Putting one’s plant house in order

A housekeeping day: out came all the plants, out came the brooms, brushes and boxes. And about five hours later I have a neat and tidy potting shed. I am so conscious that these poor plants have to be abandoned for a few weeks, so they needed to be well sorted before I go away. 

And I think they rather enjoyed getting their sun kicks. Glorious again today; I watered the lot and even decided that some of the plants could just go in the soil. Risky, risky mad I know. But they are going to die in their pots if the weather warms up too much mid Feb in that potting shed.   So into the soil they went.

And it felt so darn organised and semi-professional. Had to race to the house to get my planting schemes from the noticeboard, then plot them on the ground where I thought they would fit. It is going to be a thin year. Only three Thalictrum Elin plants where I wish I had thirteen. But propagation will happen. But not right now.

What else did I do today? Time seemed to just ooze along. I suspect I looked yet again at that soil pile in the shady side of the shed and put it off for another day. I need to move it just thirty feet down to the terrace behind the pool. But gravity is about the only thing that is on my side: I have to heave it somehow down the hill.

Or put it in buckets and plod down the unfinished gap in the stone wall, down the steps taking care not to step on the newly sown grass on the treads, negotiate the elderflower tree, and down more steps with more seedlings and then throw the soil onto the ground. I had considered doing another slide – but actually it proved almost as difficult as plodding.

Tomorrow perhaps. And I need to make yet more mulch. The bark chips (bargain sale from Chabeuil Gamm Vert as the bags had all rotted. They emptied themselves all over the tarp in the back of the car Thursday night) are down on the bed but they are way too dark and obvious. So they are going to need a top dressing of the more camoflagued home made bark chips tomorrow. If I can steal the time. I still haven’t finished the lower potager: the cabbage needs to come up. I did cut back the parsley and do some minor weeding. But the back was protesting and demanding I stop. Oh, and sunset appeared too. Hate that. Puts a premature end to one’s day.