Late last year I had an epiphany: summer was rapidly approaching and it was time to get some mulch down to protect the garden over the hotter months. So I logged in to Mulchnet and ordered 5 cubic meters. To ensure that it wouldn’t take too long for the mulch arrive, I opted to pay for it rather than be wait listed for a free load. (Been there, done that, and it seemed to take forever.)
The truck arrived the next day and deposited an epic pile of mulch on our verge. The timing was supreme… slap bang in the middle of one of the busiest times of our year. DaughterDearest was moving house, a friend was celebrating her wedding, work was chaotic… and then I set off on a trip to Tasmania. No sooner was I back than Christmas happened, followed by a patch of I-don’t-want-to-garden weather (hot!), then we got a puppy…
I’m sure you get the picture. The mulch pile on the verge slowly started to collapse in some areas and grass started to grow up and over it. I started to imagine it turning into a grassy knoll and to worry that one our homes-and-garden-neighbours might complain to the council, resulting in the wrath of the gods (or some other dramatic outcome). And the garden still needed mulching…
So I asked a few people if they’d mind helping out, bribing them with offers of lunch and super tasty cake. They accepted with surprisingly alacrity – which I attribute more to their kindness than to the food bribes, but who knows 🙂
As the scheduled day drew closer, the weather got worse. In the end we caved and rescheduled, not wanting to subject our garden gnomes to the howling gales and torrential rain. Most of them came to lunch anyway, since the cakes had to be eaten.
Yesterday was attempt number three, attempt number two having been skittled by a combination of weather and dog dramas. This time the weather held, the dogs were (more or less) manageable, and the garden gnomes were successful. After much digging, heaving and carrying, the mulch pile / grassy knoll is no more. Much happiness!
The gnomes then went on to remove epic quantities of grass from our verge garden, trim the rosemary bushes and plant out my sweet potato cuttings. They definitely earned their lunch, ALL the cake – and my heartfelt thanks.
