Gardening (2)

I hoped I had now finished getting the garden updated, but of course the first beds now need weeding again. I am covering as much as I can with grass clippings but they are even bursting above that. For the first time I’ve really gone to town with chick poo and mushroom compost, and everything, including the weeds, has taken off. … For the first time I’ve established a lily of the valley bed, and have had enough to pick two little vases from, they smell the whole house.

He is now mowing the front lawn. It took him quite a long time to get used to the idea that it could be stopped with the clutch so the first results were a track a bit like the meanderings of a very drunk sailor looking for his ship, as he struggled to get round the various bushes without hitting them – with various unmown patches on the way where he tipped the machine up to change direction more quickly. However he now seems to have got the idea and is going round cleaning up all the cut corners.

[Getting house ready to show buyers] I had a pleasant man I felt I’d known all my life come with aged sister of 84, who stayed in the car until he ‘let her know if it was worth seeing’! He did collect the sister who was equally nice and very enthusiastic especially about the garden. The oak tree is in full leaf of pale green and looks super, my lily of the valley are marching up the bed and also coming up through the flag stones, the scarlet rhododendron is out and a little dark orangey red tree with maple shape leaves is beside the breath of heaven and the purple stuff that climbs over the fence and right hand side of the drive, the roses have started and the Solomon seal and azaleas and I’m quite amazed myself! The gardener put some stuff on the lawn for the big leaved horrors that were on it and it looks super.

We’ve got plums coming out of our ears – I’ve put down enough for at least 2 meals a week and given lots away.

My hydrangeas go on and on – lovely – and the dahlias. At present I’ve got a vase of those lilies that are white with red spots on them – and the pollen comes off all over you – bright red – they grow behind some bushes and I enjoy them for about 2-3 weeks indoors a year.

My new electric mower does quite well, and I am pleased with it – and especially that yesterday, when I pulled it backwards and managed to cut the cable, it didn’t give me any shock! Admittedly that is no more than they promised, but it is always nice to have a machine that stands by its guarantees!