The big dry meant some of my plants succumbed, so Mum got the spade and saw out and toppled the ponga, and the cabbage tree which was threatening to sway into the spouting of the house. I also saw she had her eye on my arch...
Nothing like a bit of death and destruction to satisfy her inner compulsion to lay waste my garden. While she was doing this she berated me on my plant choices. Those spider plants are ugly! Why did you plant that cabbage tree there? That plant pricks people!
Nothing I said would appease her so I just stayed out of her way.
Now there is a bare patch to be planted so everything has to be knee high to a grasshopper, so it seems it's going to be succulents, libertia, statice, and lambs ears. I thought of sneaking in a dwarf gardenia perhaps.
All is not lost however as Mum has been helping me gathering seaweed from the community garden. We've done two bucket load trips so far and my garden is now mulched and waiting for the rain for all the good minerals to soak into the soil.
I have one Albany grape vine to plant somewhere, just wondering if it will be allowed at the community garden, but I have to make it past bureaucracy and the silent majority first. If I risk planting it myself, I will then get irate texts questioning why there is a new plant in the garden. I can't just claim garden fairies planted it there, as they don't like to be questioned on their gardening decisions, otherwise they will stop helping.
My new job means I won't be able to make it to the garden on Saturdays. But who says Saturdays are sacred for spending time in the garden? I will just garden on Sundays instead.
I am rather sad that my pongas did not survive, I really wanted my garden to be iconic and kiwi-ish and what could be more so than ponga ferns and cabbage trees? Mum didn't believe me when I said the cabbage tree blew over from next door and started growing there. I pointed out some swan plants growing in the cracks and said they blew over too I did not plant them. I'm thinking she's starting to be a bit xenophobic about plants and I'm not sure I like the way she's insisting they all have official passports before they are allowed to take root here. But, that is the way it is with some people. I said if they don't grow here, weeds will just grow in their place so you better think hard of other plants that you want growing here instead.
