Tag: Standard Roses

In Sickness and in Health.

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

I finally manage to get three Standard Roses and over the next day or so I will get them planted. I say this because the weather, whilst still not great, has picked up a little and we seem to be having less rain. I have bot been working because I have been ill.  I managed to stay clear of colds and flu for a couple of years, but it caught up with me and I have had the runny eyes and nose as well as the cough. It has been going round the town at the moment and I guess it was really only a question of time before it knocked at my door.  I have not been the best and have generally felt sorry for myself.   However, I have done the  “right thing” and stayed away from other people whilst I have been at my sickest. I have also tried to keep well away from “herself” so she doesn’t get infected.

It’s not a particularly bad flu it just seems to be a particularly long lasting one – which is annoying. However it has been a quiet week at work, or so I am told, so I probably would not have been needed anyway, but all going well, I should be well enough to say that I am available again if required.

I bought three standard roses and I have yet to get them planted. However, I thought it best to get them whilst they were available. I would like to get them in over this weekend, if possible. If not, then certainly during the week on a day that I am not working.  The dogs have spent a lot of time indoors because of the cold and the rain. It is starting to clear a little and although we still have a fair amount of rain, it’s not the record breaking falls that we had a month or so ago.

Since I stared this post there have been a number of developments. I was quite sick for a while but I am now on the road to recovery.  My blood tests were not as good as they should have been but that is now improving. By the start of next week I should be able to call in and say that I am available again – at least I hope that’s what happens. My computer room looks like a tip and I have just taken things out and never put them away. I have heard a rumour that there is a desk around here, somewhere  :o) I was trying to do Filofax inserts using 5 paper and they didn’t turn out as I had hoped, but I’ll work on it.

A Rose by any other name…

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The Wet Driveway and front gardenSince I am not working today and since it is dry for a change there are two things that I need to do. I need to get the unit cemented in place so that I can start work on the Washing line area as soon as it is practical to do so.  The crazy paving is just crazy and would take too much to fix it. I  would like to have it concreted over and if time permits tomorrow I might just see about that and how much it would cost. It may well be that the cost of cementing it would be less than the cost of what I wanted to do. We had a lot of visitors  yesterday and there were a number of little people. The dogs were not used to little people and were a bit wary at first but then they enjoyed the attention that they were getting. Chienna even allowed a little one to give her food – it’s food, why ever not?? Just as I was starting to relax and working out plans for the day – the telephone rang and I ended up working for the whole day. Oh well, tomorrow’s another day. And I was working that day too, and the day after that. I bought a  few roses and I have been planting them. I am planting them in bulk wherever I can on the  concept that some of them have to survive – I can’t kill them all off. I’m good but I’m not that good.  I still have not got the Standard Roses for the front and I was told by the garden  centre that it will be at least three weeks before them get them in – somewhere around the 20th June. There is also another place but same there nothing for a few weeks yet. The New Season Rose Bushes and Climbing Roses are in but not the standards.  Patience…..

Today is the first day of winter and to celebrate it rained for most of the morning. I think it’s going to be a long, cold and wet winter..

Winter is closing in – rain and cold.

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Sunrise over Whyalla JenkinsGoodness, it’s been over a week since I wrote anything. It has been a very busy week, but not in the garden. On Monday and Tuesday I was away at a funeral, on Wednesday we had a thunderstorm at 3:30am – neurotic dog, acute hearing, had to sit up with her until she calmed down. I had a call on Wednesday but I was just too tired to accept. On Wednesday, workmen put a drill through the gas main. No explosion, but the primary school and the university were evacuated. It is now Friday and we are still without gas. Fortunately, I can take care of cooking by using the barbecue, washing and heating are different issues.  It took until Saturday afternoon before gas was restored to the west of the city. It is interesting how much we depend on services and we  have difficulty in coping when they are interrupted. As I said, I used the barbecue, the side burner and the two burner camping stove, so we were ok. Others were not so.

On Thursday I went through to Port Augusta to look for Standard Roses, as well as a few other things, but to no avail. I came back (152 klm round trip) empty handed. I did manage to get some special degreasing stuff that I will use on the driveway. I don’t think it’s been cleaned ever. I hope to be able to do that this coming weekend.

Tuesday:  Over the weekend I was not able to do much. The boys were over most of the weekend and the youngest was back from  OlympicDam – in the far north of the State. and with the gas not returning on Saturday morning, there was consternation on how we would feed everyone. I didn’t think it would be a problem since we had a barbecue, but as I said, the gas returned on Saturday afternoon and all was ok.  I still have not managed to get my Standards but I did buy four new rose bushes which I will plant  over the next day or so.

We have had a lot of rain over the last week and I have not really had an opportunity to do much outside and I really need a dry day to do the driveway. Certainly most of it is covered in but I need dry weather or the driveway itself would never dry – particularly the covered section – which is most of it. For example I took the dogs out for a walk the other morning and it looked like it was going to be a fine day. I was not long back in the house before the dark clouds came over and it was raining again. I think it’s going to be a long, wet, cold and damp winter.

Starting again – Slowly

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The first of Five.When I was over in Port Augusta I bought three rose bushes, two lemon coloured and one white. I felt these colours should be right to contrast with the red wood chips. I have now planted them and I hope, early next week, to get two standard roses on 90cm canes. They will go between the three roses I planted yesterday, so it will be bush, standard, bush, standard, bush. It should look ok. I won’t be able to get much done next week because I have to go away for a funeral. It’s an 800 klm. round trip so I will be away for a two days. This is the funeral of a former Pastor who helped us out many years ago when we lost our Minister. He and his wife were willing to travel the 400k to take our services and help us through the transition, so I feel we should be be there to says our farewell.

I know it doesn’t look much on the photograph, but there are three rose bushes there – New Season Roses, I might add. The soil is not the best and I do hope that the roses will take and not be like plants of the past – I touch em – they die!! Anyway, it’s only the first bush so they are still a bit on the small side, however, if they survive they should look good and grow to a reasonable height. My other alternative, if they do not survive, is to plant them into large pots and have the post buried in the ground – same effect I think. I am quite anxious to see the effect when the Standard Roses are planted.