Late autumn/early winter is normally the best time for me to get things done in the garden. I’m not talking about the general maintenance which is on-going through the year but some slightly more meaty projects. This might include removing whole clumps of plants which either aren’t growing well or that I’ve become tired of. An example of this is Libertia grandiflora which has caused much glaring from me each time I walk past it. It mostly looks scruffy, there’s no easy way to tidy it up and, with its seedlings, was beginning to take up a lot of space. Part of the reason for delaying removing it was that I felt sure it would be resistant to being dug up, how true this turned out to be. With Teresa’s helped we attempted to get some of it out while the ground was still dry (that now seems like a dream) but it was too dry. We went back to the area after a bit of rain, it was still bone dry but determination took over and we got some of the clumps out and barrowed some compost onto the depleted soil. The idea was to remove the last few clumps then add more compost then do the best bit which is the planting. I thought I’d put a few Polemonium ‘Hannah Bilcliffe’ there. Then my plans were/are scuppered because of the continuous rain. The garden is saturated, it is at the squelchy, splashy stage if walked on, there’s no chance of carrying on with that particular project until who knows when?

This is immensely frustrating, if I can’t get the alterations done at this time of year then chances are they won’t get done at all because there are always too many other things to do in the spring. There are times when I wonder what it would be like to work in an enclosed environment, one where the weather and all its unpredictability didn’t dictate what I could or couldn’t do at any given time. Planning anything is almost impossible, being adaptable is absolutely necessary and self-motivation is high up there because without it nothing would get done.

Two bits of news…Teresa slipped and fell while walking the dog recently and broke two bones in her leg, oh dear. Sarah has had enough of treeless Cornwall and the NT and is coming back which is great news.