Oh no! My flowers got mowed down!

Lovely sunrise this morning!

Work was extremely busy, so the day just flew by! Before I knew it, it was time to come home!

At home I was upset to see the garden disservice had cut off my Nasturtiums – for no apparent reason! They were inside the bed, not on the ‘lawn’ – but they just cut them off. And didn’t even have the decency to pick up what they’d cut off, just tossed it in the bed for me to clean up.

On closer inspection I found that that wasn’t even the worst of it. The total damage they had done was much, much worse! They mowed down an entire flower bed – where I’ve been having such a hard time to get anything to grow. What had dared come up – was mowed down today! The entire new bed – everything mowed down! Oh, they left the weeds next to the bed – those only got trimmed, but every flower inside my bed got mowed down!

Every last sprout has been mowed down!

They cut into the Alyssums. They mowed down an Iris – in the MIDDLE of the bed, nowhere near grass!

The flowers I had so carefully transplanted from the planter, the few that survived the move – got mowed down today!

The only cheery influence during this inspection was Silver. She’d already come up and eaten, and now wanted some serious attention. Fortunately I know cats, and I know to be careful with strange cats; so when I inadvertently touched a tender spot – Silver’s claw only caught the end of my palm. Even when I pick her up, I don’t let her too near my face – yet. She’s still wary, so I’m careful.

Fortunately, I was planning a trip to Builders Express tomorrow morning anyway. I’d been thinking of getting some bed-bordering stuff – but since I’m only renting, didn’t really want to go to that expense. But I guess, if I want what’s left of my flowerbeds to survive that despicable garden disservice, I had better. The cheapest they have is that green plastic stuff. I better measure how much I’ll need.

Yikes! 4,5m x2 for each bed along the path. Plus 2m for the bed alongside the building – and to be safe, another 2m for the bed alongside the fence. Our gardener did a good job there, and cleared it out all the way to the ‘lawn’ – unlike the first two beds where a stretch of rubble is left between the bed and the ‘lawn’. Ach, but that green plastic looks so tacky! On the other hand, I could do the same as I did with the tomato bed – use logs! I’ve still got quite a few left. That would look so much nicer! Ha Ha, just had a funny thought: I should maybe get a sign or two pointing at the flower beds stating “This is a flower bed. Stay away!”

Well, I will look around the shop tomorrow – I don’t have to make a decision, since I have two weeks before those whatchamacallits come back. Oh, and I’ll be getting Alyssum and Cosmos seeds – loads of those! Both those flowers have proved themselves fit to grow, flower and reproduce happily in this garden – so I’m gonna scatter seeds all over, especially around that big bald patch under that big tree at the back! We should get some more rain on Sunday – not much, but with the ground still being wet it should be enough to get seeds to sprout. And then the rest of tomorrow I’ll tend to what’s left of my flower-border. Well, there’s a lot left, so I’ll have plenty fun.

I’m beginning to get the impression that Silver is trying me out for adoption! I’m not sure how I feel about that. She’s been around pretty much since I got home – came up for a bite to eat, then followed me into the garden wanting to be picked up, cuddled, petted. Then she came upstairs with me, explored my flat – tried out the window-sill in the spare bedroom, gave the main bedroom a full tour, even investigated the bathroom. In the lounge, she’s trying out the furniture for a spot.

And she seems purrfectly happy on my lap – though never for long. She seems to want something from me, keeps ‘talking’ to me, holds onto my finger with her teeth and keeps looking up into my eyes for some reason. Trying to take a photo of her on my lap is a bit tricky, since my rack keeps getting in the way.

I’m not sure what to make of this, she’s never stuck around this long – so far she’d eat, come for a bit of attention and go off again. To wherever she goes from here. She looks too well to be really homeless. The neighbour’s cat looked dreadful after the few days he’d disappeared, whereas Silver has been hanging around, catching birds, sleeping in the garden, etc for months now. There’s always the chance that she’s pregnant and just looking for a place to drop her litter; though if so, she’s not full term, yet. She looks like a sleek breed, but seems to be ‘fat’ for her breed – whichever pavement special she may be. I did get to put my hands on her belly today, though, but didn’t feel any kittens. Of course, it’s also still possible that Silver is a tom! We’re not that intimately acquainted. Ah well, time will tell!