I now have hanging baskets in the trees with orchids. I saw hanging baskets in tree branches in a parishioner's garden once while I was out carolling. They were delightful and I thought, yes that's where hanging baskets belong. Mum says they will freeze, but I think they look pretty and besides, orchids appreciate the fresh air around their roots.
I also made a trip to the $2 shop to buy a $7 wind chime. I know, the prices have gone up, and don't I already have an angel one? Well yes, but this one is looks like a boat with anchors and it says on the sail 'the blessing of the lord'. I hung it on the acer tree. It goes with my rubber duck family in the bird bath. I can now hear the delicate tinkling in the breeze. The breath of heaven.
Sorry, no plastic pink flamingos, no garden gnomes. Chinese Toon is pink anyway.
I will have butterflies, and saw a monarch alighting on a spider lily today.
I also have spider plants underplanting the tree out the front. I forget it's name. It's deciduous. My brothers originally planted it because I complained my room was facing the road and all I could see was lawn, fence and road. Previously in another decade, our house was surrounded by evergreen conifers. These quickly took over the yard, and threatened to suffocate us all with pine needles.
They were so dense, thick and matted that they seemed like those 70s plant equivalent of thickly crocheted fashion disasters people used to wear all the time back then. All form and no function.
When my brothers got the gardening bug, they were into formal english garden beds and started putting in box hedging and standard roses. The flower carpet roses spread and spread, but the other ones succumbed to black spot and grew top heavy. I appreciated the scented ones but never did think much of the flower carpet roses, with all their thorns.
But now those flower carpet roses are eradicated and burnt to a cinder in hell, I can now plant with hand friendly plants, like...spider plants. Impatiens. Alyssum. Lavender. Thyme. Chamomile. Lambs ears. And..cyclamen.
Plants that don't nick you and cut you. Plants that behave and give instead of take demanding to be fed. Plants you can actually caress and touch.
My next plan is acquiring a silver fern ponga tree. I plan to plant that near the hen and chicken ferns at the back near the chook house.
I decide, since I'm living in NZ I should at least have one iconic patriotic plant. No..not the ubiquitous cabbage tree. The neighbours have those. Kowhai and manuka are pretty and will attract birds and bees and butterflies, but nothing says New Zealand like the silver fern.
It would be like living in Texas and not having a yellow rose.
