Year of the Tiger Mummy Cat

 The garden seems quiet without Martha. The gate is now open though I still feel it should be closed to protect Mummy Cat. Dad had mowed the lawn to an inch of its life and it now looks like a brown threadbare carpet. I'm waiting for the compost to build up otherwise it will be hard to build any depth of soil on our hardpan, bulldozed flat section of clay.

The grapes are ripening on the vine. I've made some hay (of what little I can) from the long grass that grew by the fence while the sun shines. I've been watering the pots, thanks to Louise's donations, several pot plants now have permanent planters hiding the plastic.  Basil and some parsley are now growing thanks to Jacqui's surplus. 

Hooray, Aunty Jenny found us a letterbox, one big enough to hold milk bottles should we ever need them delivered again. Just needs a bit of paint and numbers affixed to the front, and a new hinge. 

Now I've been let go of my bookshop job, and as my former boss had given me flowers upon my leaving. I was thinking of applying for the flower shop up the road.  Or selling bulbs or something. Though February is the 'armpit' of months, lots of things happen like Chinese New Year (it's tigers, Mummy Cat), Waitangi Day (shall we dig up the lawn for a hangi?) and Valentines' Day (most over rated gift day) that everyone seems to make a big fuss over but actually nothing much seems to happen. I think people put more energy into Christmas while they still have the cash.

In the garden it's day after day of sun, ripening the fruits and being too hot to do any work. Which is fine by me, napping being a lost art form, but it doesn't make for interesting blog posts. I returned to school to find my spider plants turning pale and gave them emergency drip feeding. Hoya had survived on a diet of practically nothing though. I'm thinking of repotting the hanging baskets with zygocactus, if I can get a good size one. 

I'd promised to visit Fab Garden Mama to get some pots, but since I was given some already (and found two sturdy indoor ones from Briscoes) that  I hadn't had the energy to go further afield shopping. Having to wear a mask out hasn't helped matters, as now the omicron variant virus has somehow got in threatening our best laid plans, including school, garden club meetings, radio shows, and holidays away. 

We'll see what this year brings..it's all now in the paws of the remaining Tiger Mummy Cat.

 

Planting Martha

 Yesterday we planted Martha in the garden, next to her sister Mary. She lived with us for 8 years. She was a bit bossy. She liked eating bugs. She laid soft eggs, but also manure, which she never did in the garden (and preferred to do in the house). She liked listening to stories. Of course, she was the original 'Book Chook'

RIP Martha, will miss you. 

The long hot summer

 Dad's thermometer has been peaking at 30 degrees celsius, making him happy every time a record is broken. I am not however, meant to set foot on the lawn while the thermometer is on the grass, for fear that I may step on it and break it (although I do have eyes, and I need to water plants). Half the Swan plants have been ruthlessly cleared away so that no shade befalls the precious mercury.

While this was the death knell for one cucumber plant, amazingly three more miraculously appeared, thanks to Saint Jacqui patron of Woodside Garden, the very next day. The snake plants and lazy housewife beans though, were a complete disappointment, not growing much at all in the thin clay soil by the fence, probably the worst place to grow them and when they should have raised beds of which I am not allowed. Even the Yates orange cosmos, now flowering is barely 30cm high when the seed packet promised 1.2 metres of triffid plants 'good tall flowers for by the fence, tolerates drought'. Well at least they flowered...

I had to do lots of remedial potting up with 2 bags of potting mix from Kings. Though I noticed that the mixture is made of up of bark, peat and pumice. Peat? Isn't it bad and environmentally disastrous to harvest peat? And I wonder where the bark is from..dead kauri trees? 

Some gardeners swear by Zoo Doo. I haven't tried it for manuring yet. I've just been soaking or baptizing my pot plants in seaweed tonic. I asked veteran gardener Louise what she fed her plants and she surprised me by saying 'nothing'. I pictured her plants going hungry and crying. Nothing?? Just compost. huh. 

She said they seemed to grow anyway, so I think she must be of the 'treat em' mean, keep em' keen' ilk. Kind of like the way mum treats me (sometimes). I guess adversity toughens you up, but I don't really know in my case. 

My new thing for new year is to learn raranga or flax weaving. I have started a little on weaving flax wall mangers when I chucked out the old coir and hessian that was rotting and replaced them with flax leaves and cabbage leaves. They actually don't look too bad, plus, I have lined them with meat trays and put pots in them instead of filling them entirely with potting mix which then dries out and turns to dust.I have a few old hanging baskets that no longer have linings so when my flax bush grows more leaves I will weave them too. 

The other thing thats new is obtaining some cover pots for my plants. As they are pricy and hard to come by am doing it gradually so that Mr plasticky black pots will be turned into stylishly cordinated indoor decor and glazed outdoor features in tasteful colours. 

Cabbage tree has been thinned and I am experimenting taking cuttings from the branches. And I am clipping the buxus, wanting in vain to turn them into stylish cones or turrets but instead they still want to retain their boring rectangular blob shape. It echoes the bricks and shape of the house (one big rectangle). My garden is not going to grace the pages of 'Private Gardens of Aotearoa' anytime soon. For one thing there is no swimming pool or tennis court or 'car court'. Although the next door neighbours now have a swimming pool..I can hear them splashing. The only water feature I have a is a pot full of taro. But it seems to be doing much better than next door's taro which is now flattened by their new trampoline. 

Mr Postman has still not delivered me any letters or a brand new letterbox so, am still waiting on that or Mum will imporvise a roof of aluminium she'll get Dad to knock together so it will look instead like a mini-garage that may or may not rust away when it's nailed down. Ah suburbia. 

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! 

Return to Sender

 My letterbox scouting trip did not go very well. I thought I would be able to just buy a new letterbox from Mitre 10 and install it  and all would be well. Now the shops are open we are able to go and view the products instead of blindly ordering them online and hoping for the best.

I took mum along because she has strong opinions on what a good letterbox looks like. I just wanted one that would not rust, corrode, or rot. Seeing as Auckland is known for rainy weather, I thought a weatherproof one would surely be the best. Because we don't have a wall to mount a box on, or room to inset some bricks, the only option seemed to me the plastic ones. 

Mum thought the plastic ones, of which there are two types, were super ugly. There is a rural type one that has a little flag you can open up, very long and open only at the front, and the more urban type one that you can lift the lid on a hinge, basically, looks a bit like a mini rubbish(or worm) bin with a slot. 

They were $115. I was in despair because we surely needed a new letterbox but with nothing much to choose from how was Santa going to leave us any Christmas presents? Let alone Christmas cards. We also looked in Bunnings. They had fancier letterboxes, but same story. 

Unless...I write to NZ Post, tell them about my dilemma, and ask them if they would mind sparing a not used letter box for us. Or...hitch a sack to a post. Or empty my worm bin, and use THAT for our letterbox. You'll just need to lift the lid to put the letters in. 

Anyhow I can't think too much as my brain will hurt and I'll start sneezing again at the prospect of going all over town shopping for a new letterbox. Perhaps there will be one at the dump, that some  owners have ditched because it looks too old fashioned for their brand new property renovation/development  that I could rescue? 

While pondering this Dad would like to share the photo he took of our bottlebrush, now in bloom. It's a Little John one so won't grow to shade his thermometer. I actually heard him surmising, after I had cut back the fennel a bit more, that maybe he COULD move the thermometer a few centimetres further into the lawn.