Level 2 Chi Kung. Microcosmic orbit.
Received a text just as we were about to leave for school: Siniqua, the mother of Katie’s little Finnish friend Elias, asking if we could take him to school as she has a bad cold and is trying to stay under the covers. I was happy to help out, but it did mean that poor Sherlock had to stay home, as Elias is nervous of dogs. Got home and played with the distraught Sherlock for a bit, then wandered down the back to check on the pungas. They are all looking really healthy, though slightly submerged in autumn leaves off the big horse chestnut trees. I am unsure whether to clear the leaves away or leave them as protection during the cold weather. Any ideas?
The weird weather is certainly making for some oddities in the garden. The ranunculus that I planted in spring grew, flowered and died off again, all within a few months, and I thought I had seen the last of them, but first the foliage grew back (much more abundant than before) and in the last week they have started flowering again. Meanwhile the freesias are still going strong and have been throughout. Sadly the roses seem to have given up – in spite of conscientious deadheading. In fact they seem to be entering the stage that all my roses eventually go through – where they contract every pest and disease known to horticulture and look very diseased for a while before shaking off all the pestilence and coming back stronger than ever. It’s true I do occasionally lose one altogether, but the ones that survive tend to be very hardy indeed.