I wonder what The Partner and I will do with ourselves once the hard landscaping and main planting in our garden is finished.
I can't see either of us finding much satisfaction in occasionally tucking small plants into the few bare spots vacated by something that's bitten the dust. Neither can I see The Partner sitting still for anything that resembles a major rebuild - he's still trying desperately to wriggle out of building the dog/human/fish-friendly pond-cum-pool I've designed for the lawn in front of the house.
So I guess it'll be small projects focused on a theme, or an idea, rather than a grand design - and I've found one to put on the list.
It's a moonlight garden and I read about it on (no surprises here) a relatively obscure US website. Only in America, as they say.
But for gardeners who've run out of something to do, it's a rather charming idea and fairly easily achieved - assuming, of course, that your garden is occasionally moonlit.
It's not exactly a new concept. Centuries ago, white-sand and pond moonlight meditation gardens were common in China. In 1639, the Mahtab Bagh - which means moonlight garden - was created for Shah Jahan in India. And according to my obscure internet source, they've been around in the US since the 19th century.
Because I have a tendency to wander around the garden in the middle of the night waiting for the dog to pee, I'm quite attracted to the idea. Sitting in a tranquil, fragrant, moonlit meditation spot while she wanders about in search of the perfect toilet location certainly beats grumpily cooling my heels in the middle of
the gravel driveway. The idea is to grow plants in a defined area that can be experienced at night through sight and smell. Generally, they'll be white, silver, cream or grey, as these colours reflect the most light and will glow in the light of the moon. And, if they're fragrant, all the better, as that'll add mystery and romance.
Location is the first decision. Obviously, your garden needs to be somewhere the moonlight can reach, so under a stand of tall trees is not ideal. Next time there's a very bright moon, walk around the garden with your cocoa and scout suitable sites.
Think about how your garden might be lit on nights when there is no moon. You can either add ambient lighting - garden lights, braziers or candles - or site the area where light from a house window or veranda will shine.
Even though it's primarily intended to be a moonlight garden, your garden will need sun as well - most flowering plants need around six hours of direct sunlight a day.
Less than that and you will need to use shade-lovers such as white impatiens, gardenias, arum lilies or variegated hostas.
If you want to be really clever, design your main bed or the focal point of the garden in the shape of a crescent, or a star. And though choosing the plants may seem the easy part, try to select blooms that are the same shade of white. An off-white flower next to a bright white will look dingy in the daylight, so separate them with foliage.
For annuals with white blooms, there are pansies, violas, cosmos, white impatiens, white begonias, marguerite daisies and dianthus, and white zinnias. Alyssum, petunias and stocks will give you scent as well.
On the perennial list, there are shasta daisies, daylilies, irises, dahlias and roses.
Add a clematis, or a climbing rose, to drape over a pergola or an arch (you'll be sitting underneath in the moonlight in a state of meditative calm) and look at viburnum, camellia, oleander and magnolia for shelter and enclosure. Look for a deciduous magnolia with massive flowers for the ultimate in night-time drama.
Fragrance is the icing on the cake, but make sure the scents are separated. You wouldn't wear two perfumes at once, so site your scented plants so each can be appreciated. And because many fragrant plants have a subtle scent, put them near patios and paths.
Plants with silver foliage and bark will add another dimension to the moonlight garden. The silver trunk of our massive eucalyptus shines like a small town at night and reflects moonlight all over the garden.
Silver birch, olives and weeping silver pears will also pick up the light at night, and remember that deciduous trees with interesting branch structures will throw intriguing moon shadows.
Finally, unless you want to suffer the attentions of uninvited guests, buy a few unscented natural mosquito coils and hang them in the trees. They'll cast their own shadows and add to the ambience.
Harvesting for high tea
Our local cafe recently threw an afternoon tea party and served cucumber sandwiches. It was a timely reminder that cucumbers are fabulous little monsters in their own right, and not just something that goes wrinkly in the vege drawer after you've used a quarter of it.
Lebanese and telegraph are common varieties that are sweet and don't need peeling, and there are various others. To sort out what may suit you, check out www.rnzih.org.nz/pages/growing-cucumbers.htm.
Grow them in full sun, on top of a mound of rich soil. Fertilise and water them frequently to keep them sweet and tender. Try to water the plants at their bases, keeping the leaves as dry as possible (cucumbers are susceptible to fungal diseases, which need moist conditions to develop).
Downy mildew is another problem, especially if the weather has been damp. Leaves will become yellow and blotched, so pick them off and spray with a fungicide.
Get it right and you should be able to have cucumber sandwiches every day. They're great with a lean scrape of light aioli (yes, on top of the butter) and a few slivers of smoked salmon.