Gardening...

and marion don't usually meet in the same sentence. Today, though, they do, for two reasons. Firstly, I'm taking down some largeish conifers today, to allow room for my shudio, all 20ft by 10ft of it. Yesterday, it was two large shrubs, which went next door, and a bay tree, which was Freecycled I'm hoping that the three 6ft specimen conifers I'm uprooting today also go to a Freecycle home...and that they survive, of course, after all the effort of keeping a reasonable sized root ball. I also bought planters to put some of the herbs and heathers into; I'm losing several beds, to my intense relief (and secret shame...). That said, most, if not all, of the plants are being given away to others who will, I hope, cherish them in a much more wholehearted way than I ever did.

That said, you'll be wondering why Dijanne tagged me for the gardening meme. Well, that makes lots of us...but here goes.

1. I do like the concept and principle of gardening. It's just the reality I can't be doing with. It's like outdoor housework. It's never finished. I do like it while I'm doing it, but to be honest, I'd rather be painting...
2. Every spring, I drool over the frilly pink tulips I planted when we came here at first. They're so girly, but elegant with it!
3. The front door of my grandmother's house was smothered in pink roses, with a tiny corner full of lily of the valley. For a brief moment in early summer, the scent was incredible.
4. I don't do grasscutting; I'm allergic. No, really, I am, it makes me sneeze.
5. I used to work in a flower shop during the summer vacations. That entailed buying myself exotic house plants every year, only to watch them die in the cold, damp house we lived in...
6. I once grew courgettes (zuccini) too successfully; Robin said he'd die if he ever ate another courgette. That was twenty years ago, and he still won't eat them.
7. Green tomato chutney is The Best.
8. I'm cowriting a book on Garden Inspirations. Okay, that probably doesn't count as Real Gardening, but hey, I broke a nail on one of the conifers, it's the best I can do...I'm in pain....

Am I going to tag anyone? Well, I'm not sure I should...but hey... There's Thelma, who gardens in the desert, there's Sally, who I can't tag, cos someone else got there first...there's Carol, who MUST garden. And there's bound to be more, but I can't think of any...not with blogs, anyway...sorry...that's the trouble with non gardeners, they flock with other non gardeners...
Here are the rules, just in case someone picks up on this...

The rules:
Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to then report this on their own blog with their 7 random facts as well as these rules. They then need to tag 7 other garden blogs and list their names on their blog. They are also asked to leave a comment for each of the tagged, letting them know they have been tagged and to read the blog.