Well after nearly two weeks of self-imposed quarantine thanks to...the wasp jab! I am now immune from walking in the garden barefoot and will make sure I always wear shoes when weeding. I celebrated by walking to Kings Plant Barn where I bought some seeds - snake beans, 'Lazy Housewife' beans and cosmos. As well as seaweed fertiliser.
The garden centre seemed fairly busy though I figured it was safe to go there seeing as half of it is outside and with all the plants around it would have been well oxygenated. It was nice to look at the spring plants and to see everyone's front yards in flower.
On my way back I came across some bottle gourds for sale at the Indian shop (as well as tomatoes, chilis and bitter melon) so bought one to climb the back fence. Then Jacqui drove by to drop me a lebanese cucumber she had extra and so I will plant those together.
Gardenia got a good soak of epsom salts as did my foot in the bath, and I am fairly certain after that soak the swelling went right down.
Everything is blooming, the feijoas, the bottle brush, the abutilons which never stop - did you know you can eat abutilon flowers? Just as you can magnolias and lillies. I am sure that no cafe has really picked this up and put out a menu of flower dishes, but it could be a winner? Or maybe for school lunches?
Mum got some coriander seed from my uncle and now it seems I need to do another round of planting, problem is..where? I am rapidly running out of room. Dad hadn't relented and let me have the next bit of New Gardenland I want to reclaim..beside the garage. Instead he accused my plants of forming a 'brick wall' and shading out his temperature gauge spot, and when I suggested instead of cutting down the trees maybe he could just move the thermometer? Oh no can't do that! It's been there for 40 years. Right.
So to avoid World War three I just thinned out some branches and he seemed happy. Phew, kowhai and manuka saved (for now). Dad seemed a bit obsessed with recording the lunar eclipse, but again, it was a non-event as it usually is because the cloud was covering it. I learn never to pay much attention, whenever one wants to see a brilliant sunrise, sunset or full moon or even Matariki, you can guarantee that the sky will be overcast!
My neighbour gave me a geranium cutting I think it's called 'Martha Washington' geranium. I exchanged some zygocactus with her. I am glad that my neighbours are getting into gardening despite the harsh conditions in West Auckland clay. Though I have heard some rumours that down the back the owners want to build another townhouse in their backyard. I hope it won't be another container shed house like what they built round the corner of Riverpark. Whatever they build I hope they at least put a decent roof on it, not like some houses I have seen that don't even have eaves, so in the next downpour the water goes straight down the walls and ends up rotting the house. I reckon there ought to be a 'Worst Homes and Gardens' magazine, where everyone votes on the worst looking and most badly designed home, and takes pictures of weeds (for ID purposes) and it will be as educational as the aspirational, out of one's league 'Better Homes and Gardens' magazine on what NOT to do.
Anyway, it is back to school on Monday (finally! Auckland has been as lockdown as Wuhan this time round) but don't worry as yours truly has been double vaccinated and multiple stung by wasps. And lived to tell the tale.
