"Sprinter pottering"

Saturday was a perfect day to be in the garden.
Sunday, 31 July 2011     

New plants waiting to be put in

Saturday's glorious Sydney weather reminded us that, though it's officially still winter, we seem to be tumbling into spring. I like the word 'sprinter' to represent the transition between these seasons in our climate - a time that seems to run from late July to early September. I decided to head into the garden and make the most of an unexpected completely free day. But I really wanted to accomplish some things: I am so envious of those people who can make a list of garden chores, methodically carry them out and feel a true sense of achievement at the end of a day in the garden.

I certainly had things to do: a new Camellia sasanqua to plant in my driveway (where the previous one had been flattened by the falling blue gum tree TWO years ago); a newly purchased blood orange tree to be planted; a congested clump of daylilies that desperately needed to be divided and replanted; and numerous other tasks that had been hanging over my head for the past few weeks. I decided to observe my behaviour objectively as the day unfolds, to see what happens when I venture into the garden ...

I set out full of good intentions. I trundle the wheelbarrow to the compost heap and start digging out some well-rotted compost to use for all my planned plantings. As I dig, I come across some white curl grubs, so I pop them into a bucket. I take these all the way up to the top of our yard to give to Charlotte, the hen. I am glad to see her greedily scoff them. She makes clucking noises, as mother hens do to call their chicks when there is something good to eat. This makes me feel sad, as she has no other hens for company these days. I make a mental note to buy a new chicken or two when I am at the produce store getting the enormous bags of organic fertiliser I need for my annual feed of the garden in a few weeks' time.

I return to the back garden to the site of the daylilies. I note that there are lots of horrid weeds in this bed so I set about removing them first - some really nasty onion weed and sour sob - so I need to get a bucket to put these in: back to the top of the yard. Finally, I dig out the daylilies - a truly gorgeous 'spider' cultivar called 'Black Plush' with purple-black elegant petals and a bright yellow throat. In just a few years, the single fan I had bought from a mail-order specialist has expanded to form a tight clump of at least a dozen plants. I find it impossible to separate them by hand or with a spade so back to the top of the garden to fetch a vicious-looking old cane-cutting knife that I keep hidden in the garage for just such occasions.

With a satisfying couple of blows, the clump is severed and I am able to tease each plant apart. These are placed gently into their original spot, which I first amend with a few good spadefuls of compost. I meditate on the joy of compost and what a wonderful way it is to improve soil - something I learned at my parents' knee. I recall how only a few years ago this bed was just weeping red clay and now has the delightful consistency of crumbled chocolate cake. The fans - trimmed back to get rid of the old foliage - seem to heave a sigh of relief to each have their own space; this section now resembles a miniature rice paddy but I feel hugely chuffed that I have ticked off one task! But ... there are a few surplus daylily fans ... I can't bring myself to throw them away, so back up to the top of the yard to pot them up to give to the garden club sales table!

Whilst up there, I notice in a nearby bed that the huge bushes of Salvia leucantha are just asking to be pruned. Velvety-stemmed new growth is coming through at the base of the plant and the straggly old stems look so hideous. So these are all removed. This reminds me that there are other Salvia in the garden of the same type, with basal new growth, that can be safely pruned now, such as S. 'Anthony Parker', S. 'Meigan's Magic' and S. 'Phyllis' Fancy'. I chop them all back and admire my handiwork - though bare, these sections now look much neater and I visualise how soon they will fill out once spring comes. I wander back down to the back garden to put all these old stems on the growing pile of mulching that needs to be done (NOT by me!). This takes me past the spot where the neighbour's dog hangs out - as I am trying to tame this dog so she doesn't bark viciously at me every time I am in the garden, I need to pat her and throw a ball for it a few times. She has trouble learning how to give the ball back to me without biting my hand off but after a few attempts, she has it nailed.

After this, I pull up some more weeds and cut back some ornamental grasses, a task I had previously forgotten to do and which has become urgent as the new growth will be appearing at any moment. Standing deep in the border, I stop to smell the white, fragrant wands of Buddleja 'Spring Promise' that I planted last year and its scent instantly transports me into spring. This reminds me of another fragrant late-winter blooming Buddleja that I planted last year - B. salvifolia - and I wonder how it's getting on. Back to the top garden where I see it has a few plump flower buds amidst its silver-tinged luxurious foliage and I admire the carpet of violets in full bloom below it and make a note to put more in so that all the ground is covered, as there is still a lot of space here filled with weeds! These need to be pulled up ...

Somehow, the hours pass with random pottering taking me from one area in the garden to the next, each action triggering another, and before I know it, it is time to go inside. Anyone observing me would consider me a totally inefficient and disorganised worker. I had only ticked off one task from my original list, but I was as happy as a lark and realised that in gardening, it is exactly this sort of haphazard pottering that soothes our minds and makes us love our hobby.


