Recently a friend of mine remarked on a
photo of one of my very weedy vegie patches, saying how much work it must be to maintain my garden. It started me thinking.
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| My neglected, weedy, vegie patch. |
Currently I do have a lot to do to return the Bountiful Backyard to its former glory of being both productive and aesthetically pleasing. Still, I can’t
actually remember when I last made a significant effort in the garden, apart
from mowing lawns and trimming edges.
It’s been nearly three months I think, as evidenced by the über long break between my blogs. That's really quite a long time. If I left my housework for three months you can imagine the state the house would be in! Probably much worse than the current state of my garden. And let's face it, doing housework doesn't actually produce or create anything. At least working in the Bountiful Backyard means food; cheaper, tastier food, as well as an additional 'living area' that makes my incredibly small house bearable.
Thankfully, the weather has really cooled down, and the humidity has also backed off. With four days over the Easter long weekend, it's time to recover the Bountiful Backyard.
My strategy is pretty well always the same: focus on one area, clear it or weed it, save what's good, replant and mulch immediately.
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| I'm working on this overgrown bed today. |
Today I'm focusing on a bed that is over run with lemon mint or lemon bee balm. Although it can be a hardy and pretty ground cover with purple flowers, and used in meat stuffings or salads, it is now really out of control and choking other plants that are more desirable.
First, I remove all the leafy vegetation on the top of the bed, pulling some of the stringy, spaghetti like roots out with it if I can. It's reasonably easy but there are many intertwined roots sitting close to the surface, that will grow again if not removed.
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| I remove the surface vegetation. |
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| Intertwined roots that will grow again. |
As I pull away the vegetation I am delighted to find plants I had long forgotten about! Some struggling blueberry plants and some strawberries that were reasonably productive last year. How wonderful! I promise them silently I will give them some TLC , which includes a good dose of Seasol, some new mulch and access to more light. Maybe then I will get some more blueberries this year.
I stand back to check out my progress, and as I do so I spy an odd red shape, like a fat chilli amongst the weeds against the fence. Could it be? I shriek with delight, as I realise, that yes, yes, it really is my first ever finger lime!! I can’t wait. I run inside and cut it open and squeeze the little caviar-like, citrus pearls into my mouth. They’re hard, and then they pop, like miniature juicy, lemony explosions. Seriously yum.
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| My first finger lime. |
I get back to forking over the ground where the lemon mint roots lie, picking out any curl grubs and roots as I go. It's only a small patch I've done, but I'm following some advice I got at an emotional energy seminar last year. Instead of forcing myself to finish digging over the whole lot, I'm moving to what I feel like doing, which is of course to planting up!
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| I fork the ground to remove hidden roots. |
I rescue my blueberries and transplant some strawberry runners. Hell, the freshly dug soil looks so good I throw in some flower seeds of cosmos and
poppies. I feel reckless. I am the Thelma, or maybe the
Louise, of gardening, whichever. It's exhilarating! I water everything in with seaweed solution, throw some sugar cane mulch around and hey presto, look at that!
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| Strawberries and blueberries and flower seeds planted in weeded bed. |
This bed's not finished of course but I'm feeling a sense of achievement regardless. A pretty good start I reckon, and an enjoyable and rewarding day. It's definitely time for a cup of Earl Grey tea and to sit back and admire my handiwork some more. Perhaps I should grow tea, I muse. Hmmmm. Can I grow tea here in south east Queensland?? Surely I could try? "C’mon
Special K, let’s go inside… I need to google if we can grow tea in our backyard…"
