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)