Tuesday 13 November 2018

Gardening

I now have a total of 250 tulip bulbs to put into my new border.   They really need to be in by December (flowering March to  April)but I can't begin to put them in until the fencer has finished - hopefully within the next day or two.   I also have several trays of Mysotis  (forget me not) to edge the border with - so quite a task.   He will do it for me if I ask him but as it is on the flat part of the garden I really want to try and do it myself - and at present the weather is perfect for the job.   So I hope it holds out for a day or two longer.

I look at the dreadful wildfires in California - I can't imagine anything more terrifying; the tragedy of losing all ones precious possessions doesn\t bear thinking about.   I suspect it is not the things which have cost the money which are missed so much as those little personal things - the gifts from loved ones (especially if they have left us and passed away), the photographs, the loved childrens' toys - that sort of thing.   Gayle at the Square Dogs would know all about that as I believe she has experienced it once.   My heart goes out to them all - and also to anyone who has actually lost a loved one in it all.

Until tomorrow.

20 comments:

Jacqui said...

Hi Weaver, I'm just contemplating 250 bulbs - that's a lot of planting - all that bending is hard on the back. Mine is not in such good shape, so I hope, if you decide to plant them yourself, you pace yourself. I like tulips very much - their shape is so pleasing to the eye I always think, and myosotis too - so pretty, and a perfect pairing with tulips.
It is so terrible about the fires, isn't it. The loss of life is tragic, of course, and the destruction of homes, and as you say, all the personal items that people hold so dear, as well. Just so sad. Unimaginably awful.

Rachel Phillips said...

There can be nothing worse than a fire about to engulf you and kill you, Sod the possessions.

Bea said...

A small town where my grandparents retired to back in the 70s has simply burnt up. It's gone. Other family in town evacuated successfully, but it's hard to imagine that there is nothing left.

Your garden is set to be a bounty of color come spring.

Lynn Marie said...

I believe at least one family who lost a loved one in the nightclub massacre has subsequently lost their home.

angryparsnip said...

I can not wait to see your garden.
A fire that burns down your home, a place a child feels safe in, your neighborhood, the backyard your friends home and then you can not find your cat that your stupid father let out. At least we were sorta safe.

cheers, parsnip and badger

Heather said...

I love tulips and bought some of the more interesting ones until I discovered that the local squirrels were digging them up, even when I planted them in sunken pots. I gave up after that and just relied on the plain old faithfuls which came up year after year, with no special treatment.
Those horrendous wild fires are beyond comprehension and I can only try to imagine the fear and heartbreak of losing a home and all it's contents, not to mention members of one's family, friends and neighbours. Hoping the winds will die down and allow the fires to be controlled. Also thinking of those brave firefighters who must be exhausted, but still have to carry on.

Joanne Noragon said...

The fires in California are heart and soul wrenching. I think we cannot bear to think of them.

EM Griffith said...

We live in California, a few hours drive south from the most deadly of the fires, and a few hours north of the one burning into Malibu. Believe it or not, there's thick smoke in the air in our area. Rain is predicted for the Thanksgiving holiday. While that helps put out the fires, it can also cause terrible mudslides. All of the communities in California are sending much needed supplies to those displaced; blankets, toiletries, warm clothing, drinking water, non perishable food, etc. Which again, helps, but doesn't replace those irreplaceable things.

Cro Magnon said...

I can't bear listening to the news from California. The USA seems to have been hit by disasters of all sorts this year. Violent storms on the East coast, now fires on the West.

Derek Faulkner said...

Blimey Pat, that's an awful lot of tulips to get in and like Jacqui says, an awful lot of bending. Ideally, the forget-me-nots should of been in a month ago to enable them to get rooted in before the ground turns cold, but no doubt you'll produce a lovely photograph next Spring to prove me wrong. I love them and they self seed every year as well.

Librarian said...

Forgetmenots are my favourite flowers! Your garden will look so lovely in the spring.
The wildfires are constantly on the news here, too. I can not imagine what it is like to lose everything, be it for fire, water, earthquake, or war.

Jennyff said...

When we were evacuated by wild fires last year I realised nothing matters more than life and I’d have left with nothing if my husband hadn’t insisted we collect passports and essential documents. We were lucky, the fire didn’t quite reach us but my heart goes out to those who have lost everything.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

Ah, yes. Mysotis = Forget-Me-Not. I always forget!

Sue in Suffolk said...

So many people have been left with nothing except the clothes they were wearing - how on earth do you start putting your life back together after that? Awful. Hope it rains for them soon.

I hope you've got one of those bulb planter tools or you'll end up with blisters! - Good luck

Alphie Soup said...

You've made quite an investment in your garden with 250 tulip bulbs. You're sure to get help with the planting and the reward will come next year when they bloom.
Alphie

Minigranny said...

That sounds like a job and a half - I'd be tempted to let the gardener plant them and then just enjoy looking at them in Spring!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Minnigranny - and others - you may well be proved right about the gardener rather than me.

galant said...

I have also planted loads of tulip bulbs (can't recall how many but around 150, I think; they were in packets from Sarah Raven and I've forgotten the ones I have planted, but I know they will be lovely!) but I plant them in pots, easier to cope with! I'm afraid I don't always keep the ones from the previous year - yes, wasteful I know - because they are forced to look good in the first year and, in any case, we have a tiny garden so no room to naturalize them for further years. But they do make a lovely splash of colour after the long winter, I feel it's worth it even if they end up on the council tip at the end of flowering. I also plant some jonquils, they're more delicate than the bright yellow daffs. I love the yellow daffs if planted in the countryside but they sometimes look a bit harsh in a small garden. I once bought a bulb planter but the minute I tried to shove it into the ground, it buckled and bent! It was totally useless, but perhaps had I bought a better quality it would've been a help to the task of bulb planting (but obviously not needed for pots.)
Margaret P

Gwil W said...

Front page news. In California a German celebrity's wife saved the two cats, and herself. The villa and the imposing windmill in the garden were lost. The husbands Rolls Royce survived unscathed. Meanwhile the wife is staying in an hotel in California while the husband earns a crust and begins his tour in Deutschland. I think I'd be flying home and consoling my devastated lady. But then we're all different aren't we?
I suppose it's a case of the show must go on.

Rachel Phillips said...

She's alive. That's all that matters.