Why it’s important to tie your garden down this month flower
Garden
It’s a frothy, fertile and colourful time of year. There are so many plants budding up, unfurling, flowering and bursting forth in luxuriant growth. It’s time to give myself over to the joy of the irises, peonies, sweet williams, clove pinks, granny’s bonnets, solomon’s seal, tulips, and the last of the forget-me-nots.
It’s not just flowers. The ferns are sending up delicate new fronds, the trees are pushing forth fresh leaves and everywhere the colours are bright and intense.
I like to look closely into a flower and see the intricacy and delicacy. It makes me wonder how they are so tough.
As always, a good spell of fine weather is on the wish list. Storms are part and parcel of how Papatuanuku/earth works and, keeping that in mind, it’s worth taking a good look at the garden and beyond. Whether you believe in the line of thought that the weather is being manipulated in unpleasant and poisonous ways, or you nod amiably at the statements of mainstream media, or somewhere in between, it’s irrelevant when it comes down to being on the ground in a storm.
Practicality and common sense – which I’m told the bureaucrats need reminding of – make life easier in both flower and food gardens and further afield. Every now and then I have a look around our place and have a think about the safety of the land, the plants and consequently the people and animals who live here.
• Is the stack of corrugated iron, or drying timber well tied down?
• Are any trees likely to cause a danger, as opposed to a problem, should they fall
in the october
or drop a branch?
• Will I get stuck in the mud after a month of rain?
• Why have my gumboots suddenly fallen into holes?
While I personally think desk-bound bureaucrats have gone overboard when it comes to health and safety, being aware of hazards is part of life. When our teenagers were off out the door, a common farewell was “love ya, manage the risk!”
When it comes to plants, flowers and vegetables could be smashed flat in a big wind so I have a variety of supports such as number eight wire, old bed ends, manuka stakes and hay baling twine. Sometimes just tying plants together helps them mutually support each other, as does close planting.