Work to be done

There are 33 pots on the tiny terrace and its edge. Not counting the empty ones that will be filled with basil and parsley come warmer weather.

There is a big job to do: repotting. Not everything, but a lot. The agastache, the Japanese forest grass, the hosta, which did not bloom last year at all - either because it is scrunched in the pot or because the heat from the nearby braai made it think abortive thoughts; the fig, again, whose roots are close-packed but which grew a lot last year. I never repot roses but perhaps, after years, I should think about it. They have been pruned.

I'm thinking about the thyme and calamintha. In their natural state they will grow in cracks, so isn't being squashed in a pot similar to squeezing your roots into a thin crevice? I may also get rid of two chive plants and an extra thyme. I had enough chives to eat last year, without touching one potful (which I grew partly for the flowers). This may seem like minutiae but on a small terrace every inch counts and I have two problems: I always want to try something new, so need available pots, and if I keep growing the same things I have to write about the same things, year in, year out. Boring for everybody.

The new things last year were strawberries and blueberries, and were very successful. The strawberries made at least a dozen new plants, and eventually I became exasperated with their constant need to reproduce (a bit like living in Cobble Hill itself where the double-wide stroller is a constant feature on the sidewalks below the terrace) that eventually I moved many plants to the roof. I am curious about what they will do, fruit-wise, once fertilized...And of course the pots they are currently occupying are destined for vegetables.

Today was going to be root pruning and repotting day, but with a constant drizzle it must be postponed.