Saturday, September 22, 2012

A bit of spring insanity :-)

Hello dear friends and readers,

Do hope you are having a great week out there :-)

At the beginning of this week Mr Wolf & I sat outside in the lukewarm spring sunshine and looked long and hard at the garden . . .

"Mr Wolf"  I said . . .  "the garden after the winter,  is a  MESS ! ! ! "
 He nodded & agreed wholeheartedly with me.
  "You know what Mr Wolf"   I said -  " my first groups start next week & just look at it ! ! "  He nodded again & gave me that sideways look he always does . . .
 "I think Mr Wolf, that it is just as well that I don't charge the groups to come here,  because . . .  they would most CERTAINLY  -  want their money back !!"
More nodding & sideways glancing from the fat fluffy.    Then he gave me that squinty "what are you going to do about it"  look . . .


And so we got off our chuffs &  went a little bit crazy & had a bit of a "spring clean up"  . . . to slightly rephrase that a tad  - ONE of us went a little crazy while the other one supervised & made sure I didnt miss any bits . . .(which is a very important role I might add)


Supervising from my blanket with my eyes closed . . .  you missed some over there Mum ! !

The garden got weeded (in some parts)  & it was amazing what I uncovered under the umbrella of weeds - some lovely spring things coming back to life after the winter . . .



In this area, there were 2 Pot People perched on tree trunks,  & after weeding the area around them  . . .  their baby appeared - he had been hiding under the weeds . . .


One of the groups phoned to say they would like to bring their afternoon tea & have on the deck area - Oh great I thought . . .  I wasnt planning on cleaning that area just yet ! !
So I set to work & scrubbed & cleaned & de- cobwebbed (is that a word ???) . . .


The candlelabra got scrubbed too
The steps got scrubbed & lost their "green grungy" look . . .


The cushions got a wash & a freshen up & even the bunting got washed & ironed & hung up to blow in the spring breeze  . . .



The welcome bunting had actually gone "missing" & was found up in the guttering rather wet & soggy- looking & unloved.
The window baskets got freshly planted with some potted colour  -(impatiens/busy lizzies) -  & Cedric - (my scarecrow) got a new (2nd hand) set of clothes from the Op Shop & a new scarf & hanky for his pocket . .
- quite a transformation (I should've taken a "before" photo) . . .


Amazing what a fresh set of clothes can do for a tatty ol' chap isnt it??!!
The signs got a polish up
Even the pets graves got a spruce up, weeded, & some freshly picked flowers to adorn them . . .


To say I went like a "lunatic" would be an understatement, but I feel much happier (& less pressured) now that I have made some progress   - of course, there are still loads of areas I havent touched yet but I will try & deter the groups from those areas,  & as any true gardener will know, it is never ALL finished . . .  there is always more to be done  . . .  (well in my garden this is definately the case)

An area needing some attention - just hang up a sign, smile - & walk away ! !  (could actually do with several more of these signs for parts of the garden I might add ! !)

Needless to say there has been no crafting getting done - although I did manage to dehydrate a fresh batch of oranges to make some more of my citrus potpourri next week - this was done rather late at night while the rest of the house was sleeping . . .


All dried & ready for using . . .  smells divine too  . . .
I also strung up some of last years gourds that I had dried & given a good scrub - this is not a very clear photo - think I need to hang them against a dark (or plain) coloured background to show them up properly - I was really pleased how they came up & its amazing how you can be quite rough when scrubbing them & they are remarkably tough little things  . . .

LOVE the warty ones

That about sums up my week folks but before I go I just wanted to share with you one of my absolute favourite things in the whole world . . .   my cherry blossom tree . . . (prunus awanui)

Standing at my kitchen sink looking to the right out the french doors . . .  I never tire of this view

I actually have some tuis living in the blossom trees - I wake up to their sounds & I try to really listen & appreciate them as I know they wont always be there - they are feasting on the berries in the trees & also mating (I think) - a customer told me they like me to talk to them but not to try to imitate their sounds (??!!!) - how she knew this I don't know - my camera is not modern enough for me to get a decent photo of them but I LOVE them & their sounds . . .

Hope your weekend is filled with only good things folks, thanks for stopping by & listening to my ramblings & joining me on a little tour of (the tidier bits) of my garden.  May the sun keep shining for us all.

Love/hugs/friendship,
Julie (& Mr Wolf)  XxXxXx
(a little footnote  . . .  the 1st garden group came this morning  - they were running really late - looked in the cottage, didnt even LOOK at any of the garden - but gave me a lovely date loaf so all is forgiven)

5 comments:

  1. What a wonderful place you live in - if it wasn't so far I would love to visit! I was looking back through your blog to work out what happens at your lovely home - do people come and make pot pourri and crafts with you? and is it you and Nero against the weeds? that's a huge area to keep nice - I think you do a fabulous job. I noticed also that you dehydrate your materials, so am thinking you must have a dehydrating machine? I have never seen one but am curious - they aren't easily available in the UK unless at enormous expense but from what I read are (a) very fast to dry things whilst retaining their beauty and (b) the means of eating a very healthy and delicious 'new and trendy' (by UK standards) diet... hope to see more of how you do it all. Good luck with the visitors that are due - they could not fail to enjoy sitting out with their lunch on that scrubbed deck. Bettyx

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  2. I'm so jealous of that cherry tree of yours! Beautiful. My little garden needs lots of work too, I love your window box all planted up too! Great work

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  3. Oh Julie, I have missed being able to stop by.
    Thank you for all your comments you left me.

    Your place is just beautiful, how do you do it? I have one vine growing and I am shocked, lol
    It must be wonderful to look out on all that with a morning cup of coffee.
    WOW, I can just smell the citrus scent filling your home!

    My favorite by far though is that garland of gourds!!!!!!
    OH MY, I love that! I am going to have to try that this year.
    Fall is my favorite time of year and perfect for gourd garlands.
    Take care
    Amy

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  4. Hello Julie, you're such a trick.Your garden is always lovely, it is such a pleasure to visit your home.I think the tui's get drunk on the nectar in the cherry trees and also if you have Camellias. They are a beautiful bird with a wonderful "sound".Love to "big fluffy". Hugs Shirley

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  5. Hello dear Julie..what lovely conversation going on over here : ) Yes your Awanui is just wonderful. We drove down the road yesterday to view a whole roadside grove of them in full flower...they are also very fleeting so you can easily miss them! The other thing I've noticed about Awanui in particular ...the bees adore it..do you find that? I never fail to feel so blessed & appreciative every time I hear a tui in my garden or even our local park. Quite right...a garden is NEVER all done. I am already taking out forget-me-nots that are past their best. Never stops really does it. Aren't the potted colour plants so useful!! Well done on the mad spruce up..all looks lovely. We seem to have miles more moss than normal this year...a mixture of baking soda, vinegar & water sprayed on to bricks etc killed it all quite nicely. Lovely to see all your goings on. Have a good week. Much love & friendship Catherine x0x0x

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