Paradise

The Paralympics are now over, and the closing ceremony was superb. I don't only say that because Coldplay were the main act, but because we were once again reminded of just how strong the human spirit can be. The athletes weren't tucked off to one side, no, they were quite rightly given a centre stage seat. Some of their stories and injuries have been horrendous. Some disabilities they were born with. In each case, every one of the athletes have at some point in their lives made the decision to grasp life, and do something amazing with it.

The song by Coldplay was also used in the advertisements for David Attenborough's last series, in which he showed us just what sort of paradise we do indeed live in. From the lush flowers and growth in blogs such 'Garden in Paradise' and '25 Acres', to sightings of amazingly beautiful hummingbirds in 'Las Aventuras' and 'Garden on Sherlock Street'. Pretty much anywhere on earth, there is beauty to be found, whether ones town is in the tropics, or a desert environment, we just have to notice it, and best of all, feel it.

 

It's very easy to find oneself looking upon the day ahead, maybe because it's raining, or the workload is too heavy, and become resigned to simply ticking the minutes off until you reach that point in the day that you are looking forward to. I still haven't heard any news regarding the tender, but heck, if I don't win it back, at least in the meantime I shall have half a day free a week to do something else such as walk, read or kayak etc, as long as it doesn't cost anything eh?

We finally got into our own garden proper over the last few days. Inspired by the one small purchase of a Gentian 'Marsha', a small plant in a 3 litre pot, we began our onslaught into the overgrown jungle that the garden had become.

Gentian 'Marsha'

First off, the bird feeders were filled, and once again hung in the Acacia that we had pruned previously. Birds used to come en-masse, but I think they may have given up on our garden for a while, hopefully not for too long though.

Next on the list was the other Acacia at the end of the garden. It's on the right in this photo below, and I had already been working on it for a couple of hours. Amanda took the photo, as she wanted to have a picture of this part of the garden, and just how much it had been neglected and become overgrown.

Apart from things like the Hydrangia villosa and paniculata still flowering, this Fuschia 'Genii' is still going strong. I've had a love/hate relationship with Fuschias all of my working life, and still not sure on which side of the fence they fall, but something about them has me coming back for more. Maybe it's to do with where in their surroundings they are on show?  

This Callistemon linearis had become so overgrown, that some drastic action was required. Too close to the path to dig it up with enough of a rootball left to transplant it, we decided to give it a heavy pruning to reduce it in size. Not the best time of year to be doing this, but something had to be done, and experience has reassured us that it will be fine. It will be reduced even further next year, so that most new growth will once again come from the base area. Just out of interest, the word Callistemon means 'beautiful stamens' in Greek.

Buddleias are just about finished flowering now, and ours in particular, as we hadn't managed to dead-head them at all this year. Amanda tackled these while I was still up the Acacia, at times having to cut her way into the borders to gain acces to them. She reduced them to about four feet high for the time being.

The Spiraeas only needed trimming and tidying to remove any dead-heads. It's tempting to use shears for speed, but there was no hurry, and I prefer to use secateurs and actually feel the plants in my hands.

By the time the Acacia, and a Photinia 'Red Robin' hedge had been pruned, there was a rather large pile of rubbish at the end of the garden.

Hobie now has TWO climbing frames! Each year he dreams of, and tries to catch the birds that swarm in the two Acacias, but this old timer is simply not quick and agile enough, and his plans are thwarted every time.

By mid-afternoon the office has become visible, just, once again. There's loads more to do, but we have to give more time over to Four Seasons this week, as we fly off on holiday this Sunday, and need to make sure that things are up together before we go. One whole week in the Carmen del Corbertizo, at the foot of the Alhambra Palace, can't wait!

Thanks for visiting.