annanotbob's Diaryland Diary
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Plus and minus
I thought I was going to just mooch about today but I've ended up doing almost seven hours of gardening. I dithered about for ages until I remembered how to go about the first proper garden sort-out of the year.
I'd forgotten a couple of key ingredients - a spliff and some music. I know that some of you (yes, I'm talking to you Mr smashthegas) think I'm just one big old stoner, but I don't usually smoke during the day. (I'm trying to think of a good reason why not, but I'll have to get back to you.)
Musically, I hovered around J for a few hours till Sara came back from work and took over. Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, James etc. Don't know how far Joe Jackson's known, so here he is:
and from a later album:
which makes me think I must check out what he's been doing since then.
There are things I LOVE about this garden and things that are tricky compared to the last place. I shall list the tricky bits, partly because I'm interested to see which ones I do anything about and which I just live with. The tiny size of the plot means it's very easily manageable, but there's nowhere to hide anything, everything's visible and it's too small to want to lose any space.
There's all this stuff that has to go somewhere and why did I buy a yellow bloody hosepipe? When they said they'd sold out of green and black ones, why didn't I get back in my car and drive somewhere else? Years ago, that was, and it's good quality - the poxy thing will last for ever - though I've just noticed it didn't get in any of the pictures:
That's taken from just outside the back door.
I used to be able to find what I needed, but potting things up today I realised I had no bits of broken crocks to use for drainage, nor any old polystryrene boxes to break up. Not a single bamboo stick to stake my tomato plant.
This one's from the lawn looking back.
There's no compost heap, nowhere to empty the spent soil from last year's pots, no table big enough to hold all the ingredients for potting up.
I think I've killed the bamboo, by the way. I've noticed others round and about looking a bit manky but none as bad as mine - and it was so fabulous when I got it. And such a price. If anyone knows anything about the care of black bamboo, please advise. It's lost most of its leaves - not all, about three-quarters. The remaining ones are brown at the tips. Will it recover? Is this normal? Can I do anything to help?
There's no outdoor tap (faucet?) and the one in the kitchen sink is placed so that I have to hold the watering can at an angle to fill it. The thing that attaches the hose to the tap bursts off at intervals, drenching the kitchen floor.
On the plus side, though, I just love it here. I can get a fork in the soil with no problem. The salt in the wind has been diluted big time before it reaches me - I'm only about three-quarters of a mile inland, but that's very different to 100 yards.
I know it doesn't look much yet, but I've planted masses of climbers
which will hide the fences. Those bluebells were already here - the flowers are lovely, but the leaves have killed off several of the perennials I put in last autumn. Where's my oriental poppy, eh?
I like having little noncy bits and pieces - 'shed' was my first ever mosaic - I took it off the old shed but it's too big for this one. The other mosaics here are Sara's:
It was an absolutely brilliant day and has made me realise I don't want to move again. I love this little house and am going to put up a big fight to stay here, if I have to.
We went to the pub for dinner - eating out three days in a row, how decadent - though I'm quite getting used to it. Well, I thought I was, till the barman came rushing over to me with an amazed grin on his face: 'What are you doing?!'
Me, all indignant: 'Nothing. What?'
Him: 'You're smoking!!! You can't do that indoors!'
Me, looking at cigarette in hand and almost literally jumping with surprise: 'Fuck! I completely forgot! Ha! I just rolled one up and lit it!'
Sara looked mortified, so it was worth it.
Grateful for:
1. Slug pellets - I'm organic otherwise, but what can you do?
2. Hand cream
3. A peaceful day
4. Being able to leave the windows open means Bob can go in and out every five minutes without yowling the place down. She's cross at the moment though, as she wants me to go to bed:
5. Art class tomorrow - new term, new topic - trees. Painting in various parks and building trees in clay, collage and mosaic. Cool.
Sleep well xxx
|10:05 p.m. - 05/05/2008
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