearing up of the kitchen floor.

Once I’ve drunk this perfect pot of tea I will get some rain gear on and go out with my camera. I forgot to take it on my lap around the garden yesterday, so I’m playing catch up.

The valerian up on the terrace bank above the potting shed is a dream.

In fact the entire potting shed bank is looking more than lush. I know there are squillions of weeds in there, but they are so crammed with the beautiful plants that I can’t wade in to sort out just yet.

The valerian is the first out.   But I’m hoping that the peonies won’t be that far behind.   They are in that exciting bud stage where you think they will open, but in fact are weeks off.

valerianThis cooler weather doesn’t egg them on, but the clary sage might be magnificent soon. They are thigh high right now. terrace bank flowers may

His royal haughtiness deigned to be talked to. But there was no way he was going to give in and let me pat him. Or offer a lap for his purring antics.   He spent the morning just standing out of my sight, and then purposely stalking by and sitting on rocks and glaring at me.

Am I reading too much into this? He does seem cross when I go away and it takes a few days before he thinks I’m fun company again.

At least he is availing himself of my lovely warm potting shed.   I had to wake him up this morning as he was taking a long nap up on the top shelf in his favourite wine box.

artur and festucaHe did have about six minutes of activity, before he realised it was too wet to go out and climbed back in the box.

There was some complicated yowling which I was unable to translate. Last week that was the signal to sit down in the chaise longue and be prepared for some affectionate cuddling of cat and purring. But today it was just plain old complicated yowling.

I was madly finishing the painting of my new planter. Talk about an instant garden. Purchased one afternoon down in town. Assembled in the late afternoon and two coats of undercoat in the early evening.

And then a mad very late night coat of the lovely sage green paint.

It was a bit tacky this morning as it hadn’t really dried, so I donned gloves and protective clothing to grapple with the large box and take it outside. new mint

And this afternoon I planted it up.   Six different mint plants, lovingly surrounded by compost’s finest.  Â  A top coating of gravel. A careful watering; and then position it in between the two planters already in place.