Last week saw me, for the first time this year, start my gardening chores. Such tasks have proved necessary as "things" are starting to grow out there in the wilderness. When I say "things" I mostly mean the "bleedin' weeds". Whilst all other plants lie dormant with a vaguely hang-dog expression, the "bleedin' weeds" seem to be up early and setting about their evil works. Even at this time of year, in the distant depths of winter, they can still appear overnight without warning. It's a dangerous world out there...
I reluctantly admit to enjoying this task, finally having enough time in my life to control the bastards and allow the rest to shine. There is reward for this work, as long as you ignore the scratches, scrapes and bruises.
One of the most difficult and most time-consuming areas to weed has always been the lower rockery, or the 'death-defying cliff-face' as I prefer to call it. Being risky to maintain and, worse, to access the box hedge above it, I have set upon a new project; that of building a full-scale model of the Eiffel Tower. So far only the first floor has been completed:
Fear not, the construction stops here. Its purpose is to allow me access to this side of the hedge (it requires a lot of maintenance thanks to invading alien moths) without me risking life and limb. It will, as you can probably tell, require a significant amount of work before it merges in with our normally rustic-style environment. The soon to be be planted wisteria will hopefully pull their fingers out and clamber up the tower with speed, tenacity and finally (I hope) beauty. In the meantime, my limbs and life are more secure, alien viruses appart.
Most garden work will start in late February. In the meantime I am allowed some pleasure in just looking at my hard gotten gains. The slight downside is the chill.
This cold holds its own beauty, as I hope you can see in these two videos made over the last week:
This chill oft drives me indoors. Here, also, lie much to do about nothing. Winter is the time for work on the 'Barn Station', where other "things" are starting to grow, including more alien species. A topic for another blog....
