This weekend was unfortunately spent not gardening, so this is a ‘not gardening’ blog post. I was Not Gardening for various reasons:
- The weather was poor, which was actually a good thing because…
- I had to paint my study, and keep getting distracted by the good weather and the garden when really I need to Get On With It. My study is my little refuge – for reading, writing, blogging and occasional staring at the garden while planning the next job…!
- It was quite a busy weekend with a grown-up party, a kids party and a visit to my parents to take into account, as well as a hairdresser’s appointment to keep.
However, even when I’m Not Gardening, I’ve found it’s difficult to shake the gardening habit. When I was in town for the hairdresser appointment I popped into a few shops and discovered that my eye is now drawn to garden-themed clothing. The evidence…
I’ve also been inspired by a couple of books which will hopefully help with my garden plans – I’ve been reading Chicken Coops for the Soul, which I stumbled upon at the library when I was looking for something completely different. It’s a useful insight into the realities of chicken-keeping and is helping me to get an idea what it might actually be like, if/when I take the plunge. So far, it’s not putting me off!
I have also recently received this book which I ordered from a second-hand online shop…
…and I can’t wait to get stuck in. Although I haven’t read it yet, it’s one of the inspirations for this blog – Monty kept a diary, written and photographic, of everything they did when they moved to Ivington and this book is the result. Now. I KNOW I am nowhere on the scale of the mighty Mr Don, but we do plan to be in this house for a long time, so I’d like to think that a record of the development of the garden would be a great thing to look back on in years to come. And if at that point I’m a big famous gardening expert *ahem* , a publishing deal will certainly be very welcome…so I’m getting started early!
Look at this face, how could you not trust the advice he gives…
Don’t even get me started on his new puppy.
So, as I said, it’s been a weekend of No Gardening. Followed by today – the Springiest of Spring days and, Sods Law, I’ve had to go to work, in a windowless office, with zero plants or soil or anything. It is genuinely frustrating, to have to spend such a beautiful day indoors, but when I start to get worked up about it I remind myself that I am very lucky to have a good, flexible, part-time job, and that my three days of work allow me to have two days of non-work and the means to own the house and garden that we do. So the next time I get annoyed about it, I will take a breath, count my blessings and walk through the office door, dressed in one of my lovely new garden-themed shirts…
Julianne Robertson 