Perfect Gardening Day!

It rained throughout most of the night and this morning it stayed overcast = perfect gardening weather! The rain had softened the whole ground everywhere, and with the clouds protecting me from the sun, I could work absolutely anywhere I liked! No restrictions!

I continued what I started last night: pulling out the grass. I worked my way from the gate side (north) towards the south and managed to clear about half the garden! I opened up two more spekboom - I now have six in the garden, that I know of!

As I was working around the tower, I saw what I thought was a caterpillar curled up, but on closer inspection I realised that is how those little cacti flower! What a lovely find!

I cleared the way to the bench, pulling mostly the large stuff and leaving the lower weeds for another time. I cut the grass around the bird bath and around the rock pile. It seems that rock pile is covering a hole, there's a mesh underneath and it gives if I try to step on it. It's starting to look less like a veld and more like a garden now.

My mippies aren't too delighted with my efforts to remove the tall grass - they all love stalking around in it! Mewthos took a stroll across my back while I was bending over, pulling out grass.

My landlord found another tortoise and put it in my garden, where it's safe from their dogs and they also love to eat spekboom leaves ... about an hour later, their little dog, Lady, came past me with the tortoise in her mouth! She carried it to the pump house and 'buried' it there - not really buried, since my landlord was able to simply pick it up before taking it to safety once more.

I did so much today, it took two trips with the wheel barrow to cart it all away! It shows, too! I can now see all the way to the end of my garden! My back, however, was becoming more and more difficult and I couldn't continue bending over to pull out more grass, so I sat down to work on the bed alongside the path.

My fork unfortunately didn't make the trip from PE, I asked my landlord and he lent me a small one - which worked perfectly for me!

As I sat on the opposite side from the path, clearing the bed of mostly roots, the sprinklers came on! I got sprinkled! Ha Ha! I told my landlord, if he doesn't want me to work in the garden, he COULD just say so - there was no need to sprinkle me!

He's hired a worker today, who started by painting my gate. It's looking brand new now!

I managed to clear a large patch in the bed along the path, and was able to take some of the plants from the low, round pot: I took the cabbage plant and the diamond ones and planted them at the beginning of the path, on the parking side; I think they should do well, there, they get only afternoon sun rather than the entire day.

I've come to realise that gardening will not be an easy matter here. The Dianthums are not doing very well, even with the compost mixed into the ground and the Alyssum didn't survive, I'm afraid. It will take a lot of fertilising before anything non-indigenous will grow here. I will probably have to create some sunken pots - which is an idea I had while admiring today's handiwork.

The idea I have is to rather have beds quite randomly throughout the garden among which I can walk and maybe put up some seats here and there. My landlord has planted a host of 'ground-covering' ... plants. Like those cacti which are flowering and those little succulents with the red flowers. He's quite attached to them, and expects me to keep them - the problem is, that they are covering quite a lot of the ground and aren't leaving too much space for me to add much. He's as caring about plants - not only trees - as he is about animals. Planting that stuff is a great idea, when you want to cover the ground without needing to keep working in the garden - but I WANT to work in the garden!

It's not really a problem, though - I will just make beds for them and keep them in their beds. I'll trim them as much as they need trimming, to keep them contained. That will give me space for my own plants.

Mippies are having a lovely time outside. They don't go too far, except when they go for a stroll. They come for attention throughout the day and just love having me at home! I love being at home!

I had better take a long soak in a hot bath tonight, though. If I don't, I probably won't be able to move tomorrow! I worked really hard today, and spent a lot of time bending over to pull grass out of the grounds with its roots - I can't bend at all without pain at the moment!

As I was running my bath, Mewthos came sirening through - desperate for lovies, although - knowing him - he could probably be silenced with a treat! I just picked him up and cuddled him again and again.

The bath is also shocking, I'm afraid. Just the taps, that I know of, though. Even though I wasn't in the bath, nor was my hand wet - when I tried to add hot water, I got a shock. Out came the glove and I filled the bath with semi-hot water. I avoided the tap and the plug while in the bath - which took a lot of the pleasure out of it. And I couldn't add any hot water either, so, I didn't hang about. I still feel better, though.

Afterwards I went outside for another smoke and tried calling my mippies in - to my surprise all three came inside without any trouble! I gave them a treat, then another. They're happily quiet now. They've been outside since before sunrise till after sunset - quite a long day! We should have a good night tonight!