 Reader Comments

1/13  Janice - 2069 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 01 August 2011

Congratulations Deirdre on your gardening and writing your blog! Janice 2069

Thanks, Janice. I appreciate the feedback. Deirdre


2/13  Bob - 2076 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 01 August 2011

lovely to read about your garden activities,I have a courtyard garden thus rather restricted in what i can do and i feel as if I am with you in thought if not in deed.My eupatorum is doing very well in a pot!!!

Thanks, Bob. Good to hear your eupatorium is doing well in a pot. I recently visited a great garden where many large shrubby perennials were grown in 50-litre pots. They looked fantastic. Deirdre


3/13  Libby - 2093 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 01 August 2011

Absolutely loved reading about your gardening technique. I had to show my husband as he thinks its only me that is so disorganised in the garden. I always tell him it is a labour of love pottering around not a planned assult to be completed in a set timeframe.

I agree totally, Libby. I do eventually get round to doing the tasks, but not in any orderly way! Deirdre


4/13  Jennifer - 3056 (Zone:10 - Mediteranean) Monday, 01 August 2011

Hi i was wondering about the pretty leafed geranium at the bottom left of your picture. I have recently grown a cutting of this plant taken from a street bush and would like to know what it is. Jennifer

It is a fancy-leaved zonal geranium that I bought recently. It didn't have a name on it unfortunately. They should be available from most nurseries. They do reasonably well in Sydney and look at their best in winter. I usually cut off the flowers as they are not the main feature and usually clash with the foliage! Deirdre


5/13  Maureen - 2118 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 01 August 2011

Well you inspired me to get out and cull my leucanthra scattered all around my garden and also dont feel so bad now when I plan one thing and divert to another when gardening. Thanks once again for a great read.

Thanks, Maureen. The Salvia leucantha definitely needed the pruning and mine look so much better now. The growth will soon bulk up. Deirdre


6/13  Lyn - 4570 (Zone:11B - Tropical) Monday, 01 August 2011

Thanks so much Deirdre, I really believed I was alone in 'wasting time in pottering'- I'm very good at it, and I have a couple of acres now to do it in.Love the 'Sprinter'. Lyn

Thanks, Lyn. How wonderful to have a few acres to potter in! Deirdre


7/13  Adelina - 2477 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Tuesday, 02 August 2011

Yes, thank God I am not the only disorganised gardener. My husband gets very frustrated with me as I go from bed to bed as the whim takes me. Though in a way when you have a very big garden (almost 3 acres) it would be good to be more organised - but its not me!! Love your blog!!

Thanks, Adelina. Good to know I am not alone and I probably wouldn't enjoy it as much if I had to stick to a strict regime! Deirdre


8/13  Jennifer - 3056 (Zone:10 - Mediteranean) Tuesday, 02 August 2011

Thanks for the reply Dierdre. When I took the cutting in Melbourne the bush was flowering and I had exactly the same thought - i would cut off all those ordinary pale salmon coloured flowers, they did not go with the beautiful foliage at all!

Yes for some reason most of the fancy-leaf ones have that salmon-coloured flower. Pinching them off will give a more compact plant in any case. Deirdre


9/13  Rae - 2119 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 15 August 2011

Gorgeous post Deirdre - and so true! On Saturday I wondered what id do in the garden (as my 1 job on my list requires husbands grunt work and he is busy painting). I should never have wondered. Got completely caught up pottering that the kids were late to tehir afternoon activities!

Thanks, Rae. Glad you enjoyed your day of pottering! Deirdre


10/13  Christine - 2144 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Tuesday, 23 August 2011

Thoroughly enjoyed 'Sprinter pottering', so many of us are just the same at being disorganised gardeners but isnt it fun!! I am madly pulling out weeds too! My B.Spring Promise has grown fast and is crowding out my new purple leaf Prunus. Should I take cuttings & pull it out? Christine.

You could easily take cuttings of it now and pull out the main plant that is in the wrong spot. I am training mine as a standard to reduce the space it needs. In any case, it needs hard pruning after flowering as can get gangly - but I do enjoy its fragrant winter blooms! Deirdre


11/13  Sue - 2073 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 29 July 2019

My idea of gardening heaven - pottering on a beautiful day. I have a couple of new roses to plant today along with the feeding and mulching that goes with rose pruning and maintenance.. I dont have a chicken but I know the magpies love those curl grubs should I find some today. Thank you for interesting blogs Sue I hope you have a wonderful gardening day, Sue! Deirdre


12/13  Kerrie - 2104 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 29 July 2019

Exactly! Well said!


13/13  Sue t. - 2566 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 29 July 2019

Pottering leads to even slower progress this time of year as I can"t walk past a flickweed plant without stopping to pull it out. Today i thought I"d finally plant the kohl rabi seedlings that I bought two weeks ago. bit of pruning and weeding along the way and eventually mixed in some new soil just as it got too dark to see. Maybe I"ll get them planted tomorrow. Those flickweeds are just awful! We have a huge crop at the moment. Interesting about kohlrabi - I had not heard of it till recently but am interested in trying it. Hope you got your seedlings in! Deirdre


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