I need a moon calendar, not just monthly but all year round. Then I will know when to plant and sow and to cultivate and when to rest. According to the one in Kiwi Gardener magazine, the next week which is the last quarter of the moon 11-18 November is a week of rest. No digging or planting, only pruning, tidying, maintenance pest control and harvesting and deadheading flowers. Makes sense to me, did you know my name means 'moon'. No wonder I'm a bit loony about gardening.
I also need to design this church garden. So am taking a day off work to do so. I have to bring out the coloured pencils and felts and grid paper. So hard to do when all I want to do is just get stuck in and garden it. I've decided designing isn't really my cup of tea. It's not getting hands dirty and nobody ever really sees a garden from above unless you looking at it from a tower block 6 storeys high. In which case what would be the point of the garden. I think you have to be IN a garden to appreciate it, not just looking at it from above. Your feet should be in the soil and every plant must have a reason to be there, not just tufty plant here and tufty plant there - look how low maintenance it is...well low maintenance equals BORING CARPARK.
Anyway I maybe I am just cranky from mowing a dozen lawns today. On a brighter note we are having a sunflower competition. Not the tallest mind you but the biggest circumference flower. I would have thought the tallest would win but my boss has other ideas. He's giving out dwarf sunflower seeds to plant tomorrow at the oldies Arts and Craft market at the Waitakere Gardens.
There is also a sausage sizzle and garden trail, where you can see all the roses we have lovingly pruned. You can also see the battle field of onion weed. The garden club members are manning (or womaning) some stalls, mostly knitting. So pop along and buy those beanies/tea cosies you've been coveting all year. If someone is selling granny's bonnets, then they've found a loyal customer, and also if anyone is selling gardening by the moon calendars, I will definitely buy one.
I also think I need a manicurist because the dirt under fingernails look isn't that pretty. However I have now got three pairs of gardening shorts, hooray. Which probably means time to start shaving my legs. I also found a green pair of chinos and bought a new dress, with flowers on it, so now almost have a complete garden uniform. Safety shoes are still coming.
Now is the time to be in the garden. My climbing iceberg rose has bloomed and my tree dahlias are starting to leaf out. In a few weeks time they'll be as tall as a 6 storey building and can then look at my garden design from above. I did have this idea to do a rainbow garden.
red - salvias
orange - gerberas
yellow- calendula
green - oregano
blue- lobelia
purple - sage
violet - violets
I fear becoming a latter day hippie, instead of tripping on drugs I am tripping on psychedelic garden display beds. One resident said she wanted GAUDY plants. The gaudier the better. So pink fountain cabbage trees, yellow and pink striped impatiens and coleus? A bed of orange nasturtiums that trail all over her villa wall? No delicate tissue white Iceberg standard roses for this retiree. She had her grey hair dyed bright orange and pink and was living the high life, so she might as well go all the way in her garden. I'm going to suggest some gnomes or maybe a pink flamingo garden sculpture. It's a really a moa, just dyed pink. Another lady has decapitated buddha heads in her garden. It's mad. Money can buy a lot of things, but not always good taste.
