A Slow Start To March

 

It was Monday morning. I was supposed to be setting off to plant some trees, and mow a very large lawn in readiness for a firm to come in and moss treat then scarify it later.

 

 

It was snowing, sort of, but enough to mean that my day had to be postponed until the day after. The cats have some very strange habits. Not content with drinking from their water bowl, or metal bucket outside, Misty persists in opening the bathroom door and climbing into the sink to drink, and of course all of the toilet seats must always be closed. Hobie goes outside in any weather to lap up a puddle. He was kind of mystified this morning, as his usual puddles had frozen over, and he tried to negotiate the snow on this primrose. It didn't take him long to come back inside and fall asleep.....yet again!

 

 

I did get some paperwork done, now that I have been promoted to an office indoors. For the last few years I have been in the 'shack' at the end of the garden, which is wonderful in the summer when the doors are open and the sound of birdsong fills the air. The winter however is a different story. So it was that one of the bedrooms has been transformed into a man pad. I have drawers, those clear plastic stackable shelf 'thingy's' for an in/out tray....and a stationary tidy!



 

The week gone by has been pretty ordinary in work terms, and with Amanda still off with her broken arm, I have been left to face the dim and horrible days all alone. There are lot's of gardeners out there on their own, some never speak, some grunt, some talk to themselves. Some do smile and talk normally, but some smile regardless of whether anyone else is around, and would probably still smile if their arm fell off.....I am trying not to become like any of them, but the voices in my head say it's useless.

 

One particular day was set aside for a drive to Lymington, and a visit once again to the large wholesale nursery for some more plants for the Sandbanks house front garden. It's not so much fun on your own, no discussions over plant changes, and no impromptu tea and cakes in a cafe.

 

It was freezing cold, with a foggy start, and heavy rain forecast.



The nursery workers were unrecognisable, wrapped from head to toe in whatever clothing they could squeeze on. This nursery is very exposed, and always very windy. The birds find shelter in the massive poly tunnels, of which there are many more like the one below. As you can hear, it was raining really hard. Not a good day for nurseries. The workers use mopeds to get around as it's so big, and so you have to keep an eye open as you move from plants to path.

 

 

 

In the picture below, I am standing midpoint in this poly tunnel, and you can only just see the entrance at the end.

 

 

Unfortunately, some of the things I was looking for were being grown outside, but I didn't do any browsing this time as you can imagine.

 

Large Cordylines placed to one side and tagged for ownership.

 

One shrub I did find, hadn't seen before, but liked very much, was this dwarf Photinia. I may pick one up next time.

 

Photinia 'Little Red Robin'

 

It wasn't all doom and gloom though. My brother has a business teaching the elderly how to use computers, laptops, Iphone and Ipads etc, and our paths cross often. We both happened to be in the Highcliffe area on this lovely and sunny day. A couple of quick texts to one another and we hooked up at the Cliffhanger Cafe for a coffee and a catch up. It's always nice to see my brother, although life seems to get in the way far too often.

 

 

It's sunny again today, Wednesday, and let's hope it's going to stay that way!

TTFN