My Gardening Year #2 - Birds and a Plan of Action

So apart from the daily tidy-up and de-clutter I’ve been getting outside in between the showers and working on a number of parts of the garden, depending on how wet it is and my interest level …

The Front Yard is still a mess …In fact it’s more of a mess as I’ve finally gotten around to pulling out an Ausie Grevillia bush that succumbed to too much good feed from the run-off from the tomato borders I had through the summer a little uphill from it… They love clay soils that drain reasonably well, but feed them and they might as well have had roundup poured straight over them ……. I've also done a hard prune on the roses .. All yeat to be cleared up ....

The Grevillia plant was in a fence corner beside the gate … So I'm now thinking It would be nice to plant a fruit tree there. As it drains well (us being on the side of as hill helps) I’m keen to plant an apple tree. Probably the amazingly healthy Monty’s Surprise which was found growing along a roadside in the Waikato district of the north Island in New Zealand. Said to be a world winner being the healthiest of apples you can eat ….

Other options are a fruiting Cherry or a Plum or a Pear… just a siting thing really as I intend to cram trees of them all into spaces around the garden or in ½ wine barrels ….

I actually went out this morning with the intention of buying a couple of trees with the gift vouchers I have from work … I then thought about having a decent coffee at a neaby café and reading the paper… Having got there the temptation of a full cooked breakfast was too much. And so I had that as well …I know - shame on me ...). Then I thought about it being Friday and what we should have for dinner tonight and so off to the supermarket to get some supplies in.. Dog got treated to some mutton bones which apparently made her day :O)

BUT !! I was Almost home before realizing I’d forgotten about the trip to the garden centre !!!!! Like I’m that keen to get home …Not. Another day apparently ..Gives me some time to dig the hole and get some decent soil for it

Meanwhile I tackled some of the vegetable garden yesterday. It’s become an overwhelming chore at present as we’ve not done much up there for some time … The existing borders are looked after and are ok (apart from the damned cats whos’ nine lives will vanish very quickly if I catch the defecating little feline monsters on them at any time ) Ahem …. Even the broad beans look like broad beans should, despite the transplanting shock ….. But the paths and the rest of the garden area are now overgrown with grass and weed and the paths are as slippery as…Well a slippey thing :O) … The grass that’s self sown itself is that awful thick matting stuff that’s so hard to cut. However, having sat on the home made seat up there with a mug of tea I realized that most of it would be spaded up anyway to make the next set of raised borders …. So I then worked out a mental plan of action as to the borders and pathing and where I can place a proper rhubarb square for McD (I thought the tyre idea was a good one but probably the tyres are too small ..)

And before the tea was drunk I had a good idea of where to start and what order to start and ripped into it for a couple of hours ….. Must do the yard as well - It’s all much easier when you have a plan …..Not a cunning plan necessarily but a plan none the less and a good plan :O) I like plans :O)

I want to dig over Border 1 and get some of that rich compost into it..There are still a few vegetables in there that can be harvested. Perhaps we can make more vegetable stoch out of them. It was so successful last time ... Anyway there are still 3 or 4 red cabbages that have been there a while ... I did think the centres would be rotten by now .. But having removed a couple of outer layers and made a native slug and a couple of spiders homeless the rest of the cabbage was crisp and fine as ..... As a crisp and fine thing should be :O)

So thats on the menu tonight :O) Amongst some other things for a meat and 3 veggie type of meal :O)

This morning when I came back home the Bell bird was in fine singing fettle as he/she worked the bush that’s in flower beside the neighbours gate … I walked right up to the tree whistling back to him … no problems … Damned camera is never with me when I want it to be ….. So took the groceries inside, grabbed the sony and tried to get a picture … limited success as he’d made his was further into the tree … Will try again …..







Then just now, looked out of the window beside my computer desk to see a chaffinch and a yellow hammer perched in the tree beside the house !!.. another limited success .. but you get the idea .. .

When I was working the in the vegetable garden yesterday the bellbird landed on a tree beside me …Checked the tree out for insects (at a guess) and then flew off… Again no Effin Beflippin camera… However as he rose into the sky another Bell Bird joined him !!! A pair !! … Offspring hopefully this spring …. I’m thinking about setting up a bird feeder for them and the tuis and the silver eyes .. Just need to see how what I can use to put out sugar water for them ….

Another project ….. :O)