The Eternal Optimist

I am a dreadful gardener. Far too sentimental. Good gardeners are ruthless. They thin out seedlings and cull plants on death's door. I'm neglectful too, easily distracted by other tasks and projects - not a good combination.

The kindest thing to do would have been to put my houseplants out of their misery by laying them to rest on the compost heap. They'd been savaged by snails on the front doorstep, starved of sun and infrequently watered.

But I couldn't give up on them and so I planted them out in a border, hoping the Auckland spring will perk them up.

(Have you spotted the Christmas poinsettia there? Still limping on...)

And then a few days after my mercy mission, I found cause for optimism. I had picked up this ginkgo tree at the school fair at the end of last season. It lost all its leaves over winter until it was nothing but a stick, stuck in some soil, and I left it at the house, on the building site, forgotten under the scaffolding and shrinkwrap.

But, all of a sudden, glimpses of green had appeared. There was life in the old stick yet! So I popped it in the back of the truck and brought it to our temporary abode for some tender loving care. I've dutifully watered it daily and it's rewarded me with sprouting leaves at intervals along its twiggy trunk. The top leaves have unfurled and seem to be thriving. Now I just have to keep it up!



My adopted vegetable garden seems to be coming along nicely, though there are a few bitemarks from the snails. With a bit of luck, the seedlings will tough it out...



Let's hope the cherry tomato seeds sprout too - under their makeshift greenhouse.