At this time of year, our native Cabbage Trees (Cordyline
australis) are in bloom. Their scented
flowers later turn to berries that make a great food source for birds.
These trees are found growing throughout the North and South
Islands, and are popular transplants in various places around the world (I
believe in the United Kingdom they are known as Torquay Palms).
They are commonly called “cabbage trees” as the heart of
them was sometimes used by Maori and early pioneers as food and is said to
taste similar to cabbage. Unfortunately
it kills the tree so it is not recommended to try it.
As a child I remember weaving small mats out of their long
fibrous leaves, and in later years would use those same leaves (as they died
and fell from the tree) as a great source of kindling for our fire.
I have had my sons moving furniture around for me this
morning. First a bookcase to change
positions, and then some drawers and a china cabinet needed shifting.
That made space for the sofa-bed to go into the spare room
against the wall where I wanted it. The only
problem was they couldn’t get it around a corner and through the hallway door. Just that tiny amount that wouldn’t quite
fit!
In the end, Son got a hammer and punched the hinges through
on the door and removed it. The spare
room door wasn’t a problem as they were able to face it front-on. The door has been put back, and the sofa is now in place and I am happy with
the arrangement.
I have almost finished my packing for the road trip next
week, and will write about that in the next day or so.
Time now for an afternoon cup of tea and a biscuit 😊
Margaret.
The cabbage tree flowers seem extra good this year.
ReplyDeleteWell done on the sons getting the bed in for you - we have a doorway in this rental, sans the door as two beds would not fit in the room with it on!!
ReplyDeleteI love the cabbage tree, and there are always been one on the properties we owned - that is partially why I have a silhouette of a cabbage tree on my blog header
Blessings
Maxine
Well done everyone. Nice comfortable furniture in the spare room for the moggies in the household. Mr T has discovered the spare room bed gets sun. It is now covered in a 'sacrificial' fur sheet (like dust sheet for fur). Enjoy your road trip. Xxx Mr T and F
ReplyDeleteI look out my sitting room patio doors and see that type of palm tree, it's in our neighbours garden, the birds love it this time of year. I have never heard it called a cabbage tree.
ReplyDeleteNice to have handy sons!!
ReplyDeleteHave a great trip
You have some lovely weeks coming with your adventure and your young woman visiting! Yay! I imagine the time can’t come soon enough!
ReplyDeleteYou certainly are giving me an education on all things New Zealand! I've never heard of a cabbage tree. Really, the only thing I knew about New Zealand is that it is my dream hunt location for a Red Stag.
ReplyDeleteI can see you would enjoy that hunt - maybe one day that dream will come true :)
DeleteYour comments on the Cabbage Tree flowers brought back pleasant memories of a trip my sister and I made to New Zealand some years ago. We both had a delightful time. We were there for three weeks in November to take advantage of spring time weather. But she discovered that she had a mild allergy to the sent of the cabbage tree. We both liked the scent, but she would start to sneeze and we would look around and sure enough somewhere near was a cabbage tree in bloom. The last time we smelled it was as we were walking to the airport buildings in Christchurch along a walkway through the parking lot, and it felt like New Zealand was saying farewell.
ReplyDeleteI like the scent as well. I've not heard of anyone reacting to it before - your poor sister, it must have been awful for her.
DeleteI looked up the Cabbage tree and was amazed at how tall they grow! Great that you and your son were able to move the furniture without too much trouble.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very pretty tree! Very tropical looking! Glad the new sofa made it through the doorway!
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful trees thank you for sharing the photo and the information. They would not grow in the part of the UK I like in but I have seen similar trees down the South where Torbay is situated so would not be surprised if that is indeed their name here.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear that you were able to get the sofa bed in the position you needed it without too much bother.
I bet that was a fun time trying to fit the sofa bed where you wanted it...so glad you were able to get it to its spot.
ReplyDelete