The Auckland Domain Wintergarden was looking candy-coloured on Sunday when I dragged Mum along for a gardening stroll. The Te Atatu Floral Circle had suggested a field trip, but there weren't many keen to venture outdoors this weekend. So I thought, well, I have the car and I will travel.
There were delphiniums, cineraria, lachenalia in baskets, cyclamen, violets, and garish tulips. It was blue, red, purple, yellow, orange and green. Yep the whole rainbow. Auckland Wintergardeners you've done us proud. In the tropical house, there was my favourite Chenille Plant with the furry red catkins, the chocolate cacao plant, the pitcher plants, the giant heliconia, ginger and banana, psychedelic coleus, snaky snake plants, and eyepopping hypoestes. And it was nice and warm. I thought I saw some chairs set out for a wedding ceremony, but no sign of bride or groom.
We ordered hot chocolates at the kiosk, while sparrows flew in and out. Then we made the trek up to the Auckland Musuem. Unfortunately, the Musuem wasn't so exciting or wondrous, or maybe I'm a bit jaded? They had an exhibit on bags called Carried Away, and not being a fan of bags I wasn't so impressed. There were handbags and shopping bags, I guess some people would be absolutely fascinating but to me it was very boring. They had also taken away the vintage Auckland street display and the old childhood toys, which is the highlight of the museum in my opinion and hidden it away in some other part not open to the public.
I don't remember much else having seen dried up skeletons and stuffed animals and rocks all before with Darwinist type pronouncements of how millions of years old they were. Now I reckon if they actually had some living plants in the Auckland Museum it wouldn't be so exhausting visiting. Why not a few indoor plants, and you could even say they were millions of years old if you wanted to, why because they tell white lies about the age of everything else. But thing is, they wouldn't be consigned to history because these plants are still ALIVE and you could even attach little labels next to them and say for example, PONGA FERN. Cyathea Medullaris. First discovered in 1842. But actually about a million or so years old. Around at the time of the Moa. Named after so and so. Native to NZ. Still alive today in our Musuem. A toanga and symbol of our nation.
Just an idea.
After having strolled about and of course looking in the museum gift shop (bought a Maori dictionary as I need to learn more rongoa names) we left the Museum and the parking lot for greener pastures.
Today I did about half an hour of gardening which involved shifting and separating some plants, more rearranging. Frangipani and hibiscus have swapped places. Fig tree is now by the steps. Nerines are now in a pot. Aloes are separated, and succulents, and nasturtium. I'd weeded the new winter cabage bed in preparation for spring. And Mum had removed all the mugwort from one bed, which I'd seeded with left over green manure mix. This time, all the mustard and lupins are sprouting, so why does the packet say to sow in autumn when the lupins don't sprout? I reckon I've been a bit gypped to buy the green manure mix that doesn't germinate half the time when it says to sow it.
Anyway.
Dutch Iris are have just come up. Penstemons are showing, as are gladioli. It's going to be a glorious spring...
