Our windowsill cactus is blooming again, as it has done almost every spring since 2019. I think those nubs around it are old blooms from last year, but maybe they're new buds. In any case, I'm glad it's still happy.
It's happier than I am, I'll say that much. Blame the Russians.
Yesterday, the gardeners came to trim our garden. They arrived about 9:30 a.m., just as the rain slackened, and after I went to work they spent several hours in the back garden, pruning the roses and buddleias and ripping out all the ivy invading the borders. They trimmed the large hebe and several other bushes in the front and gave us several inches more space to go up and down the front steps.
I was mostly happy with the result. It's still quite "full," but looks neater than it did.
I was very happy with the back. They didn't strip all the ivy on the fence and in the trees, at my request -- I want to leave some cover for the birds. But they took a lot off the ground and the pruned roses look much better.
Our bulbs and day lilies are more exposed and although the lawn is sodden and muddy right now, it should fill in well when growing season begins.
The one thing I wish they hadn't done is rake up all the fallen leaves I'd left in the borders and piled at the back of the garden. I was deliberately allowing them to break down as mulch. Oh well.
At work I spent the day in a training session learning about Chat GPT and Artificial Intelligence. This isn't something I use much -- in fact not at all, up to now -- but I can see how it might be beneficial for certain tasks like synthesizing data or composing routine e-mails. (I confess there is a blogger who commented once or twice on my blog many months ago who I strongly suspect uses Chat GPT to compose her comments. They're always very detailed and yet they seem blandly artificial. I will not name names!)
After I got home yesterday evening, I wrote to the Russians and our landlords and asked them to pay their portion of the fees for the front garden. I'd already paid and was seeking reimbursement. (We're responsible for the back but not the front under the terms of our lease.)
Mrs. Russia responded by knocking on our door and complaining that the trimming in the front is inadequate. She feels they should have done more and went on and on about how they'd promised four hours of work (I don't know where she got that number) but spent less than one and left the bushes too large. Possibly because I was halfway through my evening gin & tonic, I lost my temper with her and said I was finished dealing with the garden and went inside and closed the door, leaving her out on the stoop.
This morning, after about two hours of sleep (jet-lag and annoyance), I wrote and told her that I don't expect her to pay for work she feels is inadequate, and I will ask the gardeners for a more thorough trim. (Which I am doubtful they will provide.) But I also reiterated that the garden isn't our responsibility and all future communication about it should go straight to our landlords.
Dear God, I am so tired.
To finish on a happy note, I took my glasses to the optician yesterday who managed to rescue them after they'd been fairly badly mangled during my trip to Florida. I dropped them at one point and an earpiece broke off, and the other earpiece got bent in my luggage. Miracle opticians! My glasses are fine now -- at no charge!
Gosh, in the old photo the front garden is so overgrown. I think the gardeners did a good job at the front. If they had gone much harder, there would be twigs.
ReplyDeleteAt least the glasses repair will have improved your mood.
As it turns out, they're going to make a second pass and prune harder. I don't think we'd mind if some of the bushes are twiggy. They'll fill out soon enough.
DeleteOh dear. It seems The Russians are not the perfect neighbours.
ReplyDeleteNow that the garden has been pruned and tidied everything will soon start bursting forth with Spring-like abandon.
I will be so happy to see the growing season arrive! I mostly want the grass to return.
DeleteGiven your brusque treatment of Mother Russia, I think we can expect a new DIY project to begin upstairs anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I think the "H" at the bottom of your steps is attractive but I would have picked a white "Y" on a light blue background.
What are those H things, do you know? I think it has something to do with gas lines but I'm not sure.
DeleteThe Russians seem very entitled. Good luck w/your AI programs. I work in medical publishing; company called Elsevier. Almost all the editing/writing is being replaced by an AI program called Value Edit. I am hanging on by the skin of my teeth, as they say. At some point, in the very near future, all accounts will be edited/rewritten by the programs. AI definitely has a place in medicine; it is amazing what is being done. Sad, though, and scary that my work is being phased out....
ReplyDeleteThat IS scary. I think something is lost when we leave writing to AI. Besides, they'll still need editors to read the material and make sure it's accurate, I assume?
DeleteThe editing AI programs have gotten really, really good, I must admit. At this point, some accounts remain either fully handled by a human editor or they are handled by AI. The authors (clinicians, researchers, etc.) have to do a final approval either way. They cannot have the AI program write their papers, but they can have them edit them. As you know from your past, editing is a huge part of making a piece presentable/publishable. It is horrible, though. So many editors/writers out of jobs. Reminds me of that meme: we wanted AI to do our cleaning and our yardwork, not our writing or our art.
DeleteOne of the happiest days of my life was the day I moved into my first stand alone residential house with no neighbors sharing walls, or gardens as the case may be.
ReplyDeleteI have never lived in a stand-alone house as an adult!
DeleteGreat job, did you hold your g&t glas in your hand while you shut the door in her face?
ReplyDeleteHa! I left it on the hall table. I was trying to be discreet. LOL
DeleteIt may be time to move. She just sounds horrific.
ReplyDeleteWe've talked about it.
DeleteSeems quite reasonable for the Russians to pay for the totality of the front work if they want it done a certain way.
ReplyDeleteRIGHT?!
DeleteI would say that losing your temper with Mother Russia has been long overdue. A right royal PIA.
ReplyDeleteShe's nice enough on the surface but she's very exacting and a bit condescending.
