Gardening plans! Yay!

Two am wake-up story again. I have no idea what that’s about, but hey, what can I do? Second wake-up late, of course, quick coffee and off to work. The office (a container-office) is starting to feel like a holiday resort, with specialists arriving for a week or two, then they go and someone else takes their place ... a never ending game of musical chairs. And for me a never ending walkabout taking them through safety induction, access card payment and printing. Who needs a gym?

Somebody mentioned the differences in temperature between Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage, so this morning I kept an eye of the thermometer in my car. When I got into the car, in PE, it read 18°C. On the top of the hills, just before entering the valley of Uitenhage it read 20°C but by the time I stood outside the gate at work it had dropped to 14°C. Interesting, eh? If I remember, I’ll try and check the temperatures on the trip back home – although here at work, my car is parked in the blazing sun, so when I get in it’s likely to be oven-like.

Our local gardener told us yesterday that he wants to work for me today. He works for several people in this neighbourhood including my neighbour. Since it rained on Monday, he couldn’t work for me (or anybody). He is very helpful, hard working and reliable. So for today he has absolutely neither instruction nor guidelines from me – I let him do what he wants and feels needs doing in my garden. And I’m looking forward to seeing what he’s done today! He is forever shaking his head about this crazy german lady he works for, or so my neighbour tells me. I have so little method and planning in my gardening, just make beds, empty a couple of seed-packets out on it and wait to see what comes up! Well, my neighbour quite enjoys doing the rounds in the afternoons with me, looking at all the patches trying to identify whatever is sprouting or even preparing to bloom! Today on our walkabout we discovered some flowers about to bloom in about three different colours. There’s also an interesting plant with two differently looking kinds of leaves, some of which are going purple, so we’re all agog what that will produce!

Then there’s this mystery which finally seems to get ready to show us what it’s got!

The Linaria is doing extremely well!

And still a few of these beauties in bloom!

And just to keep the blog interesting, another pornographic shot – catching be flower in action with a bee in my tree!

And here is the herculean job our gardener achieved today! He emptied all the rocks out of a bed-sized patch and carried them (with no wheel barrow to assist!) to the path! For a minute there I was about to start another rant against the Body Corporate & owner, who’s negligence has made every bed an equally herculean task to win! But that would take away from our gardener, who has willingly and even gladly taken on the job! The first bed, a friend just loosened the ground and I poured compost on top – there wasn’t so much rubbish. But even the tomato bed, though not builders waste, was hard labour to remove all the rocks in the ground! I could never enjoy the garden as much as I do, without his help!

Now I get the joy and pleasure of deciding what I’ll do with the new bed! The weather report says it will be warm and sunny, so I have plenty of time to get more compost, mix it in and fill the bed – then either take some of the plants out of the overcrowded built bed, or … seeds?

He also cleared the last of the hedge-deadwood opening the way for my neighbour to start her rockery! She has a vast variety of indigenous succulents which won’t need watering or much attention, but look absolutely marvelous! It’s also her birthday this weekend, so I’m sure we’ll have a marvelous time! Naturally she’ll be spending time with her family but she’s also quite excitedly planning what to plant where. It’s just such a pity the neighbourhood watch put a stop to us burning the deadwood – we could have cleared so much more of that hedge. And what’s been cleared is already sprouting green everywhere, so soon there’ll be a healthy Tecoma hedge growing again! It’s like it has literally been dying for a chance to breathe!