Hoorah
Light bulb moments are when the tulips come out!
Although I thought I planted 10 and only 9 came up. Hmm. Snapped with my phone...they are growing through the yarrow. Also mum's eerlicheers have come up so picked them for the vase to scent the living room, and it's not far off for the freesias.
To report on our garden trip - this time we went on a trek to BeachHaven to an artist couple's beachside home with a view. As with a lot of homes on the North Shore, the view comes at a steep gradient, the south facing garden faces the harbour and has numerous paths down to the water. We felt like Jolly Rogers and had a bout of ukelele sing along as well. They were very hospitable and had the best cream and jam scones. On their travels they had looked after grand home which had a formal garden complete with parterre, fountain, espalier and topiaries. Very posh! But back on Kiwi soil they were a lot more laid back growing everything that can survive on a steep south facing slope.
At our garden club meeting we all became armchair travelers as President Brigit regaled us with tales and pictures from her Scandinavian summer journey, the grandiose sights of Versailles, and the somewhat smaller palace of William the Orange. She also stood on the ancient ruins of Pompeii, which could be our fate one day if those supposedly dormant volcanoes decide to erupt...
Over at Epsom mum is having a tidy up of the twin's garden that hasn't really been touched in how many years?! So she and I together have pulled out tonnes of ladder fern, a few dead trees, overgrown daphne, crowded clivias and dietes. Enough room for alpine strawberries? I now have visions of hellebores, more bulbs under the trees, gladioli in the sun and maybe louisiana irises by the driveway, if Vincent doesn't' plant all his citrus first. Well he can't as he's swanned off to Australia again, this time to Melbourne. Mum said she planted the yacon, but I think she planted them in the shade, when she should have planted them in the vege patch. Oh well at least my extra mondo grass now has a home. Vincents tulips are only just behind mine and I'm sure they'll be blooming by next week next to his new matching bay tree that has been clipped into a standard ball.
Cousin Winnie's tulips were the first to show though but now she's moved house, she's got a whole lot of taro and wood ear ---which the aunties were super excited about. Her bunnies have an entire flat to themselves though...and they certainly have a big backyard to jump around in. We'll see if Winnie starts growing a green thumb now she's a landlady/home owner.
