In the Garden of Good and....

I won't go so far as to say that my garden is evil, but there are times when I wonder.

I finally got myself out in the garden this morning, after a long absence. I am having trouble justifying time spent in the garden, as it isn't "productive" i.e. money making. I am in the process of gearing up my computer consultancy and I am having issues doing things that don't directly relate to the bottom line. Of course, gardening does relate for me, as it helps to clear my mind and ignore the pressures of the big city for at least a little while. At least, on a good day, it does.

I decided to tackle the trellis that holds the Violet Trumpet Vine (Clytostoma callistegiodes) along the back wall of my office. For some reason, the legs on one end of this structure have started to lean. After some inspection, it doesn't appear that the legs are rotten, thank goodness. I am guessing the weight of the vine, the strong winds and simple age have loosened the soil around these legs.

I trimmed some of the vines back, especially those climbing up the cable television feed into the house. I braced the legs of the trellis, added some extra nailing across the top stretcher board and then re-tamped the soil around both legs. After a couple of days I will remove the brace and see if it continues to lean.

Here is where the story turns ugly. A lot of the weight on the trellis was not from the vine itself, but rather the leaf-drop that it so easily collects on top. I started bouncing the vines up and down with a small rake as was rewarded with a shower of leaves, dust and spiders like you would never believe. After about an hour my arms gave up, so I will have to complete the process later. Of course, all this required a second shower to get the gunk out of my ears and beneath my clothes. I don't look forward to finishing that task, but I think the longevity of the trellis will be effected if I don't.

I also noticed that the vines were grabbing the overhanging branch of a nearby ficus. I am not a fan of these trees as they are dense and block all light to this particular part of the garden. Perhaps they sensed my displeasure. When I attempted to prune the over-hanging branch, the blade of my nice, new Fiskars loppers (Fiskars 96276935 PowerGear Bypass Lopper) snapped off like it was made of glass. I put too much lateral force on the blade as it tried to cut and it couldn't take it. I really like this too, too. Now I have to find a replacement blade and repair them. Another setback I didn't really need.

So, next time in the garden, I will finish up this project, hopefully, and get back on good terms with my garden, instead of fighting with it.

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