On an overcast, more sultry, morning we cleared clippings and I dead headed.
With no change in the weather this afternoon, Jackie set about chopping up the cut foliage from the plants in the front garden corner
while I transported it to the compost bins and added the more woody sections to the ever increasing heap on the Back Drive.
The hydrangea will stay.
Later, Jackie tidied the area and took
hydrangea cuttings which will be covered with plastic bags and placed in the greenhouse
My post “Five Years On”, from October 14th, 2019 shows, not only the said drive as it was when we first arrived, but also some of the fires that dispensed with the vast amount of brushwood that we cleared from the jungle that was our garden.
It is now apparent that we will need some more bonfires that will call into service the one-armed wheelbarrow in the same way as one was employed before.
Later this afternoon I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2021/09/04/a-knights-tale-27-eventually-chris-twigged/
This afternoon Elizabeth came with baskets of dirty washing to avail herself of our washing machine because hers has died. This took some hours and she shared our takeaway meal from Red Chilli. She and I finished the Comté Tolosan Rouge while Jackie started on another bottle of the Pinot Grigio Bluch.
I really do think you should charge admission for people to see the garden!!
It’s so beautiful, GP!
Agreed, John. And in such a beautiful neighborhood.
Thanks, GP.
Thanks a lot, GP
Or do an open garden for the NGS 😊
That has often been suggested, Helen, but we are not sure we could manage it.
Yes, it would be a lot of work!
Good idea.
Thank you for the link to your 2019 post showing the original state of the garden! What a lot of work it has taken to make it as beautiful as it is today! And what a show-piece it has turned into!
Thank you so much, Janet
Do you need a burn permit before touching off the fire?
No. Mind you, if our temperatures get as hot as yours we may well do. Thanks a lot, John
In my home county in Michigan, we had to call a certain phone number to tell the authorities that we were going to be burning leaves and scrub. Probably so the fire department knows what’s going on.
It’s amazing what you’ve achieved
Thank you so much, Sheree
A new invention! Patent it????
Thanks a lot, Cindy. 🙂
I LOVE the photos & posts from the past! What a joy to see how far you’ve come and how beautiful your choices have turned out to be. Thank you, always, for sharing your progress with us. Always inspirational!
Thank you so much for being such a long-term friend, Jodie.
<3
I’m so glad you mentioned the wheel barrow, you have given me an idea!
I enjoyed another look at five years on. If you ever leave that house I hope you leave a photo record for the new owners. That said, please don’t leave.
Forty five years from moving to this house and I still feel we are honoured caretakers of our homes.
That is absolutely right, Sue. My version is that we only ever have anything on loan. We do have such a photographic record.Thanks very much. https://derrickjknight.com/2016/04/01/private-view/
Thank you for the link, what a super exhibition.
You have reminded me that I still haven’t printed and framed many of mine that I want to use for a wall of favourite blog photos, a record I suppose.
Thank you, Derrick.
X
I didn’t know you could grow hydrangeas from cuttings. 🙂
It seems you can grow most things that way, Chrissy. Thanks very much.
Jackie looks right at home! She’s beaming.
Thanks a lot, Jill
Jackie looks so happy in the garden.
Thanks very much, More
You’re welcome Derrick
A vast gaden, reaps many clippings and high heaps ..
Thanks very much, Ivor
Your garden has come a long way over the years. As usual, your hard work inspires me to continue to work on my jungle-ish surroundings.
I’m pleased, JoAnna. Thank you very much.
Before and after! I checked back on the 5yr link and it is spectacular. Do the old tree trunks stay forever or will there be any pressure to have them removed.
We just let them slowly fade away, John. Although some have been taken out and form stumperies. They were already stumps when we arrived. Thanks very much.
It’s a truly amazing achievement
Thank you very much, Gary. I was able-bodied then. 🙂
I have not realized that your magnificent garden had been a jungle when you took over. The Head Gardener deserves a special medal for valor! Your efforts are also not be overlooked, Derrick.
Thank you so much, Dolly.
You are very welcome, Derrick.
Do you expect most of your cuttings to take root?
They normally do, Nicki. Thanks very much.
WHAT changes have been wrought in only five years! I enjoyed the link to the jungle of the back drive – thank you for including that. We are not allowed to have bonfires in our gardens – too much of a fire hazard in the drought. You both deserve a pat on the back.
Many thanks from us both, Anne
I have already visited the post that showcases the change the Garden has witnessed in five years, and I admired the transformation yet again. It has acquired a certain character in the ensuing years, that charms the virtual visitors like me endlessly.
Thank you so very much, Uma
I envy your having fires. Up here, they are verboten because of global warming. I used to love the occasional blaze.
Gosh. I didn’t know that, John. Thanks a lot.
It’s so interesting to see the comparison photos…seeing the garden then, in-between then and now, and today. You two have put in a lot of hard work, time, money, artistry, etc…but I’m also sure it’s your love and tender care that has caused the plants and trees to flourish and smile! 🙂
I’m so glad the one-armed wheelbarrow is still seen as usable and helpful! 🙂
We like to be seen that was as we become more well-seasoned! 😉
(((HUGS))) 🙂
Especially so as we now have one good knee between us 🙂 Thanks very much, Carolyn X
I didn’t realize there had been so many changes in your garden. It’s a work of art–I suppose a long, hard work of art! 😀
As usual, Jackie looks happy to be in the garden. She has such a beautiful smile.
Thank you so much, Merril
sometimes doing laundry can lead to good human connection
☀️☀️☀️☀️
🙂 Thanks very much, Yvette
Nice job, Jackie and Derrick! That’s a beautiful hydrangea. I recently took cuttings of hydrangeas, too. I kept procrastinating sticking 2 of them, leaving them in water on my sink, and behold they rooted in water. I have never had luck with that before.
Well done. Thanks from us both, Cheryl
What an achievement, Derrick! You and Jackie should be proud.
Thanks very much, Eugi. We are, rather
You’re welcome, Derrick!
Wowsah, what a difference! Inspiring to see what you have done with the garden.
Thank you so much, Laurie
You have made a wonderful difference over the years.
Thank you very much, Tootlepedal
As others have clearly stated, Sher and I also enjoy the past photos to compare. Such a beautiful space you and Jackie have to enjoy and share!
Thank you very much from us both to you both, Maj
what a labor of love!
Thanks very much, Lola
I knew you kept improving things, but it’s only when I saw the comparison photos that I realised what a huge difference you had made.
Congratulations.
Thank you so much, Quercus
I’m impressed that you can handle a one-armed wheelbarrow. I can’t keep a two-armed one steady!
It has a tendency to go round in circles so will now be an incinerator. Thanks very much, Liz
That’s probably best . . .
🙂
Has Jackie ever rooted fruit tree cuttings?
No, Lavinia. She doesn’t “do fruit and veg”. Thanks very much.
I was hoping she did. Perhaps she has some advice for rooting pears and apples.
I’m afraid not
Lots of fascinating reading, Derrick. And lots of hard work transforming your drive. Before you bought the property, presumably it had not been used as such for a long time?
The house belonged to a couple who couldn’t manage it any more, and invasive plants from an empty property next door had also taken over. https://derrickjknight.com/2014/07/21/the-day-of-the-triffids/
The result of love and hard work 😉🌸
Thank you so much, Ribana