The lost gardens

Now if I wasn’t so lazy I would hike up to the top vegetable plot and pick raspberries to add to my breakfast bowl. But it’s chill and my arms are aching from yesterday’s exertions and I’m saving myself for the day’s heavy work ahead. Neglecting the potting shed, just letting all the cuttings get on with what they have to do. Neglecting the rest of the garden. All in the quest of clear terraces. If I get a lot done today I may move on to vegetables and fruit trees tomorrow as a break.

Warm work. The top terrace is done. (The first one below the house) The middle ones are coming along nicely. And if I don’t cast my gaze at all the terraces still to do, then I would say it has been a good job.

Well so much for finishing early. Five o’clock and I thought I would stop for the day. Tired. But I needed to collect all the tools that were dotted about the terraces. And I wanted to scope out the tasks for tomorrow. So I walked all the way to the bottom of the property and saw what needed to be done.

Two terraces definitely require a lot of hacking and pruning. And then I headed back up the lovely terrace that slopes up from the vineyard and joins one of the upper terraces. It was gorgeous; grassy and full of wildflowers and truly interesting. And I realised (apart from the fact it needed mowing) that I hadn’t been to this part of the property all year. And probably wouldn’t for another year as well. Which is a shame as it is very fetching. In another century it would have made an adventurous walk for the lady of the manor.

So tomorrow the big question is – do I strim it? Put in hours of work for the place I never visit. Is suspect the answer is yes. Can’t call this work on the terraces complete if I miss out on an acre of garden.

And then to compound the lunacy of pretending to finish early I tried to change the mower blade from normal to mulch. Hah. Didn’t get beyond prising the first screw off the darned machine. So mowing and endless emptying the drum of cut grass it is.