Welcome to Summer

Welcome to Summer.

It is almost like November never happened!  One moment I’m happily doing my thing, tending seedlings getting ready for the season ahead and sharing it all with you and then next thing I’m listening to Christmas carols in the warmth of early summer!  

It has been a bit of crazy period.  Since I last updated, I was throwing myself in to preparations for a big upcoming trip, which also meant doing a lot of computer gardening in advance so it didn’t need doing while I was travelling, as well as getting the garden prepared and planted so it was in a good place to leave and wouldn’t compromise the growing season.   There was so much to be done that something had to give and unfortunately it was chatting with you, which I missed terribly.

Before heading away, I spent my birthday with my nearest and dearest at my favourite garden of all time – Hamilton Gardens.  We are fortunate to be only and hour and a half away so we can easily go any time, when we have the time.  Unfortunately, that spare time doesn’t present itself often, so it was nice to make a day of it for my birthday.  

Then I lost a week to the dreaded Covid.  I could have done without it, but if we’re looking for bright sides it meant it wasn’t likely to be an unwelcome surprise during my trip.

 Before I knew it I was off on an epic journey around of this amazing country of ours, sharing some amazing gardens with some lovely tourists on behalf of >Botanica<.   The trip was divided into two tours – the first one was 9 days, and we saw 16 fabulous gardens.  The second tour was a little longer with 11 days and we visited 17 gardens as well as taking an excursion to the spectacular Milford Sound.    We covered a lot of ground and had a lot of fun.  If you want to see more of what I got up to, check out my >Facebook Page< as I posted every day while on the road. 

To be honest it is a lot easier to post a quick photo daily on social media as a picture is worth a thousand words, so if you find I’ve gone AWOL again, pop over there and you should find out where I’ve been.

I’ve been back from my travels just over a week and I’ve managed to get the edible garden back on track.  It was mostly in a good space thanks to my handy helpers, but there were gaps that needed filling and love required beyond weeding and watering.   There are areas of the garden that have somehow managed to slip out of control in spite of my best efforts, but if I chip away at them over the summer months all will be well again.

The big project on my mind now is the addition of Room Three up in The Palace.  There is still a lot to do, but I’ve given it so much thought and done a lot of behind-the-scenes preparations which means it shouldn’t take too much effort to make something amazing materialise from my blank canvas of a garden.  Having said that I’m terrible at judging how long and how much effort things will take – I’m such an optimist, much to the chagrin of Hubby the Un-Gardener who is often an integral part of the action plan – against his will. 

So going forward from here, I am hoping to reinstate a good routine of garden love with the all-important sharing and caring.  Although to be open and honest we are on the edge of the festive season, which isn’t all that compatible with a growing season, and my priorities may waver  in favour of family and festivities from time to time in the coming weeks.  However, with the New Year will come the perception of a fresh start with plethora of good intentions.  So, at some point in the near future there will be a good gardening routine and regular consistent updates.

Come again soon – join me as summer begins to do her thing in my garden.

Sarah the Gardener : o)