Autumn colours

Sunday Stroll

We spotted a tractor parked up by the gate today and went out to have a look. The local contractor left it so that he can mow the paddock this week. The sheep will be pleased. 

A Walk on the Wild Side

Although the weeds are taking over round here, some of them are, at least, pretty attractive. And our native plantings are still winning the war.

Harakeke/flax that I planted shortly after moving in is flowering and the tuis are loving the nectar. I've found bird's nests under - and inside - the shed and underneath the deck too.

The mynah birds inside the shed have made a scruffy nest but we have another bird that makes the most beautiful nests with a smooth lining. I'm not sure what it is but suspect it's one of the European immigrants - maybe a thrush. Any ideas, anyone?

Hibiscus

Fungus

Garden Envy

I visited a subtropical terraced garden with our local garden group last week and was amazed at what would grow under a canopy of pines and ponga. 

  

There was lots of garden art scattered amongst the plants and pots of succulents placed around the house, which gave me lots of ideas for adding interest in our garden. 

I was very taken with this water feature made from glass insulators from a decommissioned pylon. 

I solved yet another plant mystery too. This deep purple flower is on a tibouchina shrub. We have one at the back near our camellia and above our pink carpet rose (another new identification). 

The gardener's friend recommended a New Zealand book on subtropical plants which I've added to my shopping list so that I can identify a few more of our plants and learn about them. 

I'll miss the next trip to a community orchard as we'll be in Australia but I'm sure there'll be plenty of interesting plants there too... 

Witch hazel

Belladonna Lily

I am gradually identifying the plants in my garden. I saw these at the Kumeu Show and realized that we had them too. 

Magnolia

Roses amongst thorns

One area of our friends' garden is a mix of prize-winning roses, palms and succulents. They love the roses and seem to have mixed feelings about their spikier companions. 

In contrast, I don't mind roses but love the tropical succulents.

Our front border now features a mix of both. The old rose has been the subject of several vicious prunings and has bounced back each time. It was cut back to a few inches above the ground last winter but is now twice the size that it was in these pictures which were taken at the end of last year. It's leggy and totally without flowers. Maybe it needs more food... 

The succulents that my father planted when he dug out this bed are unquestionably thriving. The weedmat and mulch have done a good job of keeping out intruders and there is obvious growth amongst the new plants. And not a single one has been attacked by chickens! The bromeliads were damaged by a peacock but I hope that they'll survive. And the agaves which have been in this border through thick and thin (and renovations) have some lovely big pups beneath them now. 

I hope to create similar borders below the house and the shed. There are some natives below the shed (flax and nikau) and one lonely canna lily after my other bromeliads and iris fell victim to a pukeko or possum. I think that some more exotic plants would look good - maybe a strelitzia and some red hot pokers. 

Below the house, there's some good ground cover in the form of rosemary and native grasses but my father added some interest along the driveway with more succulents and miniature palms - some of which are even producing offspring. Driftwood and rocks have kept the chickens from scratching out the new plants and large logs in their old dustbaths have forced them to look elsewhere for their ablutions. 

Hydrangea Avenue

One of the features that I'd like in my garden is a long avenue of hydrangeas around the back of the house, just like my grandparents had. There are a few bushes there already and my father planted a few new one from cuttings that a friend gave me. But I'm going to need a few more before it looks as stunning as the one that we saw at the Kaipara Sculpture Garden...

Grand Designs

I have decided that I need a plan. A grand plan for our garden. Unfortunately I'm struggling a little bit because we already have a gorgeous landscaped garden - parklike, the estate agents would say. Rolling lawns, mature trees and a few borders already planted out with shrubs. 

It looks lovely (if a little parched right now) but it holds no surprises. You take it all in with one sweeping glance and a tour of the garden consists of a ramble around looking at a handful of interesting plants. I'd much rather have one of those gardens where every corner offers a new aspect, a new experience. 

I know what I'd like to include in the garden - lots of natives, lots of edibles and some colourful exotics which will thrive in the Auckland climate. But I don't quite know how to achieve it. Particularly when I factor in a lack of time and a lack of inclination to do any serious digging in the hard clay soils that predominate. 

So I took some books out of the library to get some inspiration... 

And I visited the garden of some friends...

...and admired their different areas of beautiful plants and flowers...

...and I'm finally beginning to get a few clues as to how to proceed. I've even made some progress thanks to the strong arms and green fingers of my parents and my out-laws... Look out for updates through the coming year to see how my plan is taking shape.

Coral tree

Magnolia

Unidentified Flowering Object

Can anyone help me identify this plant? We have several steep banks covered in it and I can't work out what it is. It's stunning when it flowers though.

Sparaxis

Daisy, daisy...

Freesias 2

Freesias 1

The Camellia Lawn