November 2022
Hello Everyone
We’ve been enjoying a month of lovely visitors, good conversations, and happy plants doing what we want them to do. Even better, we’ve had heavy rain for more than a day, so now the bird song is back in abundance and everything looks lush. As the temperatures haven’t warmed up yet we have continued planting out. There is another group of Sanguisorba officinalis to go in one of the perennial beds. This is such a fun plant; almost whimsical.
There are so many beautiful gardens to visit. In relation to the size of the country we do very well. Recently a lady, who was part of an Australian tour group which had been to the Hurunui Festival and Garden Marlborough, visiting many gardens, came to me and said that she was overwhelmed by the number of good gardens that she had seen. “Tell me,” she said seriously, “do New Zealand people do anything else apart from garden?” Respecting the sincerity of the question, I said meekly with a smile “Well I try to get to Bridge once a week.”
Photo 1: Clematis ‘Niobe’ has been growing for many years in the corner of the kitchen courtyard. It flowers for months and when there is low light the flowers take on a velvet appearance. Photo by Rosie Belton
Photo 2: I am often asked the name of this plant, Elegia capensis, which grows by the side pond. It is good for picking for an indoor arrangement in the winter months when there is less choice. Although it looks like a bamboo it isn’t a member of the bamboo family. Photo by Rosie Belton
Photo 3: These lupins look charming alongside Spiarea ‘Flore Pleno’, the May bush, which tolerates very dry conditions. Photo by Rosie Belton
Photo 4: Happy delphiniums which are cut back after the first flowering, give a second flowering later in the season. Photo by Rosie Belton
Photo 5: Rosa ‘Precious Platinum’ which flowers continually and is a good picker. To the left is Camellia ‘Night Rider’, a very dark red flowerer and the new leaf growth is dark red as can be seen in the photo. Irises of rich dark colours have just finished flowering at the base of this long-stemmed rose. Photo by Rosie Belton
None of this beauty would happen of course without much work. Ron, whom many of our visitors have met, always has a ‘to do’ list and accomplishes it all.
The next thing he is doing is arranging for our umbrella, which shades the round table and seats, to have its very crusty lichen-covered fabric replaced. I’ve had visions for some time of a piece of hard, crusty lichen-canvas dropping into someone’s delicious roulade.
Best wishes to you all,
Margaret
