With the weather playing ball,  and the rain holding off until early evening, we had another productive day. More importantly, though, we had no disasters. In fact, the plumber turned up and fixed the leaky pipe under the house. Another job ticked off the list.  Connor spent the morning helping his grandmother with putting compost in her garden, and Zac helped me (well kind of), in another part of the garden.

Normally this area is well under control. It is probably the one area I will admit to spraying at times (early morning or early evening to avoid bees, and usually an organic product). But every so often, I do have to put the gloves on and get stuck in. Long pants and long-sleeved shirt is also advised as I have a few red pineapples in amongst things. There was weed galore. With all this rain, and limited time to get stuck in, I think I last tackled this area was during the last school holidays. There were also a few patches that needed filling.

These gardens were started 10 years ago while I was on maternity leave. Every time I visited my mother’s place, I would come back with a bucket full of cuttings. I also moved the stones from the BBQ area bucket by bucket while Zac was asleep. Over the years I have slowly split off parts and filled the gaps. A few friends have also donated bromeliads and succulents to add more variety. I think the only thing purchased for the garden was the grasses over 15 years ago.

The job isn’t quite finished. There are a few untidy plants that I would like to get rid of, and a few grasses that I am going to try cutting back to a little ball as they are starting to meander over the drive, but I require hubby and the trailer for that. That is currently filled with the old fence (they offered to take it away, but I could see potential in the scraps for a chicken coop and a planter box or two. In fact the roofer even left some roofing iron for the chicken coop too). I am pretty sure I am not the only gardener who intercepts things like that.

Tomorrow’s plan was going to be emptying the planter boxes, but I have decided to be kind to myself. I am going to weed around the berries, and tidy up the flower garden in the BBQ area. They are some what more relaxing and easier tasks. I think the boys could also do with a break. The planter boxes can wait another day.

In terms of the seeds, we have had a few more tomatoes pop up overnight, and another watermelon. There is still no sign of the beans,  corn or the sunflowers (or the capsicums and chilies). But as these were sown later, I am not stressing. Although I should admit to telling hubby just before that I might get the picnic blanket out and throw it over the containers. I don't think he knew whether I was joking or not.