Which means, I have some time for the blog, sadly neglected. It has been a busy few months as I have had to finish a book, as well spend what time I can in the garden.
I am mostly fairly well right now, with the occasional bad patch, which are bearable enough.
But to business, the garden. I have tried to spend a few days a week in the garden, even if it is just 15 minutes a day. Some days have been good and I’ve been out most of the day, others it is just the 15 minutes, but … gradually the garden is being cajoled back into shape. At the moment the garden is (mostly) a mass of weeded and mulched garden beds and looks fairly boring. I have been fairly severe with it, taking out things that haven’t been doing well. About 75% of the veggie beds are now manured and composted and heavily mulched for the spring/summer season.
This year I am going to plant more flowers. Not so many vegetables. Just the things I really like. A flower garden can mostly take care of itself once it has been planted out, but a veggie garden needs constant work. So I am hoping to stay well enough long enough to get a nice flower garden in.
If not, well, a bare but mulched garden bed is not the worst thing that can happen to a garden!
I have got lots of seeds to start out soon, and yesterday I planted three more peonies (I have lost some over the past 2 years): Felix Crousse – hopefully they will flower this year, although peonies generally hate being transplanted.
As I have been clearing I have been finding lots and lots of old clay pots. These I will be doing something very special with once a bright day and a pile of energy comes along!
But, mean time, there are more beds that need weeding. *sigh*
As for the Self-Sufficiency experiments. Well, that ended half good half bad. The summer was excellent, as I’d been good through spring of last year and had planted lots of stuff from which I ate well. But then from early summer I became progressively sicker, and I did not plant anything for winter, although I did have a bed of leeks, some brussel sprouts, and a bed of winter beets to eat from.
Oh, the rain, I love it!
(It has taken me about 3 hours to write this damned post because a few weeks ago I also got a new computer replete with new software, and trying to get one of the bits of software to do what it was supposed to … grrrrr!)
I should take a leaf from your book and do 15 minutes a day in the garden. The chooks are weeding the back yard for me, but the front yard looks sadly neglected. (A bit like a rental with ferals living there, instead of my much cherished little home.)
I have only just stumbled on to your site Sara, whilst looking at food dehydrating recipes. Having spent the entire day glued to my computer screen reading your site and blogs, I can only say I am in awe of you. We sound very much alike, both in age, passions and illness, though I am way up north from you. I try and spend at least some part of my days in the garden, though the winter is cruel to me. Last week we had a snippet of spring in the air and I couldn’t stay inside, today after torrential rains overnight the temperature only peaked at 17 degrees, way too cold for my mobility. I am also in the process of planting out for spring and was amazed just now at how many of my lavenders (my favourite) are flowering, I am going to try drying the culinary varieties this year 🙂 I do hope you continue to have better days and look forward to more reading. Regards
Trudi
I like the idea of planting lots of flowers around your vege garden – while veges are beautiful in their own right, I think sometimes we forget to enjoy those less “useful” plants that seem to exist purely to bring us joy 🙂
Getting out into the garden in the morning works for me, before I get busy with other jobs or the kidlets. I agree, 15 minutes sometimes morphs into several hours, and is sometimes a very scant 15 minutes indeed. But the soil, and the fresh air, and the sunshine are lovely at this time of the year.
Enjoy the rain, we’re having some too. This time of the year we usually get enough so that in a few weeks time we are flooded in for a few days. Here’s hoping!
I am so glad you are feeling better and able to work in your garden. It is raining here in Perth too – so welcome after a VERY dry winter. I like a mix of flowers and vegetables also. At the moment we have broad beans growing in the rose bed – roses are pruned and dormant, beans are flowering and just starting to set. Can’t wait – I love young broad beans and think even my presently fickle appetite will enjoy them.
Gidday Sara ..I MUST follow your example and get the Birdies ready for this seasons plantings ..the only things that are doing well is the rhubarb, which has leaves the size of gunnera ..and the herbs. I’m inspired..I MUST garden ..
sara i am glad to know that you are getting some pleasure out of that lovely garden a flower garden will look absolutely beautiful best of luck and let me know if i can help in any way .
A flower garden of your favourite flowers sounds wonderful. I am always claiming that this, that or the other is my FAVOURITE flower, and at the time I really mean it. I wonder how many FAVOURITES we all have. Looking forward to seeing a picture of the end product. Keep well.
I’m glad too that it is now raining…except it makes me want to stay indoors instead of going out in the garden!
Love the pots. I found an old webber BBQ in my garage and have just planted herbs and one lonely strawberry plant in it . It is sitting on my verandah and looks great.