DeleteI agree with Andrew, the gardeners couldn't have cut more off the front without destroying the shrubs completely. Good on you for yelling at her.
ReplyDeleteWe shall see -- a further prune is due this morning. I think they could have gone harder on several of the shrubs but they will be unsightly for a while.
DeleteOof - I would totally wash my hands of the front too (except of course you have to go in & out of that door, so the shrubbery has to be someone under control & it looked like that was never going to happen).
ReplyDeleteYeah, we had to make something happen. It had gone too long unpruned. (Several years, anyhow.)
DeleteIt sounds as if she is someone who cannot stop handing out unwanted opinions until voices are raised. I would not have even spoke with the gardeners at all. Sometimes the only way to deal with tyrants is to make a stand. 🇺🇦
ReplyDelete🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
DeleteNothing worse than bad neighbors. That's very upsetting. I bet she was hoping they'd rip everything out.
ReplyDeleteI hate the way AI is getting in everywhere. YT is packed with very poor accounts clearly created that way. At first they look good, then oh dear the same old prose appears. I can see some use for it, but it can't replace good art and writing.
I'm still not sure what use it is, to be honest. I can write out a paragraph practically as fast as it does, and I have more confidence in the results. But I'm a fast writer from my days working on newspapers.
DeleteMs Russia won't be happy until the entire front garden is gone. And I think you encourage her to come to you about it because you respond. Surely she knows the owners of your flat and how to contact them. You should just stop responding, tell her it's not your responsibility and to call your landlord. That should be your only response ever about it.
ReplyDeleteI agree.
DeleteYeah, you're both right. In an effort to maintain neighborly relations I try to keep her happy but I should just stop responding.
DeleteWhat a pain in the you know what. Mrs. Russia is an annoying busybody. I'm betting your landlords probably agree.
ReplyDeleteI'm betting so too.
DeleteSometimes the shared responsibilities can get out of our control. It's hard to deal with people who have difficulty with the language.
ReplyDeleteThat's one of the biggest hurdles in dealing with her. I'm never sure how well she's listening or how much she's absorbing.
DeleteYour small cactus with the yellow flowers is quite lovely. My cactus has never bloomed, and I have no idea why. It belonged to my late Uncle and it is now 4-5 ft. tall.
ReplyDeleteThe gardeners did a good bit of trimming and clean-up. Garden design is very much personal preference. My preference is minimalist plantings, defined small and large island beds and focal points that draw the eye.
For example, the garden to the right and left of the pavers leading to my front door includes one dwarfJapanese Maple on each side and 3 low growing mungo pines on one side and a birds' nest spruce on the other side. The ground is covered in black bark mulch to keep weeds down and maintain moisture during the summer.
A neighbor of mine grows tall white flowering shrubs against the foundation across the entire front of their house. They tell me privacy is their priority, and they feel the shrubs provide privacy. Preferences run the gambit.
We also have some cacti that have never bloomed. I think it just depends on the species.
DeleteI do think the bushes in the front garden could be better defined. Your garden sounds nice! We probably need to mulch.
Well, three cheers for the opticians! Beats the Russians by a mile. The garden looks great and I don't see what they have to complain about in the front, but they sound like that's their mode. Yes, take it up with the landlord. (And pay Steve.) Jet lag is a bitch. It makes nothing better. Hang in -- it won't last long.
ReplyDeleteI think the garden is adequate but I agree the bushes could be better defined. The gardeners are going to make another pass.
DeleteI think you've been remarkably patient with the demanding Russians and don't blame you for your reaction.
ReplyDeleteThey make me so tired. LOL
DeleteYou are a saint when it comes to dealing with Mrs. Russia. I admire you for how you handled things when she came to the door. She would infuriate me.
ReplyDeleteI only wish I'd been holding my drink in my hand. And possibly waving a cigarette like Mommie Dearest.
DeleteShrubbery trims are like haircuts - if it looks just right when it's done, it will look overgrown before too long, especially (in the case of shrubbery) when we are at the beginning of the growing season! It does look very nice right now, and I suspect could not be further trimmed without removing all the green parts and leaving mostly branches on view, but it may need another trim before the neighbours are ready to pay for another trim. I am so glad to live in a stand-alone house. You were nice to write to your neighbour the next morning. But yes, why can they not deal directly with the landlord?!
ReplyDeleteThat cactus looks so . . . fluffy! Is it, though? It has beautiful blooms, regardless.
I think that's what happened -- the gardeners tried to trim it without making it look too sparse. But it NEEDS to be sparse, because as you say it will all grow right back. The cactus isn't fluffy -- more like spiny! But the spines are very fine.
DeleteI need an eye check that reminds me deArheart x
ReplyDeleteHa! Well, I'm glad I prompted your memory. :)
Delete(the) Russians are such a pain. I think the way you dealt with "this" Russian was long overdue. The garden, front and back, looks very neat and trim now.
ReplyDeleteIt does look neat but I don't think she's entirely wrong about the front. We need a bit more quantity gone.
DeleteAh, having problematic neighbors is no fun. I think you did a good job dealing with her.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying!
DeleteOh those Russians! BTW, did you buy your Gulf of Mexico t-shirt from the Bitter Southerner?
ReplyDeleteNo, I ordered it from an online site called RedBubble. It's a design by someone named Piotr Kowalczyk.
DeleteI think Mrs Russia is being disagreeable because she doesn't want to pay up.
ReplyDeletePossibly!
Delete