The
landscapers are still here, but, please God let it be,
close to finishing. The garden hard landscaping is wonderful
- hardly any plants in (will need more stuff yet!) but
within 2 years, once everything has grown, it will look
spectacular. Already it is a good place to sit in the
evening with a glass of wine. I am vaguely on top of
planting - still very much to do, and still many orders
to be delivered, but we're getting there.
19th
June:
I
have manferns! Ordered much compost from Chandlers,
and asked them somewhat diffidently if they also had
some manferns. They did, and I bought out their entire
stock of 12. Should be able to get some more from one
of the salvage firms who go out into the rainforest
ahead of the loggers.
No
landscapers. Apparently they will be back on Monday.
*grump*
23rd
June
Canna
lillies, as well regal lilies, arrived today. I planted
out the dwarf cannas and the regal lilies in the oval
stone bed, dumping much compost, fertilizer and gypsum
into the soil. The other cannas, as well daylilies and
perennial phlox and the foxtail lilies have gone into
compost storage until I get the chance to plant them
out.
Over
the past few weeks I have been carefully pricking out
foxglove seedlings into individual pots to grow on.
I must have close to 200, which is fantastic, and have
seeds for some glorious reddish ones. Will plant those
out soon.
27th
June:
The
landscapers are driving me nuts! They are almost finished,
but have now started on another job somewhere else and
have drifted away from Nonsuch. Damn their eyes. They
have a contract that stated they had to be finished
on the 7th of June - hello? Look at the date! They are
now into the financial penalty stage ... but it doesn't
seem to be bothering them. This is frustrating beyond
measure ... I do not recommend this firm to anyone -
walking off a job and leaving a site in disarray 'because
they've overbooked' is too unprofessional for words.
30th
June:
Oh
well, when landscapers drive one nuts, the only thing
to do is to go order 5 tonnes of organic compost and
revel in the satisfaction. Of course, the shifting and
digging isn't all that much fun, but still satisfying.
All of this is going into the soil where the rainforest
will be - the soil there is very poor after decades
of neglect.
More
plants and bulbs ordered. Also two gorgeous teak rocking
chairs for the garden.
It
has been so cold at Nonsuch this winter with heavy frosts
that we just didn't get last year. Some mornings it
has been difficult to walk outside because of the thick
coating of ice on the ground. I have cut-in-half soft
drink bottles covering the more tender of the new plantings,
but still I have lost some.
Almost
no rain - cold and dry. Unusual. We've gone months without
rain, and it is strange to be watering the garden in
the middle of winter!
