A Bit Harsh

On an overcast morning promising rain we set about clearing up from Jackie’s pruning and weeding of the last couple of days.

My task was to gather up, chop to size, load the debris into trugs (how many times, WP, do I have to tell you this is not rugs – look it up), and, because the main compost bins are full, transport the contents to the front bin. That is now full.

When I announced that the job was done, the Head Gardener stated “You haven’t seen what I’ve done on the Head Gardener’s Walk”.

It had been clear before I began. “I thought you were just going to sweep and rake the paths”, said I.

“I had to do some cutting back before I could get down it. Don’t worry. I’ll do that. Go back inside and sit down before you fall down”. Such cruelty to be kind seemed a bit harsh to me. Nevertheless, with relief, I obeyed instructions.

She was, however, as good as her word, and filled two trugs while clearing and sweeping the path. The sun had, after lunch, put in an appearance. “Where’s Jackie?” (3) is located in the first of this trio of pictures. Click on any image to access the gallery; for enlargement scroll down to the box under the right side of the picture to ‘view full size’; further enlargement is also possible.

I had time to tour with my camera before a heavy shower sent us inside.

This evening we dined on Mr Chan’s Hordle Chinese Take Away excellent fare with which Jackie drank Becks and I finished the Rioja.

92 comments

  1. So much work to keep your beautiful garden so beautiful! I really like your brick path with the wedding bouquet arch.
    Jackie looks like a ghost in the “Where’s Jackie?” photo. ?

  2. Jackie was a fairly quick spot. Beautiful garden shots, as always. And yes, WP can be a tad bit frustrating when it thinks it knows better than you what you are writing….sigh

  3. Wrangler leaves me to do the heavy work in the garden but most of the time he is doing work like mowing (I never have to do) or something on the truck.

  4. I’m astounded at how much biomass we accumulate in a simple weeding and clean up session. Our compost heap at the bottom of the field now measures 4x2m and is 1m high.

    Not surprised your compost bins are full. It’s crazy.

  5. I’ve always heard gardening is good for our blood pressure. If so, Jackie’s bp must be close to perfect. Your garden is incredible. These photos certainly highlighted its beauty.

  6. I love nooks and crannies in the garden, surprises around a curving path and tiny flowers sneaking through.

    Norm now scans through your garden photos. You can almost see the lights (in his eyes) go on as he appreciates what I’m trying to create in our own garden…but not quite that big. 😉

  7. You made me smile with your comment about your word “trugs”….. WP, still does’t accept “Ivor” as the right spelling of my name…. ??

  8. I looked at the header photo and was so enamored of the flowers that I didn’t even see Jackie. But I caught her in the “Where’s Jackie” context. Your garden is so beautiful. The brick paths and covered arches will always speak to me.

  9. This is the time of year when gardening is never done, so glad you took a rest. The result is a garden of enchantment – especially the brick path and flowered arch. Ahhhh.

  10. Such a lovely lot of trugs you have (being in the US, spellcheck changed it to drugs). I spotted Jackie behind the wrought iron. Do you have your own compost heap as well, or would it just attract unwanted visitors?

  11. I enjoyed the proceedings of disposal of clippings and the hilarious sparring with WP and Jackie!
    Jackie’s head is visible at about one third in the frame from the top right parallel to the curl of the lamp post.

  12. I looked up “trug” but didn’t find anything about the origin of the word. Wiktionary thought it came from “trough”, but I find that a little,unconvincing. Sounds Scandinavian to me.

  13. Derrick, I think we your readers get the best end of the deal. We get to enjoy your beautiful garden on a daily basis without any of the hard work put in by the Head Gardener and yourself.

  14. Oh, those garden pictures are just gorgeous! You both worked so hard with all the weeding, pruning and clearing up, you definitely deserved the Chinese takeaway.

  15. Such a gorgeous garden needs a lot of work too! But is so well worth it ? Is really wonderful ?? Jackie knows how to hide well but spotted behind her wonderful plants ??

  16. What a lot of work goes into keeping your garden beautiful. Kudos to both of you for such hard work. I spotted Jackie thanks to her colourful shirt behind the pink flowers.

  17. Women can be a touch harsh, I have noticed this in Julia’s case too. Apparently my contribution to domestic life should include more activity. I, of course, retorted “What, with my knees?”

Leave a Reply