For me, such good therapy. But also a big challenge to garden without my skilled, patient and very hard working co-gardener Barry.
I can see there will be some simplifying to be done...
I am falling back on a routine that my daughter and I devised when we gardened together professionally.
Each day we would tackle -
1 An ongoing job (progress)
2 A start-and-finish job (satisfaction)
3 A job we wanted to do (pleasure)
4 A rescue job ( a clear conscience!)
The current big ongoing job is to clear moss from the beds. A wet summer followed by a wet winter has meant that the moss has taken over in places. People suggest making a moss garden but conditions in some summers can be very dry and kill it off or turn it a nauseous yellow..it just doesn't work here.
My start-and-finish job was to straighten the edges of these beds - robbing Peter to pay Paul - the moved turfs have to be kept watered until they take.
You can see the difference where we've removed surface moss!
The job I did for the sheer pleasure of it was to sow more seed - cornflowers to transplant into the meadow, nasturtiums for the tubs in the village, gypsophila Covent Garden to go with the sweet peas already germinated, nemophila Menzii which have overwintered in the greenhouse for some early flowers - a most beautiful blue - and more....I love this job (and it's easy on the shoulders which were aching by then).
My rescue job today was to plant these roses which I bought on 14 February. They are Burgundy Ice. £20.95 each from Sarah Raven or 3 for £11.95 from Parkers!
I am growing them in the cutting patch
So, a feeling of making progress, the satisfaction of finishing something, the pleasure of one of my favourite tasks and a clear conscience about those neglected roses.
Maybe this format would suit work other than than gardening?
Do you think it might apply to something you do?