Gardening and dogs

Last year, my garden was totally neglected due to my hip problems so now I have to get the garden back under control!  Obviously the structure is still there – a year isn’t enough for nature to totally take over, but oh boy have many of the plants had a field day :). There is a saying that a weed is just a plant in the wrong place – well, I have a lot of weeding to do.

Muehlenbeckia complexa

One plant that is only now mature enough to need confining to its allotted space is on called Muehlenbeckia complexa.  When I last opened the garden, a number of people asked the name of it and it certainly is very dainty and fills it’s allocated spot beautifully.  But if only I had looked in Wikipedia and seen its common names, I might have been more wary as they include maidenhair vine, creeping wire vine and lacy wire vine.

Before weeding

As I worked my way around the garden, clearing one area at a time, I made great progress until I came to the area by the pond where the Muehlenbeckia complexa is planted.  I realised that it had decided to make an airborne attack on the hydrangea next to it, but I was not anticipating what I found at ground level.  Along the wall and at the path edge, I found what looked like a bundle of wires.  The bundle must have been at least 4 inches in diameter and probably contained well over 100 “wires”.  Luckily, they hadn’t made too many attempts to root and so could be removed, but it did take quite a while.

Hydrangea returned to its fan shape and Muehlenbeckia complexa controlled – for now!

Once that was done, then I could get on with my planned job of fan pruning the hydrangea.  I really like this way of pruning them, which I first saw at an office I was working at, as allows the hyrdangea to fit into a narrow space and also add a structural element.

So, that is it for this weekend.  The clocks have gone forward and gardening begins again in earnest :).

Well, Crufts is over for another year and Easter is almost upon us, so it is now time to get going in the garden again.

Last year my garden was badly neglected due to my hip pain but now, having had a very successful hip replacement, I am ready to get going again.

That said, I am mindful that last year’s relative inactivity has left my muscles very unused to hard work and in particular gardening, so I am trying to be very careful and pace myself.  It is very hard to see all the work that needs to be done and still give myself permission to leave it until another time.  However that is what I know I have to do.

Recently, I pushed myself a little too hard and ended up virtually unable to move and in excruciating pain.  Thankfully, after a few visits to my McTimoney chiropractor and a little time, things are now back to normal, but the incident reminded me that I am fallible and need to be careful.

So, what was on the list of jobs that I am approaching this weekend?  I had already removed last year’s leaves from some of my hellebores, but I had to finish off the others.  I then cut my miscanthus to the ground, pruned my roses and cut the late flowering clematis back.

Now, my garden rubbish bags are full so I had to stop.  The next step is to indulge my back with a Nature’s Kiss massage!

I feel really bad that I haven’t posted for some time.  The truth is that I have hardly been out in the garden and so have had no inspiration :(.  This is because I have become increasingly incapacitated by hip pain.

Well, tomorrow is the date for my second hip replacement, so normal service should be resumed early next year as I become fit enough to garden again.

I have however found a number of ways of coping with hip pain which I have detailed in a focused website – hiptips.me. 

Probably the tip that I am most proud of is my solution for the eternal problem of how to carry things (drinks in particular) when you have crutches.