This year it has been difficult to achieve a lot in the garden so far as it has felt like it has rained every weekend. When the rain pauses I rush out to do whatever I can in the garden, but it has been very limited as the ground remains waterlogged underfoot. It is not that cold though so everything is growing and the annual tasks are queuing up to be done. As is my oft used trope, the garden often tells me what I need to be doing. The weekend arrived and after the usual days of rain I knew the ground would be squelchy. I also knew that Saturday was the only day I would get outside and Sunday was forecast with constant rain. Little did I know that by Tuesday I would be working from home remotely as we set to close down the face to face elements of where I work. Oblivious to the future week ahead I wandered outside and did my usual inspection to see what had been happening during the week whilst I have been at work.
I had started to cut back some of the winter detritus the weekend before. Cutting back the Prairie Borders is always quite a big job, but also a very satisfying one. I circled the borders a couple of times and I could see that green was starting to streak upwards into the Stipa tenuissima, the main grass in the border. Once I see the signs of green I know it is time for the cutting to begin. It was 'haircut day' at last.
I fetched my hand-sickle and the cutting began. Several years of doing this has meant that I now have a set routine for doing this. I take hold of the grass, twist it around and then cut through it. It works a treat.
The echinops stems break with a satisfying crack. I just bend them over to the ground and crack crack crack they snap. I then break them in half again so that they will fit into the wheelbarrow.
It does not take very long before the first border is complete. The horror of the underlying weeds is very apparent, but that is for a drier day to tackle.
A couple of hours later and the work is done. This is when the Prairie Borders look their worst but thankfully it does not last long. I distract myself from looking at them by focussing on the Spring Border at this point in the year. Not every part of the garden has to look amazing all the time I tell myself.....
It was a good day in the garden, I enjoyed being outside as it was quite mild. The day also had an earworm which I just could not shake....
Haircut 100 - Fantastic Day - enjoy
Even in the dark days ahead of us we need to take a moment and treasure the good moments. Stay safe all, I will be relying on my garden even more than usual to get me through the next hard months.
