Frustrated Gardener

So what do you do when on a sunny Sunday morning, you have been given the morning off from participating in a Sydney Spring Cycle event (with the 3 boys out of the house) because you are sick? 

Arran, Charlie and Aiden off to Spring Cycle! Cuteness

The sensible person would curl up on the lounge, drink cups of tea and watch rubbish TV. Or perhaps a slightly less sensible, but social person would join a couple of girlfriends who invited you to go visit the Matt Blatt showroom at nearby Leichart and drink coffee. Or perhaps, if you had a small sadistic streak, you would put together around 30 pieces of Ikea furniture for an upcoming party at the house. Or if you were feeling domestic you might fold the mound of washing that is taking over your bedroom.

I didn't do any of these things. 

Even feeling pretty low with the onset of a sinus infection (that I finally succumbed to after the rest of the household has been sick for the past month or so), the thought of half a day to get some stuff done was too attractive. I went into a small frenzy.

Saturday was Charlie's first birthday party and I bought these amazing potted hydrangeas from Michael at Glebe General Store. 

They were so nice I got inspired and wondered how they would look in the ground. Well established hydrangea plants are dotted all around Glebe. I have written about them before, so I figured the climate must be ok for them here. I have a little strip of ground in the backyard which when we bought the house contained the start of a camellia hedge. Unfortunately they were a bit straggly and at different levels of growth. Not being much of a gardener and not liking camellia's that much meant my passion for saving them was on the low side. They got pulled out. I have had a bare patch there for a while now, cultivating weeds. I had planned to plant bamboo there to act as a screen, but we have been talking about having the whole back yard redone so I haven't done anything about that. 

Pretty inspiring, huh?

We have a little party coming up so I thought it would be nice to have some bright colour in the yard. I spent Saturday night thinking about planting hydrangeas in this spot and so given the opportunity off I went to Flower Power first thing on Sunday morning. 

How great do they look?

Ahhh...

I have decided I must be a frustrated gardener. When given the choice I wouldn't choose to get into the garden. I don't get a buzz out of having my fingers in the earth or get some kind of Zen feeling from connecting with nature while pulling weeds. I don't want a big back yard with lots of grass and would be just as happy living in an apartment with a nice balcony. Who needs a big yard when you live in Sydney's inner city? The Sydney City Council have done an awesome job of upgrading and creating the parks in the "villages" that make up the Sydney council area. We have an amazing park,  Dr H J Foley Rest Park right across the road from our house and I walk around the Glebe Foreshore at least a couple of times a week. Love.

Of course I am incredibly grateful to have a nice outdoor space to enjoy and entertain in. Any amount of space at your house in the inner west should be treasured, however most days I'd much rather be doing something to the inside of the house. I think what gets me out into our lovely outdoor space is the need to make it, and keep it looking beautiful. I don't particularly like the process of gardening but I like the finished result. If the plants don't die. And I have learned that the best way to prevent plants dying is not for me to pay more attention to them, but to buy plants that suit being neglected.

Wish my hydrangeas luck! 

A perfect Glebe day.......

Every now and then, usually on a Saturday “a perfect Glebe day” will unfold. Its hard to judge when these days are going to happen, there is no warning and they certainly can’t be counted on. They are characterised by great weather for walking the Glebe streets and include quintessentially Glebe activities.

A perfect Glebe day starts with a sleep-in. Not a “before baby sleep-in”, where you could stay in bed till midday if you had a hangover (or just a really good book), but maybe a sleep in till 9 or so because Arran and Aiden have ventured out for coffee and toast together and left me awake but not needing to get up. When they come back they bring coffee and a ham and cheese croissant from Sonoma, to consume in bed. It could be the start of a perfect Glebe day…...

 

I might surface from bed to make the 10 am reformer Pilates class at Tiaki, if I’m in a virtuous fitness kinda phase and in need of some zen. To get there I walk along Glebe point Rd past the Glebe Markets, held in the grounds of Glebe Public School.  There markets are typically bohemian Glebe. Second hand clothes, home-wares, plants, crafty artisan hand made objects, screen printed t-shirts, good food….on one particular perfect Glebe day I picked up this great 2^nd hand kettle. Random purchase, not needed but I love it anyway. 

I put this purchase in the category of “spending out”, defined by Gretchen Rubin as spending modestly on things that make you happy. Gretchen wrote the book “The Happiness Project”, her account of 12 months trying different techniques to improve her happiness.  “Spending out” is one of Gretchen’s personal commandments of happiness. I heard about the book from some friends and downloaded it from Amazon to my iPad to read on a work trip to the US in May. While in the US I forgot I had downloaded it and bought a hard-copy. Obviously jet lag and baby brain is not the best combo! Anyway its worth a read and it meant I had a gift to give my Aunt for helping look after Aiden while I was away. Check out Gretchen’s blog for some more detail on “The Happiness Project”.

After Pilates I meander home with tired muscles and a floaty state of mind, picking up Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald on the way. I really only buy it for the Good Weekend Magazine and the gossip page on the back of the front section. Tragic.

The afternoon might consist of a “mani-pedi” for the bargain price of $42 at Tip-Top Nails (they have those great foot spa massage chairs) and a wander further down Glebe Point Rd towards the water to the “Flower Man” (Michael's Supermarket Flowers). A perfect Glebe day always involves buying fresh flowers for the house and the “Flower Man” has a stunning variety of flowers and plants at reasonable prices. If you are buying a bunch of flowers for a gift the "Flower Man" will arrange them and wrap them in cellophane with an older style florists bow for an extra $3! Mum and I were there last Saturday to choose flowers for Laura and Luella who kindly offered to baby sit Aiden that afternoon and evening. Most people who saw us carrying the beautiful blooms wanted to know if we got them from “The Flower Man” down the road.

The end of a perfect Glebe day might be a couple of friends coming for dinner or a walk down Glebe Point rd with a bottle of wine (or even doing a bigger walk across to Newtown) for a cheap dinner. Alternatively it might be a simple meal with just Arran and a great bottle of red wine, shared on our crappy plastic outdoor table. For some reason I moved our crappy plastic outdoor table from Brisbane to Sydney and it has moved with us to every place we have lived since. 

I liken this crappy plastic outdoor table to buying casual clothes.  I would much rather buy beautiful dressy clothes, shoes and accessories than casual laid back threads. I seem to suffer the same affliction with furniture. I’m much happier to save up and wait to invest in a Dattner table, original artwork or turquoise Designer Guild fabric covered 3 seater lounge, but absolutely no interest in more casual outdoor furniture. Last year we discussed getting some nice outdoor furniture as a joint Christmas present for us and our guests to enjoy on Christmas day. Instead we bought each other an iPad and we still have the crappy plastic outdoor table!

Anyway, I digress. A crappy plastic outdoor table does not affect a perfect Glebe day but there are general things that support one:

-       Not having to get in a car and go anywhere. Every place we have lived in Glebe has been easy walking distance to all the good spots. My daily work commute is 45 minute drive each way. Not terrible in the scheme of Sydney traffic but its still nice to not go far on the weekends. I feel healthier for getting some incidental walking in too.

-       Enjoying what Glebe has to offer. Shops, restaurants, interesting people watching, good coffee....

-       Seeing the water at Blackwattle bay while walking in the park

 

-       Catching city views through the row of shops/houses on Glebe Point Rd

-       Admiring the beautiful old homes that line the Glebe Streets

-       Having the Glebe dog walking man say “God bless you”, “ You are so beautiful” or “Your husband is a lucky man”!

What makes a perfect day for you?