Sunday 4 July 2010

Being a partially sighted gardener

I didn't have time to blog too much about my gardening earlier; the Wimbledon men's final was about to start. So I thought I'd blog something now about gardening.

Being partially sighted means that I find different dimensions to lots of things I do. Compared to others I sometimes encounter more barriers or problems and sometimes I appreciate things in a totally different and refreshing way. So it is with gardening.

I just had one of those "aaaaggghhhh" moments whilst watering my hanging basket and rose bush by the front door. (And it wasn't the fact that I managed to water my leg with the watering can!) I noticed that a new rose bud had emerged so I reached out to touch it to find out more, how close to flowering was it etc. I pinched gently the bud and felt something not unlike a thin layer of mushy peas on the bud. I peered closely at my fingers and realised that I had just squashed a legion of green fly! eeeyuuuuck Not a nice sensation at all. I am guessing someone who could see better than I can, would have known weeks ago that the rose was infested with the evil little green blighters!

I may miss well camouflaged pests, and sometimes I mistake innocent petunia buds for giant spiders, but I am very thorough in the way I look after my garden. (well thorough in an organised kind of way) Just glancing out of the window at the garden won't tell me if the weeds are going wild, so instead I have a routine that 2 days after using miracle grow I weed no matter what. I just have little routines that help me not miss stuff.

I also like plants with different textures as well as colours, and I love plants that have different scents, not just pretty things like roses and honey suckle but in particular herbs. Well you can eat those too!

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