Weedless

I'm close to the point where I could issue a garden challenge: find a weed and I'll give you a lifetime supply of something or other. This is such a major achievement for me that I'm dancing with joy, in my head at least. I never, never thought I'd be able to master this garden but I have done so. Every part of it is under my dominion. It's not perfect, but it's a very satisfactory work in progress just like other gardens. And now I've got £75 worth of garden vouchers that I can spend in any garden centre. The offer came from the Walled Garden following my dispute with them over my rusty patio table and chairs. Given their initial response and the fact that I thought their final one would be the same - zilch compensation, no acknowledgement of fault - this is a real gain. I plan to buy beautiful plants that I had decided were sheer extravagance, like peonies, and showy irises. It just goes to show you shouldn't accept poor service or shoddy goods.

I righted some major wrongs today, and hopefully it's been in time to prevent disaster. The echinops, quite a good architectural plant with an acceptable flower, has taken over the centre bed in the front. When I transported cuttings to the bank behind the pond it was in a desperate bid to stop the weeds in this area from taking over. I weeded, they grew. I did the same with vinca major, periwinkle, and Japanese anenomies, all decent plants. Big no no. They spread like wildfire, the echinops by an underground network of roots that go everywhere, the vinca by laying down new plants, and the anenomies by just multiplying like rabbits. Today I dug them all out and chucked them over the fence where finally the nettles have been sprayed by Alyss and are wilting pathetically. Everything came out with no bother, the soil soft and friable after the recent rains. I'm sure signs of their survival will return, but I'm on to them. The escholzia (Californian poppies) which has taken over behind the pond has gone berserk, but I love the brightness of their colour, the sheer exuberance of their growth. Today I lifted all the pansies out of the pots in readiness for the geraniums which will replace them, and planted them in the azalea bed past the shed. I really only like them in pots, but I couldn't throw them all away, and there are still spaces to fill.

Hugo gets ignored a bit on days like these. He follows me around, even after a walk, even after he's been fed, even after he's gone to bed in the evening for goodness sake. Just before I came in, limping with exhaustion as I headed for the bath, he came out and stood beside me like a limp toy. As I gathered up my detritus to tidy away he dragged himself behind me, back and forth, back and forth, the pair of us like a couple of old crocks. He just wanted to herd me inside and then he could relax. By the time I was ready to make up for the neglect with some playtime, he was out for the count. .