Cutting corners - or not...

I’ve a long history in cutting corners, from hemming up curtains with masking tape, to dusting with whatever comes to hand. Why? Because life is short and time is at a premium and I have a million and two things I want to do. If I insist on doing them all properly, I shan’t begin many of them, as they suddenly become tasks of such magnitude as to be untenable to the mere mortal that I am. Things don’t always work of course, but as long as you prepare yourself for possible failure, that’s okay. But on the other hand, you might be surprised as I was recently by this.

Look closely at the bottom of the plant in the first photo, on the right-hand side, just inside the rim of the pot. There resides a small snail like object, that against all odds has not only survived but flourished.

In this next picture the tallest stem with the leaves at the very top, belong to the snail at the bottom. Some of you may know what this is, but for those that don’t, it’s a ginger plant! Why am I surprised by it? Well, I’ve tried to grow ginger many times, following careful instruction, to no avail. This one was pushed unceremoniously into the soil after being found, trying its best to sprout, in a neglected corner of my veg box. Lo and behold…

What's the snail like object?
Plant with ginger

I’m a lazy gardener at the best of times, loving the wild look that I tell my tidy neighbours is better for the wildlife.

Once a carefully mown bank, now a dedicated space for hunting owls.

The remnants of No-Mow-May, still going strong in August is great for insects and the like.

Unmown lawn

Although this little vegetable plot rather gives me away, with its drunken netting and that’ll do attitude!

But now, having shown you my rather dishevelled garden from as many angles as I dare, I feel I can put off the dreaded moment no longer. In my last blog I promised you a transformation, you may remember, a jacket I was all fired up to give new life to. But alack, I have to confess, this has not yet happened, I have nothing to show.

The truth is I’ve been too busy cutting corners, although not many of them, in my garden. Next time…

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