I clocked up my first week on the job full time gardening. I love it! Am getting around different gardens not only out west, but on the Shore too. My favourite so far is the fernery at Waitakere Gardens, a nice enclosed area to have a bit of peace and quiet amongst the ferns. It seemed like nobody had been there in a while because I pulled out a big privet, the fountain wasn't working, and ladder fern and bracken had over taken the path, but once the garden club had got stuck in, and shown it some love, it has revived. We even found a little kiwi.
Back home not much to report except I'm trialling oats on my winter greens to keep snails at bay, I may need to get some bran. Tuesday was Te Atatu Floral and Garden Circle, and they were having their 53rd birthday, an amazing floral demonstration using winter foliage was created right in front of our eyes, it was like Masterchef except with flowers. Good news, it might be will be able to go to the NZ Flower and Garden show held at the Trust Stadium in late November this year for free, if we volunteer to look after a stall for West Auckland garden clubs.
Brent Mags from MBGP or My Backyard Garden Project, is organising some raised beds and compost bins for over 100 families in West Auckland. I just need to mark out a place where it's going to go. I hope mum won't mind - after all we could grow more garlic, garlic chives, onion and coriander. Surely she won't object to food on the table.
Tomorrow I cannot get away from the garden because I'm doing the St Giles church garden corner, which, given the plants I have, will have Ginger lily, aeonium, belladona lily, and lambs ears. I hope that is not a completely awful combination but it will be better than what was there before, which was an entirely uninspiring mat of black mondo grass. Graeme, the church elder has bought a whole lot of pebbles for the garden, it's been weeded and matted, all I have to do it plant. I am going to ask Les to help, before I take him to MOTAT as he kind of talked me into it, even though Dad won't be there and I won't be paid till the following Tuesday. I hope he won't mind the change of plan.
My gardening trainer and Team Leader Clint has got me onto meat pies. I had three this week and two sausage rolls. I will have to watch out. They are so good!
