I have said it before. I love winter. While many love the spring colour in the garden or the summer heat, I love the showering rain, providing a well needed drink for my veges and flowers. I can get out and start moving things around. There are plants to pot up, irises to move to a more visible location and lots of digging.
It just gets too hot in summer, to do all the back-breaking work of digging and landscaping (and, being the lazy gardener that I am, my plants are less likely to die when I forget to water them.)
Now that the ground is more moist, I have been out doing a mass of weeding. Even then some of the ground was almost like concrete. I spent a relaxing afternoon ripping sour sobs out individually. I use an old fork or a small trowel – depending on how hard the ground is. Sour sobs are annoying weeds with little bulbs that are notorious to remove. I am quite pleased. About half to two-thirds were removed -intact- using my cutlery.
In all, I weeded two of my vegetable squares and along both sides of our front path. Once this was completed, I sowed another batch of broccoli, carrot and spinach seeds. The thyme and mustard seeds are finally starting to shoot and should fill up their beds quite nicely.
I love the serendipity of the garden. I found three self-seeded lettuce seedlings and three self-seeded spinach seedlings hiding amongst the other plantings. They miraculously find a place to grow – and thrive – against all odds. I still excited when I find these unexpected treasures. They now have a new home, as do the silver beet seedlings we were given by a friend.
A great day in the garden does a wonder to recharge my batteries, connect with nature, get some food growing and mull over some writing ideas in my head. (not counting the exercise and vitamin D.)