Back in the beds! (Week 15, Monday)

I am back in the beds today and I think nobody could fail to notice the vast smile on my face & the jolly greetings I was dishing out, even first thing in the morning. Not I for one: it surprised me, how much happier being outdoors made me feel!

Three months gone, so the third year student I was working with has moved on, assigned to the Japanese Gateway he loved so much: I'm happy for him as these are his last three months with Kew before he's off. While I was in the nursery, he spent some more time mulching the South Canal beds with the new student assigned to them, but now he has left the two of us to take care of them.

The weather has been dry for a while: there are cracks in the beds and our plants, especially the Spireas, look a bit sad and wilted, so my colleague has spent most of the day sorting the watering , while I tackled the weeds head on.

I have been away only two weeks and Oxalis repens is all over the place, and what is worse, it's going to seed!

By the end of the day I had filled a couple of buckets. All in all, a quiet day of maintenance and a soft start, but now I feel the pressure of finishing the stock-check before I myself move on!