Autumn Makeover

Recent weather conditions have taken their toll on all of the gardens so it is time for some serious cosmetic surgery. Plants have shrivelled and tree branches lost leaves. Cracks have developed all over the yard despite rain showers in past weeks. The extreme heat of Summer was not as damaging so I find it bewildering that Autumn garden displays feature tortured, brown and withered plants. It is time for action. A 'call to arms' in a literal sense. Armed with garden shears and a bush saw I felled the skeleton of an old tree and I lopped dead or dying branches from numerous trees. I have turned my spade to remove and relocate the dwindling numbers of dietes and agapanthas to hopefully more suitable locations within the garden. Watering has started in earnest in an attempt to halt the pattern of dead and dying all through the garden. I'd like to water in the seaweed fertiliser but I have recollections of the last time I did that; when the self watering container malfunctioned and I was showered in the oh so unpleasant fishy mixture. It took some time to wash away the odour. Unsure as to how to resolve the issues with the container it remains mostly full so it would be a good source of nutrients for the plants if only I could accommodate the possibility of another seaweed shower into my daily routine. I am working on that perspective. The body is willing but the nose is still refusing to accept the stench that accompanied the previous episode. Ever positive, I've purchased ten new pots of purple fountain grasses that beckon the spade to plant them before the weather cools further. As I sit I concede that while I am blogging I am not gardening. Surely before and after pics are warranted. The ground resembled concrete both in texture and in endurance. Its endurance was greater than mine, for even the newest, sharpest, spade (see the still intact label) created not even a dent on the soil. My beautiful yellow spade left no impression on the site designated for transplanting the old. In defeat I sit and write for the earth has beaten me temporarily. Tomorrow is a new day where I'll bring new ideas if not a pick and hoe to the scene.