First thing's first...
My plant shopping list for this season -
Lachenalia bulbs. Not sure where to get them from but Myra really wants them. She claims they were all dug out and disappeared and now she's moved house and she doesn't have any.
White Ice Protea. Els requests some seeds. I have no idea where to find the seeds, if they have any right now. I reminded her that the church lawn mower man did mow over our proteas and I didn't replace them.
Honeysuckle. I want to trial this one over our chicken wire fence.
Herbs - my cabbage bed I might plant up with more herbs if my village green seeds don't sprout. I think I may have sowed them too early. Herbs such as parsely and peppermint, and hyssop, maybe borage.
I think that's all.
I've been reading Gordon Collier's gardening memoir called Anacapri. No he didn't move to the Riviera this is this the plantsman's new garden on a 1/4 acre section in Taupo. Got lots of photos of interesting plants. I never met the guy but apparently he's like the top gardener in horticultural circles. He mentored my former boss. He doesn't have a lawn in his section its all crammed with plants. I think when the time comes when our lawnmower conks out and Dad doesn't want to mow it anymore then I will either garden the entire section or get some sheep or rabbits in to eat the grass.
Another book I found in the library is called 'The Garden Bible'. No it doesn't have the story of Adam and Eve in the garden its more about 'Designing your perfect outdoor space' that is..if you have tonnes of money and live in the USA. I think they just have bigger houses in America from what I've seen, and larger sections when Americans come here and see our houses they probably think what cute little shacks we have, our houses are like garden sheds to them. They think nothing of having an outdoor kitchen and swimming pool, and firepit and they want to entertain guests at these pool parties on the 4th of July. I think its a bit weird to see a fireplace just smack bang in the middle of a yard with seating all around, cos its not even heating up a room or any practical use...it's just 'to add drama and a focal point to the landscape'.
It says 'Most homeowners are familiar with many of the main architectural styles - Mediterranean, English Tudor, French Country, Contemporary/Modern to cite a few.'. Oh really. I wonder if there's a book for non home-owners that don't have a choice, and our main styles are - State House, Kitset, Prefab and Container. There's also Rotting Villa, Leaky Building, Pole House A frame, Bungalow and Art Deco. The Bungalow sounds like the most fun while you can't do much with an Art Deco house except put in a few succulents and yuccas here and there for you will ruin the architectural lines of your shoebox house.
FYI the house I live in is Kitset. Kitset shotgun to be precise but the good thing about it is it's made from bricks, so the Big Bad Wolf can't blow it down, no matter how hard he huffs and puffs. I have the added precaution of a buxus hedge but strange thing is my brothers left gaps in the hedging that's why I'm thinking of adding the honeysuckle, to grow over the chicken wire. All my neighbours across the road have white picket fences even though none of them have small children, but one does now have chickens and I suppose that keeps them in.
Should gardeners marry architects? I don't know but they are the ones writing all these Garden Bibles because most people can't afford them. I don't know if there are actually many homeowners in my street and most of them I don't want to copy their garden. Maybe if I lived in Remuera and was envious of someone elses and coveted their garden, I would say well how did you do it and they would say well I didn't my designer did it, here's their number call them.
