New Year

 The calendar has been changed..it's now what, the 7th year of Rambling Garden Diary? How time has flown!  Planet FM radio host Hector and his wife visited New Gardenland and we bonded at the Plant Barn over hibiscus and milkshakes. It looks like I may have a spot on his show as he may have on mine...when we can get to the studio that is. Garden Planet is on hiatus until we move premises so Karyn and I can catch our breaths and not Covid. Or Omicron, as it is now called.

The summer has turned out to be a long warm one, and I have many flowers flourishing. Each time one flowers I point it out to dad. He's given up taking photos of ME and now takes them of my flowers instead. That is good because I never was exactly photogenic, but flowers are and don't mind being photographed. 

Though I am more inclined to pick them because a photo cannot give you the smell.. so our vases are full. I have also taken to drying them and pressing them. I am also experimenting with making 'Monoi' oil out of the gardenias. Except I do need coconut oil instead what I have which is olive oil, but needs must. We don't have any vodka which can also be used to preserve gardenia scent. 

Kings Plant Barn have their annual 25% off sale ...I have been very restrained, and only bought red gazanias as they won't need a lot of water, to plant by the driveway. Of seasonal plants we had our Christmas lilies, and also ornamental peppers that I gave to the twins, which are of all different colours - orange, yellow, red, green, purple and white, all on the one plant.  They make very good Christmas decorations I must say. 

I must look back on my list and perhaps snag a kalanchoe or two. The prices for variegated house plants have gone a bit nuts - ranging from $99.99 for a small trailing plant and up to $159.99 for hoya. Though good old spider plant which I have plenty of at home doesn't fetch so much...I wonder if plant breeders decide they want to add red striped spider plants whether that will put prices up though I have never seen any. 

Some of the stars in my garden show...

Hibiscus

Yellow Lily

Pink Lily

Canna lily 

Apples growing from Crimson Spire

School's out!

 Hooray I can get back to gardening again now school is out. And maybe Karyn and I can do more Garden Planet episodes. We are meant to be moving to a new studio next year in Mt Albert, as the old villa is earmarked for destruction since the Unitec campus is getting a housing development. It used to be the old matrons house when Carrington Mental Hospital was operating. Of course I am no stranger to insanity....

Thankfully my brain wasn't taxed too much this year thanks to over 4 months of Auckland lockdown. It meant I could read all the books I liked and no forced studying. I don't really know how all the children got along without any school and watching everything on tv!  My plants in the library have been given a water and they should survive for another six weeks. I've only got super tough plants - spider plants, aloe vera, Mother in Law's tongue and hoya. 

The first gardenia of the season poked through and smells divine. I wonder if I can make gardenia water or perfume? Would it work? Seems such a shame that the flowers do not last all that long. A pink lily has flowered by the driveway - plus another Christmas Lily that looks like a gramophone trumpet. 

Mum had some complaints of 'plants in the way' so I have moved a couple of plants to new spots in the garden. Big silver fern is now by the loquat and hen and chickens fern is underneath. Libertia is now near the lavender. Some of my pumpkin seeds have come up.  I had to sacrifice more spider plants to make room but they multiply so much I don't think I'll ever be without any. One I have given to Rita as a house/flat warming gift. 

This is a bit secret squirrel but I don't think my brothers ever read this blog so I can say here..I found gladioli bulbs called 'Titanic' so that will be one Christmas present and the other will be the book '1001 gardens you should see before you die'. I'm hoping that if ever we can travel again my brothers will shout me on a round the world trip (especially to China or Japan) to see the gardens there, and then maybe see Kew Gardens and my sister on the way, as well as Monet's Garden in France, and the Butchard Gardens in Canada.  Never know, could happen. Could take the Packard along. When we all win lotto, as my Bonus Bonds only amounted to $70.70.

The other Christmas miracle am hoping for is  a new letterbox since the snails are now eating all my mail. 

Dad took some photos. A couple of Monarch butterflies, my trumpet lily, pohutakawas, Mummy Cat on the grass...and of course, the tram with pohutakawas at MOTAT. 

Auckland in the red

 I took mum out to the Parnell Rose Gardens on Sunday as we wanted to at least go somewhere now the 'traffic light system' is operating. I figured it would be nice to see all the roses in bloom. We did see them but more impressive at the moment is the pohutakawa trees which are vividly blooming red all around Auckland. Ironically Auckland is still in 'Red' at the traffic lights. 

Mum thinks we could make rose wine, as Por Por used to make it. But we need roses that haven't been sprayed, and I'm not too sure about those Parnell Rose Garden roses. Unfotunately they all seem to have lost their scent too, as we tried smelling them and none bowled us away. I don't know who is looking after them now (maybe a council department that has contracted out to the lowest bidder?) but the roses looked like they needed a good fertiliser and mulch. 

The Nancy Steen Garden though was looking as lovely as ever, with the borders filled with annuals and perennials. I'm not too keen on the all white garden, but the rest of the garden featured some gorgeous flowers like purple catmints, lobster claws, echinops, ladies mantles and pansies that I want to repeat in my own driveway border. 

I came home one day to find that dad had ripped out all the plants to the left of the back door, leaving only the jade money tree in its pot.  Of course I was distraught but mollified somewhat that mum had saved the daphne and the aeonium from total destruction and was planning to transplant them somewhere else. 

It's because she needs access to the tap so now there is nothing but sharp stones and I can see the black plastic peeking through the holes. Sigh. You win some you lose some. The daphne is now in a pot (hopefully it will live through this trauma) and the aeonium is now turning purple in its new spot in the front yard where the mugwort used to grow. 

Apart from that I was able to get to the first Te Puna Saturday market where there were only five stalls, though one was selling plants so I got a zucchini for $3, and that's growing near some goji berry cuttings. My lazy housewife beans have come up as has my snake beans I only hope it's not too late in the season for them as my uncle already has flowers on his beans. He says its not worth growing snake beans but I've never tried so..we will see. He also had them tied to strings and placed a plank of wood underneath the eave of his garage with nails all along to tie the strings to. But I don't think my dad would do anything like that to his garage. This time the beans are going to grow up maple branch prunings against the back fence. 

I also have the cucumber Jacqui gave me and several pumpkins have sprouted so it will be a race to the finish of who can scramble over the garden the longest. The only thing is we don't have room for blocks of sweetcorn or tomatoes which is a real shame as they are my favourite veges. Well I better go water my cosmos and beans. It looks like we'll get more Christmas lilies this year at the right time since the Pohutakawas have come early, they'll probably be all over by the 25th.  Fingers crossed that we can still have Christmas lunch and it's not all canceled this year!