Season's Greetings! (summer for me).
It's all on in the garden. Clearing out the apple mint to make way for...kumara! Even if we don't get tubers, we can eat the leaves. I found the red variety at Kings, who were having a Boxing Day sale. So I got a bundle of slips - about two dozen, and have made three compost mounds for them to grow from. They are part of the convolvulus family and related to morning glories, which can be a weedy vine in some areas.
I'm hoping they will take off in my garden and keep down the other weeds. I'm also trying butternut pumpkin, and beans. Jacqui has given me some basil, which I've put in pots. I've been a bit slow to start growing veges, but I think we are in for a long warm summer.
Other Boxing Day gifts were Ehlo hanging baskets (the white, trendy looking ones to hang spider plants from), four sacks of compost (I have used three already), Autumn Joy sedum in a pot, and Pacific mix statice. The statice has been very good this year so I'm planting more. Mum likes them as they make great dried flowers, and they are easy care.
The spider plants got a new home and moved to under the loquat, which will need a summer trim to stop the fruits getting too high and out of reach.
Currently I'm harvesting gardenia flowers and chamomile, and have a load of apple mint leaves. It's nice to be home, as every day can be a garden day. I don't need to go to far..I have Mitre 10 and Kings Plant Barn just up the road from me. Shirley's given me apricots from her tree, and I think ours will be ready in a month's time.
I feel sorry for those people who always go away from home for the holidays. Leaving their gardens and pets behind to languish. My thing is always to stay home in the holidays and try and go away in work time! Though it's not likely as I still haven't been invited on any school trips. Maybe next year?
