I’m 55. My dad remarried when he was 55 and my mother, unbeknown to her when she was 55, only had 9 months left to live. 55 is a railway station you get off at to stretch your legs and have a quick look around, before you get on the train and continue the journey.

‘Needs must’ has been the mantra this week. That’s where I’ve got to. A whirlwind of a week. There are just too many seeds and too many seedlings and way too many weeds. And far too few days.

And so, I haven’t vacuumed in weeks. Nothing has been cleaned. We’re surviving on frozen chicken and chips and fresh tomatoes from the garden. The dirty washing basket is over flowing. And the indoor plants are dying of thirst. But my seeds and seedlings are doing very nicely. And that’s what matters.

It’s been hot and humid all week and it rained too, which was very welcome. It’s usually cooler at this time of year.

Last Sunday I finished off the new garden bed in the front yard. I chopped down 5 Coprosma repens bushes to make way for it. I covered each of their stumps in a black plastic bag and covered the bags with mulch, in the hope they’ll eventually rot away and not regrow.

I’m growing flowering plants that thrive in coastal gardens. There’s a protea and 2 Telopea speciosissima ‘Red Embers’, all of which I bought at half price. I also transplanted several Phlomis russelianas from the Karori garden. There’s a small post in this garden and I planted a native clematis, Clematis paniculata, at the base of it, in the hope it will twine its way up it. This clematis is a favourite of mine. It has lovely leaves and flowers, which come out in spring.

On Monday I spent the day in the Karori garden sorting out a bit more of the front bed. By the end of the day I’d learnt a few things:

Don’t plant non-scented (or scented for that matter) violets in your garden, especially in clay soil (Ali warned me but I didn’t listen). They will spread and take over and you’ll spend hours weeding them out. Only for them to grow back again. You will come to hate them very quickly.
Bronze fennel is over-rated and takes up a lot of space.
Roses, especially old-fashioned ones are tougher than the toughest tough thing. Think of the toughest thing you know and times it by 100. An old fashioned rose is 10 times tougher. All my roses in the eastern part of the front garden have been smothered by weeds and neighbouring plants for a year. They were all alive and growing when I freed them.
There’s a shortage of roses to buy this year. I promised all my roses that I won’t neglect them ever again. I moved two of them to a sunnier spot and pruned all of them. This was followed by a feed and a mulch.
My dahlias are tough too. Maybe not as tough as old-fashioned roses but not far off. I staked the dahlias and weeded around them so the sun would reach the leaves and give as much food to the tubers as possible. I removed lots of their boring neighbours and pruned some of the more free spirited ones.
I planted two clematis vines in the front garden about 4 years ago. Both have grown up trees (a cabbage tree and a five finger). They’ve draped themselves all over them like Spanish moss in a Southern Gothic novel.
If you rent your house to four 19 year old boys (because let’s face it they’re boys in men’s bodies) then you’ll always find beer bottles and cans of RTDs in the garden.

There’s a big space below where a photo will eventually go. You think it’d be easy. All my son has to do is get out of bed and open his curtains, pick up his phone and take a photo of the garden from his window. I’ve been asking for a photo for the last 4 days and I’m still waiting.

All week I fussed over my trays of sown seeds and seedlings in Paekakariki. Checking for fresh shoots, watering when needed and turning the trays around if the seedlings were leaning too much.

Yesterday I pulled up most of the dying tomato plants from the grow bags and raised beds. It was with a heavy heart I pulled up the last of the marigold plants, which were still flowering. I topped up the grow bags and raised beds with compost. They’re all ready for the hardy annuals.

In one of the biggest raised beds I planted two layers of bulbs. On the bottom layer I planted daffodils and on the top layer I planted hyacinths. I’ve used this method may times before but usually in smaller pots. Each layer was given a good dressing of sheep pellets and blood & bone. I mulched the top of the bed in cocoa bean shells, which the local Palmers store sells in big sacks.

Here are some of the great things and stupid things, and down right gross things that happened in the Paekakariki garden this week.

2 weeks ago I filled the bottom of one of the new raised beds with bokashi compost. Rats have tunnelled their way into it (I shouldn’t be surprised) to avoid the dogs. I keep filling in the tunnels and new ones appear in the morning. Luckily I haven’t met the rats in question. I do need to sort out the rat traps and bait stations.
I planted 2 layers of tulips in a raised bed 3 or 4 weeks ago. Most of them had already been chilled when I bought them. But some of the tulips (the cheap ones I bought at Mitre 10) hadn’t been. And I planted them without chilling them. It’s too late now. I can only hope it gets cold enough for them to grow.
I love the herbaceous perennial solidago. I’m growing it from seed, which I’ve never done before. And the seeds are sprouting. Tiny seed leaves are appearing. I’m very excited.
A whole lot of beautiful bulbs appeared in the garden this year. Planted by a previous owner. I got out my bulb book and I think I’ve identified them - watsonia. I’ve only seen pink watsonia before. These ones are spectacular. Definitely cut flower material.
I’ve tried growing chocolate cosmos may times before and failed. Two of the seeds I’ve planted have grown. Having a greenhouse makes all the difference (and a warm autumn).
My friend Ali sent me a parcel for my birthday. It arrived early in the week. She’s a gardener. A proper one not a weekend one. One of the wonderful presents is a book called ‘Seaside Gardening: how to create a beautiful garden near the New Zealand coast, by Jacqueline Sparrow. Here are some coastal tolerant plants that I didn’t know were coastal tolerant: Clivia, bird-of-paradise and freesias. She also sent me 3 exquisite vases.
One of my favourite cut flowers I grew over summer (and is still growing or would be if I didn’t pull it up) is marigold ‘Kees Orange’. I picked a few bunches yesterday and there were lots of little snails nestled in the petals. You’d think there’d be snail damage and yet there was none. It has that wonderful marigold scent too. And when the sun shines on a vase of them they glow. I’ve collected lots of seed and will grow it in late winter.
I bought a mini delphinium for half-price last week. It doesn’t need staking, apparently. It will grow between 50 -80cm tall. It’s very pretty.
My friend Sophie sent me a youtube link to an American cut flower grower who grows her flowers in a garden setting. It was very inspiring. Here’s the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW28GxQtc1g

A variety of rosemary with lovely white flowers.

The pile of soil in the back garden is slowly growing smaller.

Thank you all you wonderful friends and family who read my blog and sent me supportive messages. Lots of you had great ideas too, for my new side-hustle.

See you next week.