little by little, bit by bit..

yesterday was a busy day at Villa Maria.. last night, I was too exhausted to even post. had a lovely long soak in the bath and went to bed by about 9.30! [dutch husband was just as exhausted as I was!]

dutch husband had to be there at 8am to meet the concreter for a quote on a new driveway.. then he got stuck into the bathroom once more.

[this time, pulling a wall division out to open up the bathroom space. Now there will be room for a claw foot bath!]

10am & I arrived with morning tea - coffee from Bakehouse on Wentworth and for lunch some pastrami, cheese & a loaf of organic sourdough..
then I went outside and began a mammoth task - getting the garden back into order.. I actually began to wonder about my sanity.. I also wondered if I have it in me to re-create another garden like I did with Inglewood.. but no turning back now.
I tackled the hydrangeas first.. pruning the plants right back to two leaf nodes, giving them a lovely layer of cow manure, a big soak and then some lucerne..
we dug out 9 lavender plants [there time was long gone] and 5 nandinas.. digging over the soil and laying lucerne to encourage worms. [where the lavender were, I am going to plant gardenias.. it is in full sun and perfect for these delightful perfumed plants] I was surprised that I saw not one worm the whole time I was gardening. the soil is in a dreadful state, but I know with love & care it will begin to thrive in next to no time.

I also took a harvest of comfrey leaves from the garden at Inglewood and put them into a big plastic bin, filled it with water and covered it. My first comfrey tea for Villa Maria.. it will cook for about 6 weeks and will give the citrus a lovely fertilizer. .. I have inherited some lemons, oranges and a mandarin.. and each of them are struggling.. it will take a little time to get them into the healthy state of that of Inglewood's citrus but I know I can do it. like I said, the soil is not very healthy at Villa Maria and will need a lot of TLC.. [while cleaning around one of the orange trees yesterday, I could feel the energy of the tree.. it was breathing a sigh of relief that I was there & I felt nature divas working alongside of me.. I got a strong feeling to hang crystals from its branches, which I will do in the next week.. I do believe that this garden has called me to come help.. well, I like to think that it did!] . we planned our chook pen and where I am going to plant my potatoes..

[so far, from Inglewood to Villa Maria I have taken: two wooden garden seats (to sit on while we drink tea), my Mary statue for the shrine that will be created this month, my gargoyles, a rusty iron candelabra that is on the back verandah ...

and my grandma's lachenalias, which are sitting at the front door.]

[My grandma use to grow these bulbs in a cement trough...and I loved the little flowers ~ just like soldier boys all standing straight in a row ...but I use to call them lackenallys...]

I have also set up a temporary altar on the fireplace.. a Marian icon, a candle. a rose crystal and some incense.. yes, this house will soon become a home. it won't take long.