Brown thumbs and beautiful days...

Thank you for your kind concern about my blogging mojo. Maybe it's disappeared because the sun has been out in Auckland, it's wonderfully warm and I have been struck by a strange desire to garden. I am rolling with it and spent yesterday afternoon removing all those annoying little tops off the sprinkler system that were jammed with mould and dead earwigs. Poor things. Anyway, I got satisfyingly wet and muddy doing it.

There are now some new spring pots and also some herbs that I have left well alone. They seem to be thriving quite well without me. A month ago I shoved them in some old soil with no help or love at all and then went away for three weeks taking my brown thumbs with me. Result!

The trick is to put the mint in with other herbs just as you are advised NOT to. The mint is madly trying to take over and the others are fighting back. 

We have also made a decision about our hedges. When I say 'we' of course I mean I. I'm the only one in our family who's been losing sleep as one by one the unkillable- anything-grows-in-Auckland-hedge-plants curled up and died.

Despite taking advice from all the right people and spraying (and praying) I have lost five Corokia plants since we moved in - cause uncertain. The last straw was the one on the corner dying. 

I love our back hedges (which need a trim too) but the hedge dividing the garden has only ever looked good for one week in 52, the week we bought the house. 

It's potentially very stylish but it either needs trimming (like now) or has been trimmed too hard or is wonky.  It's too high and we rarely use the top lawn because you can't see it. Oh yes and there's that big gap on the corner!

So the middle hedge is going. Now I have to decide what to plant instead. I may take some professional advice... Perhaps a pretty green ground-coverish thing that will drape nicely down the grey brickwork.  Some flowers? Two round bush/tree sort of things either side of the steps? 

These are the vague questions I ask in in garden shops. I wave my arms around a bit too. 

So imagine me waving my arms around at you - any advice?