I have been a jobbing gardener this week. A new gardening role in a new garden in a new district and what fun I have had. Every morning after breakfast (all provided and cooked for you, as is a hut in the garden for your accommodation), orders are given, tasks allotted. It seems doffing your cap is no longer a requirement of the modern jobbing gardener though a strict no-smoking policy was evident, so I left my pipe in my pocket.
Mr.Moble is here as well, he is a jobbing shed hand and pretty happy with that title too. If only you could see the shed he has to work in, everything he could possibly want for is close to hand: a choice of welders, plenty of raw material, lots of fiddly parts and bits and bobs in tins. A Special Tools cupboard. All laid on… but I digress.
I have always rather fancied myself as a Jobbing Gardener, imagined I could be a dab hand. Whilst I did not run to a tweed coat and cap and breeches, it turns out I love it. Firstly, the garden is beautiful; set on a south-east aspect atop a hill overlooking greener than green valleys in all directions, this garden is a simple pleasure.
I am certain you would walk in and gasp at the view and then slowly take it in its verdant charm with an appreciative sigh. Luckily for me, the resident gardeners do not subscribe to the “Oh how beautiful and sit in the shade” gardening style. These gardeners mean business and their garden is a testament to their hard work and passion. They have recently treated themselves to some design expertise and the new Clint Kenny collaboration will soon fill out an important corner and will complement the views beyond perfectly.
This is a garden filled with creativity, personality and fun and it has been a delight to work in. The weather on the Southern Darling Downs has been sublime and we have been breathing in the green like oxygen all week. The soil here is a fabulous; I had thought being on the hill it could run to shale but no – it is as dark and rich as chocolate, and cuts like butter under your spade. The lawn viewed from my bedroom window is the best I have seen and the edges curve gently around to embrace you within its fold. Cleverly designed for ride-on mowing ease, they are simple and pleasing to the eye, nothing about this garden jars or fusses.
So, what does a jobbing gardener do you may ask? Well all the easy jobs that require no stress or over-thinking. I have re-done the edges with a spade ready for a light poison to keep them in check going into the cooler months. I have trimmed the hedges and snipped and tucked. A few spare friends in pots have been duly planted out and barrows of prunings carted away. All completed as the clouds race across the sky, the foothills of the Great Dividing Range so close you could almost touch them. The backdrop to this garden is a constantly changing hue of blue.
One of my most very favourite tasks allotted however is the daily job of driving to the Landscape Supply depot and collecting more loads of mulch, Forest Mulch to be precise. This has truly been a revelation to me, and I cannot speak highly enough of such places nor did I wish to leave it. Huge piles of everything you could dream of expertly sorted into neat sections and labelled with wondrous descriptions such as Enriched Garden Soil, Compost Rich Mix, Medium Grade Red Gravel, Fine River Sand, Red Bark Mulch and much, much more. I literally ran from pile to pile, scooping up handfuls, smelling it, rubbing it in my hands like fine tobacco. All the while large pieces of pleasing machinery, driven with skill and expertise, are busily tipping out and scraping up, coming and going constantly. Mr.Moble enquired on hearing my rapturous reports if their mulch was any better than our flood mulch? Well for a start, says I, you don’t have to wait for a flood!
So the Gardener and I have barrowed out load after glorious load of mulch and all is looking pretty fine indeed here on the hill. Time for a shower and a change of dress, I think I heard the drink’s bell tinkle…
I wish you all a Landscape Supply Depot for Easter…
The Moble Gardener.