Garden shed

I have just finished cleaning out the garden shed and removing an pile of old firewood. As I predicted it was the home to several wetas. I managed to photograph one very angry speciman. I have put three in a terrarium to observe them for a while.

Hen and Chicken Fern

One of the fern fronds shown in the last post is a hen and chicken (mouku) fern. Its botanical name is Asplenium bulbiferum. The immature fronds (pikopiko) are edible, apparently they taste like asparagus.

The hen and chicken fern is interesting because as well as using spores to reproduce, it grows baby plants (chickens) on the tips of some of the fronds.

Koru

The koru is the Maori name given to the newborn, unfurling fern frond and symbolizes life, growth, strength and peace. It is an integral symbol in Maori carving and tattoos.

It is a very emotive and powerful symbol to all New Zealanders, Maori and Pakeha alike, and appears often in all aspects of our culture and art. It is a popular symbol for many forms of jewellery.

The photos are of unfurling fern fronds from my garden and some more pieces of garden art where the koru has been used.

Our Air New Zealand uses the koru on the tail as their logo.

And more, plus some of the Childrens art.

Garden Art

The retail and craft section had lots of garden accessories for sale.

The wooden and steel weta caught my eye and I badly wanted to pop it into my bag. However the price tag of $110 was a deterrent. It would have looked good on my wall and I love wetas. I am clearing out a woodpile later this week and will no doubt find some real ones.

Do you like the Feral Children sign! (apart from the spelling mistake). I could have used this sign a few years ago when our four children were running wild in the garden.

The black sculpture is made from a tree fern (ponga) log. The last photo shows a man carving one.

Garden Show

Where do I start to describe the Garden Show?

I had a wonderful day there, weather was great, warm but not too hot.

The show is in several different sections: - there are the show gardens which are plots of land that are landscaped by professionals to a theme; then there are several large marquees, one is the floral art tent with all the displays by various art clubs and societies, the Yates tent with displays by gardening clubs and interest groups ie Lily society, Rose groups, Orchid society, Forest and bird, etc.

There is a Junior/Student landscaping display, displays of garden art by schools, this year there was also a scarcrow competition for schools.

And of course the retailers are there - some selling all sorts of gardening products, and growers/nurseries with their plants on display and for sale, and this year there were many stalls selling garden art and sculpture. Some very skilled craftspeople displaying their wares.

The photos I have included are some of the show gardens, and one of me looking hot and tired queuing to get into the floral art tent and wearing The Hat - my daughter would be mortified if she knew I was posting a picture of me wearing it in public! However, there were worse fashion crimes committed that day than my hat.

The last two photos are taken of a display inside one of the tents, it was to promote healthy living and is entirely made up of vegetables (apart from the walls and windows of the house). The chickens are made of onion skins! The roof is cabbage leaves. Click on it it get a closer view. It was very well done.

Kitchen photos

This is just a very quick blog, a few kitchen photos.

Note that this is a work in progress - the walls, bench upstand tiles, and glass behind the hob have yet to be done. And there is a small amount of tiling to be completed in the area by the fridge. The walls have to be fixed before the tiles can be laid there. However we are getting there.

What we badly need now is some colour in the rooms. And some blinds or curtains at the windows. Will probably put roman blinds there. So far it looks all very clinical, and needs some homely touches.

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Gotta go now - bag packed, car fueled, cats fed and put out, off to the Flower Show.

Check it out ........

http://www.ellerslieflowershow.co.nz/

Ellerslie International Flower Show

The tiler has departed, the kitchen, dining room and entrance are all finished, life is returning to normal. I will post some photos of the finished rooms when the furniture is all back in place.

Tomorrow I am off to Auckland until the weekend, the highlight of my trip will be a visit to the Ellerslie International Flower Show.

Every year, for five days during November, the grounds of Auckland's Botanical Gardens in Manurewa are transformed into a plant paradise with thousands of glorious blooms, a selection of spectacular show gardens and some of the finest examples of horticultural excellence in the world.

This annual event, which is becoming more and more popular each year, acts as a showcase for the most talented garden designers. The show gardens, displays and exhibits at the Ellerslie International Flower Show are always something special.

Its a wonderful day out, as well as gardens and displays to look at, there is also entertainment - last year I watched a very talented Polynesion group perform dances and songs, a barbeque cooking demonstration, and floral art demonstrations.

The theme for the floral art competition was 'Year of the Veteran', I have posted a photo of the winning entry. The photo of the 'bee' car was one of the winning garden displays.

Last year I was lucky to be able to attend the mecca for gardeners - the Chelsea Flower Show in London. Will do a post on that another time.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

This little shrub is one of my favourites - it is called Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. (Brunfelsia latifolia). It flowers profusely with flowers of three colours, Yesterday's flower is white/pale lilac and is starting to look tatty, Todays flower is a little darker - sort of mid purple, and Tomorrow's flower is a deep purple.

Busy, Busy

We have had our home invaded in the last few months with a complete kitchen and dining room remodel.

We have had the usual tradesmen - joiner, plumber, electrician, rangehood installer, and now we have the tiler.

I have to say, although he is a most pleasant man, he creates a mess! Lifting the old floor coverings and sanding the floor produced a fine dust all over the house. Then after the tiles went down in the kitchen we couldn't walk in there and were forced (no great hardship though hehe) to go out for dinner to the local Thai restaurant.

The next task is to choose wallcoverings, install glass behind the hob, tile the bench upstand, blinds for the windows - the end is almost in sight - almost.

My 1970's kitchen is almost into the new millennium.

Guy Fawkes

Guy Fawkes night is an annual celebration on the evening of the 5th November. It celebrates the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot of the 5th of November in 1605 which a number of conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, attempted to blow up The British Houses of Parliament.

We traditionally celebrate the occasion with fireworks in our back yards. Often organisations eg schools will organise a fireworks gala as a fundraising venture and the fireworks will be staged by a professional pyrotechnics crew. There is often a bonfire and sometimes a guy making competition. Children make scarecrow type figures to be burnt on the fire. However this practice seems to have died out a little in the last 20 years or so.

The above photo shows some of the range of fireworks available in the shops here. Recently the sale of them has been restricted to just the few days before 5th November, and also only to people over the age of 18. As you can imagine there are people who who misuse the fireworks resulting in injuries usually to children. The fire brigade also generally have to answer lots of call outs to scrub fires and other events!

Last Post on Bromeliads!!

Bromeliads in my Garden

Flower Names

Sorry - I should have named the plants in the last post.

From the top:

The new header is our Flowering Cherry tree just coming out in bloom,

Fuschia, they grow very easily here and need little care.

Poinsettia - this plant was given to me one Christmas as a pot plant about 20 years ago and has thrived in a sheltered spot, they are very frost tender.

Nasturtium - this is a dwarf variety that I planted a few years ago and now it self seeds and pops up all over the place. It is such a colourful little plant. I have given away lots and lots of seedlings.

Bromeliad - this one has a spectacular flower spike.

Rose - Uetersen, I think it has Danish or Scandinavian origins.

Another bromeliad flower spike. The spikes last for ages.

Charlotte Kemp rose (with aphids)

Alstromeria. I have another two colours in these - they tend to be a bit invasive and will multiply with gay abandon!