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Monday, March 17, 2014

A Little Bit Here and A Little Bit There

It seems like spring has definitely arrived here much earlier than usual. I'm not complaining of course especially compared to March last year when around this time we were still covered in snow. Last Sunday was warm enough that we were in t-shirts for most of the time we were pottering outside.

Euphorbia characias 'Silver Swan' enjoying some early spring sun
In general the main task in the garden is to do as much tidying up as possible as we do have lost time to make up for. This lovely weather we've been having has been a great help in our pursuit and if it carries on like this then we'll be catching up with tasks we've been lagging behind pretty soon.
Cutting back the dead foliage of a clump of Miscanthus I rediscovered the beauty of this Rhododendron roxieanum var. oreonastes which I wrote about before about having a lovely scent all year round
The only other thing is that, with it only being March, a lot of plants are still bare, dormant, or at least just starting to show signs of life. It still feels a bit early, early to make decisions where some plants will go and feels early to buy more plants. And speaking of buying plants, most nurseries are still minimally stocked despite the deceivingly beautiful weather we've been having that makes it feel more like May rather than March.
The evergreens and the deciduous
Vision, visualisation, and imagination helps though. We have been doing some planting on top of tidying up. On plants that are still bare we imagine them in full leaf as we figure out appropriate places for them. And as our plant buying for this year has barely started we have to leave lots of gaps too for whatever plants we may be buying in the months to come. Not long to wait now as the proper plant buying season starts in April. And speaking of gaps they will be handy as places to stand on to for when we paint the new fences and exterior of the new jungle hut, a task we ought to prioritise really (there you go, I'm organising myself as I type this!).
Replanting has begun on the middle patio border although more tidying up still needs to be done
And some more progress on the border to the other side of the jungle hut towards the jungle walk with more clearing out done.
Oh and we have to order some more compost, topsoil, bark mulch, manure, gravel...
The towering Schefflera alpina has been liberated from its pot and is underplanted with Illicium majus
Lovely March weather it may be, it still feels early on various aspects of gardening. But doing a little bit here and a little bit there all adds up, and when the warmer months of spring arrives it should help in making the remaining tasks much lighter.
Everything looks so much nicer on a sunny day, including these empty pots!
And two of those pots were planted up by the end of the day. I like this photo, it looks rather 'conceptual'...
And isn't that one of the nice things about gardening? Sometimes you just go out there and do a little bit here and a little bit there and later on you find yourself getting calmer, relaxed, revitalised, with a clearer and better vision of bigger things to do in the future. Wonderful!

 Mark :-)
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26 comments:

  1. brummi17 March 2014 at 22:03

    Mark Gaz i bought my Sheffiliar in in the winter can i plant them out now because i saw your out side

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    1. Mark and Gaz17 March 2014 at 22:54

      Hi Carol, temperatures have been reasonably good, I reckon you can safely plant it out now :)

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  2. Roslyn17 March 2014 at 23:25

    The path to the jungle hut is going to look fantastic with those tree ferns and the moss covered logs as borders. Reminds me of the rainforest walks in North Queensland.

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    1. Mark and Gaz18 March 2014 at 10:09

      That would be an effect we'd love to achieve Missy :)

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  3. rusty duck17 March 2014 at 23:35

    We are certainly getting a head start. I've got all despondent more than once, trying to find something that hasn't come up, and then having to remind myself that it is only March. I am madly moving stuff around, and hoping that it won't come back and bite me.

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    1. Mark and Gaz18 March 2014 at 10:11

      It's a good time to move things around especially most are still dormant or at least just on the cusp of sprouting. And then it will have all of the coming growing season to recover and reestablish :)

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  4. Evan Bean18 March 2014 at 02:00

    I've been trying to picture where to plant a Rhododendron roxieanum var. oreonastes since I read that older post. I forget exactly how I stumbled across it. I think I saw it in the Rhododendron Species Foundation catalog and was looking for more info on it. Glad you rescued it from the miscanthus carcass (Miss Carcass?).

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    1. Mark and Gaz18 March 2014 at 10:28

      It'll be a great addition to your garden Evan :) It has done incredibly well for us despite being only pot grown and some neglect, the other pot grown rhododendrons we have haven't done as well. We ought to plant it out really. Great foliage plant, flowers a bonus!

