It's a weird thing, but there's something about Thursdays that have an element of flatness for me. I run out of puff on Thursdays. I lose impetus on Thursdays. What seemed perfectly do-able on Wednesday is dead-in-the-water on Thursday. If I am going to do my semi-regular tango with depression, it'll be on a Thursday. Which brings me to...Thursday. So, today I bring you some quiet little pictures of some quiet little corners of our backyard. I live in what was my grandparents' house, so this backyard has always had a sense of wonder for me. It was once an extraordinary scene of horticultural triumph: trees laden with plums, lemons and grapefruits. Vines of raspberries, blackcurrants and blackberries... Now it is different and (I think, at least) for two pretty viable reasons: my grandmother was in a position to spend a lot of time working on it and water supplies were a bottomless pit in those days. Or maybe I'm making excuses. Either way, we're going with a slightly more down-to-earth (sorry) approach these days but in amongst the weeds and the slightly-too-long grass (as well as the lemon and grapefruit trees which chugg quietly on) there is still some magic to be had and I am all for believing that the fairies at the bottom of the garden need the slightly-too-long grass as cover and shelter, lest the humans or the elements get too close for comfort. And as A.A. Milne so rightly said: "Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them."
10 comments:
I left a comment yesterday but somehow it's not here..? Must have quit instead!
Lovely photos. I have so called 'black thumbs' which would be good with my current garden. However, it's out of control in terms of healthy growth...possibly simply because I don't tend it as much as I should.
Not sure what happened to your comment, WS. Some peculiarities have been occuring comment-wise...Thanks for your kind words on the photos. Yes, I have found most success with the garden of late, just leaving it alone. The more I try to tame it, the more it rebels!
Just try it... test test.. :-)
It works! :-)
Soon more... btw, had a walk in the clouds a few hours ago, rainy weather here, too.
Weeds are FREE flowers! And the insects hate over-manicured lawns. It's best to have a bit of wildness in a garden. Otherwise how will ANYTHING relax?
The previous owners of this place put a neat little fence around the lawn, separating it from the flowerbeds. Well, the hedgehogs found this was in their way, and so now parts of it are lying flat. Ha! I can imagine people (including my neighbours) would put it back and nail it in place tighter than before, but me, I just think, no, if that's where hoggie walks through, that can stay as it is. And I leave the wood lying there, too, cos frogs like to snuggle underneath it.
Glad it's now working, Bodecea. Good to see you here!
I wish we had hedgehogs wandering around in our part of the world, Helena, but we do have possums in our backyard which are very cute. And frogs! - lucky you :) I absolutely agree - carefully tended gardens can be very beautiful but I am loving more and more our space here which we very consciously share with the local wildlife.
Our garden is a large wilderness inmidst more wilderness... we try to get small parts from it for herbs, vegetables and flowers... some things grow well (like sage, lavender), some don't (like spinach), and some come by their own like wild strawberries, St. John's wort, Gundermann...
We have many animals here around. I like the hedgehogs which are eating all the snails, and the cat's food, and making strange noise at night and shit everywhere...
When I visited my aunt in Victoria in the late 1980s there was a possum in their attic. I had no idea. I thought it was a ghost I was hearing up there. LOL!! They didn't tell me for a week.
There was a lovely lemon tree outside my window and it was full every morning with red birds. I can't remember their name- red rozzillas? Something like that!
Bodecea, I had no idea hedgehogs ate snails and cat food! LOL!!
Helena - as much as I love possums, I am glad they haven't got into the roofspace. Because when they're up there (so I've heard), they tend to wee! The birds you're thinking of are red rosellas (we have some in a tree near us) - they're beautiful and make very cheerful noises!
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