Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows

 I don't know about the lollipops but we've had sunshine and rainbows in the garden. The dutch iris has flowered early and there have been a few jonquils pop up. It's now coming into winter as the autumn leaves keep falling. Dad picks them up and puts them into the rubbish bin. 

I've put in an order of 103 packets of seeds for Garden Club. It will be fun sorting them out, as fun as it can be when they all look the same as they are from King Seed and Kings don't put photos or pictures of what's inside on their seed packets.

I'm dividing up the peace lily that MOTAT gave us, well Dad when Mum was ill, as its outgrown its pot, so far, I can get at least six more to pot out of one clump. I have discovered compressed seed and potting mix - it comes in blocks or cubes and all you need to do is add water, and voila you have 9 litres of potting mix from 1kg block that you don't have to strain your back for when taking it to the car. This could be a game changer for my gardening practice!

Otherwise there's not much to report. Made another batch of comfrey fertiliser. Still feeding worms. Hung netting over the leggy echium in hopes the sweet peas will climb all over it. Visited the New Lynn library, and discovered they had a seed library there. Was offered several packs of seed for free, so now I have them to sow as well. 

JoAnne gave me a blueberry bush for my birthday. I have planted in a pot and wonder if I should buy a companion for it for pollination purposes. 

I've put my name down and am now on the Hospice flower roster, so I need to get creative. I know how to do a posy bowl arrangement, but that is about the extent of it. So we shall see, I have a block of floral foam, secateurs and a wild imagination. What can I do that will pass muster? 

Getting Older

 I am getting older today.

My garden is getting younger though as I've now got seeds, and am doing a seed fundraiser for Garden Club. We are hoping to get to 100 packets and then the profits can go to running our club, that has been going for over 65 years. This year will be the 66th!

So since last update I have been busy making umpteenth feijoa crumbles. Dad has been diligently picking up the fallen feijoas so the lawn is clear to mow. He picks up EVERY single one, no matter how small. I have given them away to friends, neighbours, family and even garden club members who often already have feijoas. 

I cleared the last lot last night but who knows today may yield some more. 

In other news comfrey tea barrel has been emptied and restarted again. I've had to add some citronella incense to it to repel any bugs, and might add neem oil to the mix. Also geranium leaves. Because it can get smelly. 

Tangelo tree has fruits, even though half has been cut down because of borer, luckily I have a dwarf tangelo on flying dragon rootstock in a large garden tub waiting in the wings. 

I've rearranged the pots a little and had to tidy up everything in anticipation of the Cylclone Vaianu that just missed us and devastated the Hawkes Bay instead. It's always a joy to rearrange things though as I like everything to be pleasing to the eye as much as I can, and to make the garden easier to work in, but it all takes time and will never ever be finished, as plants change with every season. 

This reminds me I am getting older today and mum wants me to be happy. I still have sad days but being in my garden makes me happy and after so long neglecting it I have rediscovered my garden mojo, so I cherish the time I'm able to spend recovering from two years of caretaking. Plants are so much easier than humans as they are constantly rejuvenating. 

So if anyone asks me what I'm doing with my life I say I am not drifting, I'm grounded and doing my garden. Eventually it will bear fruit and have so much abundance that I can't keep it all to myself and offer it to you. 

Happy Feijoa!

 New Gardenland is teeming with feijoas. Our favourite time of year. They make everyone smile, and are the fruit that keeps on giving and giving and giving...

The Plant King

 I've been trying to catch up the garden - harvesting, pruning, tidying, rearranging, decorating, sweeping...

It's raining at the moment and I've been busy the past couple of weeks preparing the comfrey tea, cutting down the mugwort after the grapes had been harvested, harvesting some of the olives, clearing the corner of pots.

The corner jungle mess is now a new orderly corner of mother-in-laws tongue or snake plant in rows, and gastria in the gaps, and now a hypostes plant or spotty plant to you - I found this at Rogers for $12 which had four different variegations in one pot. 

Roger advised me to give this one a good drink when I got home. He said a cyclone was coming, but it has thankfully missed Henderson.

Twins have harvested dozens of se gwa, or chinese okra to you. They are sort of like ribbed cucumbers, with spongy dry texture inside that soaks up the water. They are good in stir fries, with wood ear and prawns and onions. The vines have taken over their plot of volcanic soil at Epsom. 

Justin and Katherina gave Sis a potted antherium for Christmas. It was near dying when I went over last night so gave it some emergency buckets of water bath. It has now revived and will live to see another day. 

I went to the Lantern Festival, and got a bit inspired so now there are lanterns in my garden. I have two hot air balloons, some twinkly coloured solar lights and lots of citronella tea light candles. It is the Year of the Horse, so maybe I should think about getting some horse manure. Will have to take a trip to the Massey Pony Club. Actually we should all be thinking about getting horses now the price of fuel has sky rocketed. Thank you New World Order. I so wanted it to go up just after I had bought a new petrol driven car....

I have bought a new dwarf Tangelo Seminole. And a dwarf satsuma mandarin tree has been ordered. Kings had a sale on, cheaper than Rogers could you believe?? I have put some more Dutch Iris in. Miss Saigon and another Blue variety I can't remember the name of at the moment. But I do know there is one called Lion King which I gave to my Lion King mad friend. 

Otherwise things carry on as usual in my Kingdom of Plants. Or should it be Queendom. Now that I am Queen Bee of 41 Riverpark? 

Fresh Start

 After a year or two of dormancy, and sad goodbyes - Uncle Danny, Mum, Toyota Funcargo..Book Fridge, I'm slowly reawakening the garden. 

The hedges need trimming, but otherwise the lawn is still being mowed and am keeping up with maintanence. I harvested 3 trayfuls of grapes, which had a bumper crop this year.

Update - Leyton trimmed the hedge with the power trimmer, so all the hedges are now razor sharp and rectangular/boxy. 

I have a new car! That can fit loads of plants and sacks of compost!

Dusty now has catnip, which she duly squashed, and some catmint. 

Lobelias are brightening up my pots, and I've put in more spring onions, courtesy of Taiping. 

New books include 'We can do Hard Things', 'Cats with Jobs' 'The New Zealand Road Code' and a pile of circulating library books. I made thai buttercup soup. 

Watermelons are on sale by the road. 

Garden Club is gearing up for another year. 

I drove to the Honey Centre in Warkworth, and wanted to bring some bees back, but ended up with ginger honey and lavender beeswax. Glennis got crowned 'Queen Bee'.  Fresh fruit berry icecreams are on sale in Swanson. 

Makutu Link had an open day where I saw eels being fed raw eggs. My friend Nicole is now a jobbing gardener. I'm not accepting outside work currently...have too much housework to do. 

Pat from Garden club turned 93. 

All in all things are looking brighter for 2026. 😎