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  5. Alison18 March 2014 at 04:00

    Sometimes when I have that kind of day it just feels like I've been spinning my wheels and not getting anywhere. But then there are times when just doing a little of everything is very relaxing, and feels like progress.

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    1. Mark and Gaz18 March 2014 at 10:31

      Indeed Alison. Sometimes you get stuck in the garden and feel directionless with your activity but every thing done helps, and later on you'll realise you've found a direction just by starting something or finishing a few random things.

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  6. danger garden18 March 2014 at 04:17

    Reading along I found myself getting that anxious feeling (so much to do, must plant, oh but is it too soon? Must order gravel, mulch, blah blah blah). Thanks for bringing it back around to the relaxing feeling it's still early and it will all get done eventually. Plus it's the doing that we all love so much!

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    1. Mark and Gaz18 March 2014 at 10:34

      Absolutely Loree, it's easy to forget that and we all sometimes have to remind ourselves that it is the doing the is more often the most gratifying :) And also we have to remind ourselves that gardening deadlines are rarely that rigid, it's just us most of the time putting pressure on to ourselves.

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  7. Laurent18 March 2014 at 10:03

    Hi, On the 4th photo, I see you've planted some palmtrees. I can see a washingtonia (robusta ?) and some 2 feather-like palmtrees (phoenix or jubaea ?). You probably know these will become enormous :-)

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    1. Mark and Gaz18 March 2014 at 10:36

      We would love for them to get enormous Laurent :) They were bedding plants from last year that sailed through fine due to our recent mild winter. If all of our winters will be like that from then onwards (less stormy would be even more ideal) then that would be a dream!

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  8. Lisa C. D.18 March 2014 at 14:51

    I think doing a little bit here and a little bit there is what I enjoy most, it makes me happy and allows me to think only about plants and how nice it is to be in the garden. That Schefflera is really tall!!! I didn´t see it that clear in the previous post where you talked about it. Nice!

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    1. Mark and Gaz18 March 2014 at 20:22

      Little activities in the garden can be so relaxing indeed Lisa, one of the delights of gardening :)

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  9. Sunray Gardens18 March 2014 at 18:54

    It's all coming along steadily. I really like the little area with the bench. I know once everything is grown back in that will be very private in there. Perfect! :)
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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    1. Mark and Gaz18 March 2014 at 20:23

      Thanks Cher :) a growing season or two and that area will be private and very lush again. Hopefully we can achieve it this year, pretty confident!

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  10. Kris Peterson19 March 2014 at 00:46

    A little bit here and a little bit there still leads up to progress. Have you settled on paint colors for the hut yet?

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    1. Mark and Gaz20 March 2014 at 10:53

      At the moment bright green is winning Kris but orchid pink is slowly creeping up...

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  11. outlawgardener19 March 2014 at 06:08

    The weather/my schedule have not been conducive to doing a lot of gardening yet, just rushing to get a few things done after work before it gets dark. Looking forward to days of pottering! Looks like you're having fun!

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    1. Mark and Gaz20 March 2014 at 10:55

      It was like that here March and April last year when winter seemed to have dragged on. Daylight is getting longer and same here, rushing back from here to take advantage of as much daylight as possible. Time in the garden is most of the time good fun Peter :)

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  12. rickI19 March 2014 at 23:19

    Those first few sunny days do get me racing ahead of myself. I've been concentrating on weeding and pruning, two pursuits that can never go awry. Yesterday, though, I gave in to the urge to plant. It felt SO GOOD!

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    1. Mark and Gaz20 March 2014 at 11:12

      Planting out is a fab feeling Ricki, the best part of gardening :) pruning and weeding still needs to be done so getting them out of the way now gives you more time to do planting later on.

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  13. HolleyGarden20 March 2014 at 04:21

    So true! I am much more relaxed and calm after spending time in the garden. I don't know why, but I can tell when I "need" to garden! Interesting that you're having an early spring - ours is late here, and it seems so very odd. I guess we're going through the emotions you had last year!

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    1. Mark and Gaz20 March 2014 at 11:44

      Indeed Holley, but it'll arrive there eventually, something to look forward. Amazing how invigorating it is to spend time on the garden!

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