Gardening in Marigolds

Irritatingly, I managed to injure myself this week. I decided I would help Denis the gardener out and remove all the vegetation and roots around the wall below me so it could be painted. Little did I know that back pain wasn’t going to be the only downside to such an activity, a day later lesions appeared on my right hand and it began to swell. A hungover Denis (he’d been out drinking with the Mayor the night before) gave his less than sober thoughts to my throbbing digits, I had had an allergic reaction to the racines (roots). And a very itchy one too. I dug out various anti-histamine creams, gave the whole thing a good clean and hoped for the best. Naturally, this being my right hand, it wasn’t going to go down without some element of suffering, sleep deprivation topping the list. Since I barely get twenty winks most nights thanks to Evee’s snoring on the pillow next to me, I was beginning to feel somewhat depressed and emotional until a friend suggested I try a poultice. For such an ancient cure for all ills, one must mix white breadcrumbs and milk into a paste and slap it on the sore bits. I had to settle for brown breadcrumbs as we don’t tend to eat the other stuff but I dutifully prepared the gloop, pasted and wrapped everything up in a bandage. It worked! I have no idea why but I woke up to find that the redness had significantly reduced and apart from one finger, the puffiness had disappeared. Considering Alice spent half the night trying to eat my hand, I even managed to get some sleep. I still have bit of the miracle concoction left so I shall reapply later and from now on, garden in Marigolds.

Despite my enforced inactivity, I did manage to fulfil a little dream of mine and bought some citrus trees for my verandah. Set against the newly painted white walls in traditional Grecian urns, they bring a little touch of the Med to the space. I read and YouTubed various articles on these delicate creatures and so crafted a protective frame out of an old futon base to keep them warm at night. And I thought having 9 woofers was a commitment. Still, I look forward to those sultry summer evenings with a nice G&T, decorated with fresh off the bush lemon slices.

Hopefully work will begin on the main house next week so we shall be once again filled with builders and of course, Max the plumber whose work seems never-ending. The driveway is going to need careful management to guide the various vehicles into their parking spaces without using the front lawn as a roundabout. With any luck, the sunny weather will hold and Denis can finally cut the grass and prepare the potager. To add to this flurry of activity, my new balustrade and stairs are being fitted onto the balcony and the lower wall (the one with the evil roots) painted. For once, I shall be supervising in my pink rubber gloves and making coffee, always black I’m told and served in little cups…..

“There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments” (Janet Kilburn Phillips)