We Dutch don't have an equivalent of Murphy's Law. We do have the saying 'an accident sits in a small corner' (yeah, I know, ponder on that for a while), but having one thing go wrong, and then the rest will go to pot...nope. And yet that is exactly what happened to me this week.
The day started very well. I had planned to go mow my grass paths in Hunky Dory for the first time this year, so had thought to recharge the battery for the trimmer. Preparation is all, right? It would not be the first time that it died on me within a few minutes. Nor the second time, come to that.
So. Freshly charged trimmer, no need to go home again (no electricity on our allotment).
I got as far as my rocking chair, so let's say I had trimmed merrily away for...two minutes? And with a whrrrrrr sound my spool was empty. Now this means a car ride to the next village, to get a full spool plus the strong hands of a guy in the farming equipment shop, as my artrosis fingers will not get the bloody thing undone.
Always looking for the bright side (whilst fuming), will you just look at my Kiwi, which has survived the transplant and the frost?!
Meanwhile the second thing that could go wrong had already done so. The latest storm (two weeks in a row) had again blown down one of my obelisks, and this time had destroyed the Latyrus it had spared the first time.
In the greenhouse my Rettich had grown well. But so had Monster (read post 15), now totally covering my newly planted Broccoli completely.
I dug up the Broccoli and moved them to a new, better, place. Did I pull out Monster, you ask? I did not. It is about to burst into flower. I know...I'm a pussy.
The bee on the Wallflower was in my balcony garden, totally off topic, but so sweet.
Anyway. I removed the algae from the frog pond, did some other small jobs and then prepared one of my tin beds for the wildflower patch I have decided to grow there.
In the second there is my beloved Desdemona Rose, and there used to be a huge Fennel for three years, but that had blown over by another storm, and passed away.
I had been given a few small bags of wildflower seed, by various people. My experience with these bags is that the result is disappointing. Hunky Dory is definitely 'wild', but mainly because of my tolerance for wild plants that blow in. Wild plants that I sow...hardly ever come up. They are out competed by the real wild ones.
So this time, I decided to give it a go in this bed. If the wildflowers are yet again a disaster, I can always plant something else in it. This soil will not turn into concrete. There are some perennial Nettles and Asters in there, but they can stay.
I promised you my orange Broom. It has been cold this last week, so it has not got very far, but you get the picture. Bear with me, there will be better photos soon.
The same applies to the Apple blossom. Just about to really show. I pruned very brutally, so I am pleased 3 out of my 4 trees are showing blossoms.
My willow branch planter is falling apart, a total waste of money, but the Raspberry in there is looking good. And that Artichoke, which had been devastated by an autumn storm, is happily doing its best to dominate that corner of the garden again.
Anyway, back to that trimmer and effing Murphy! I got a new spool attached by a nice guy in Oostvoorne, and when I started trimming the grass it broke within the first 5 minutes. This time I swore at it, loudly, and repaired it with duct tape. Sod you, Murphy, you will not beat me!
Here is the proof that duct tape works.
Look me up at my website at Renée Grashoff Schrijft , where my latest blog tells you about the mysterious dicks that appeared all over Brielle on March 31st. Have a good weekend!
Renée Grashoff
