Kia hora te manno
Kia whakapapa paumamu te moana
Kia tere te Karohirohi

May the calm be widespread
May the sea glisten like the greenstone
And may the glimmer of summer dance across your pathways

Friday, December 21, 2007

There is still some color

We have had a lot of rain, hail, frost, and very little sunshine, and there are still plants bravely putting on a show.

Calendula.

Primrose.

Hellebore.

Fuchsia.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Autumn is here

Yesterday was sunny with a cool breeze blowing, making me think twice about going outdoors to clean up the gardens before the rain gets here, which, according to the weather forecast, is coming up in the next couple of days. I told myself to stop being a wimp, and get out there and get the job done. After a while, I was warm from all my exertion and by the end of a couple of hours all the work was finished.

The garden does look scruffy right now, but with a little elbow grease it will soon look much better.

Surprise, one Gladioli trying to bloom.

A birdbath full of soggy leaves and to my surprise, a few Anemones are till showing green.

The lavender sure needs a trimming.

I have been working on this area for a while and I still need to add some more pavers and plant ground covers in between.This job will now have to wait until spring.

A couple of hours later, and all the dead leaves and twigs have been picked up, the brown stalks of plants going into dormancy have been cut back, and the gardens are looking tidy again.



Saturday, September 29, 2007

Autumn is here

I finally finished planting all the tulips and daffodils which were delivered a few days ago. The irrigation system is drained and put to bed for the winter, and all I need to do now, is rake up some leaves and pull a few weeds.

There is still a little color left in the garden now fall has hit. This yellow daisy is nestled in amongst Catnip and blue Salvia, making for a pretty display.

The ever hardy primroses are still pushing out a few blooms.


Thursday, August 02, 2007

What is growing on August 1st

The fragrance from the lilies, is so sweet and delightful, as you walk up the driveway to the front door.

The two tomato plants are now five feet tall, and still growing taller. I have a yellow pear, which I discovered last year, on one side of the pot, and Super sweet 100 on the other.
Both of these tomatoes are super sweet and are abundant producers of small succulent fruits.

Super sweet cherry tomato, well on the way to giving us tomatoes for our salads, or to just to pop in the mouth and enjoy the taste. There is nothing I like better, than the taste of a sun warmed tomato. picked and eaten straight from the plant.

As much as I like the pink Hydrangea, I will change the soil PH so the blooms will be blue in the future.


There is a show of color from the red gladioli in the front garden. This will be the third year for blooms from the red Glads.

This yellow Gladioli is new to the garden, and now I know I can leave glads in over the winter months, I plan on planting many more.

I experimented with growing Cosmos in pots and they are doing extremely well. I do have chicken wire around the pot so the rabbits don't make a meal out of the plants.



Friday, July 27, 2007

July 25th 2007

I have this pot of petunias sitting on top of one of the fence posts surrounding one of the gardens.

One of my favorite Hostas.

If you look carefully at the globe flower in the back, you can just make out a bee busily gathering pollen.

A pretty little patch of flowers.

I had to put the wagon behind the fence as a couple of the wild rabbits were taking an interest in the flowers.

My spinach is doing extremely well in this styrene container. I pick enough spinach every couple of days to make a small salad for myself.
You can see the drip watering system I have installed to water the containers on the deck.

There are two tomato plants in this pot and they are now taller than the wire cage, I thought was going to be too tall when I bought it. I am now glad i did get the largest wire cage to support the tomatoes.

I am happy to see the Elephant Ears have come back this year. They were left in the garden over the winter, and being close to the house probably gave them a little protection from the elements.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

June 29th 2007

Lush and lovely

Beside the carport, a new garden spot.

Ferns, hosta bamboo

Red dahlias and nemesias

The pink and purple flowers are called Stock. Besides being rather lovely to look at, they have a delicate fragrance.



Flower pot full of succulents, between daylillys and lavender

When I cleaned out the back of the carport, I discovered an old garden gate which has been put to a good use.

The garden gate, is now a support for this rose.

June 29th 2007

A pot of hen & chickens perched atop a fence post.

I don't know what this plant is, but it sure has a lovely colored flower

Nicotiana and petunias

Red Nicotiana

Peach colored nicotiana

A new plant, in rear to the right.

This large pot of plants is next to the front door, and makes a very nice display.

Planters by the front door to the house.

The frogs have their crossing too.

Hen & chickens growing around the base of one of the bird baths