Beautiful Roses

With all the chaos in our house at present, I finally reached my limit and escaped for the day.  I spent quite a while in the city rose gardens.

The beds are spread out over a large area.

Each area is dedicated to a particular type of rose, such as these ones.

I rested for a while inside this little summer house.

While I drank my water,  I watched one of the garden staff tending the garden.   It takes a lot of work to keep everything looking lovely. 

Rabbits are a major problem here, and each rose bed is surrounded with a barrier fence.

It was a gorgeous day for my visit.

Welcome, Summer!

Margaret xx 

Our Garden In January

 

The warm humid weather may not have been the best for some of us humans, but the plants have been loving it.  The lawns have been growing well, although they are beginning to dry off now, and the weeds have been having a field day.

The garden often shows off a few bright spots and I thought I might display some of them here.

This nasturtium has done well this year in my tub garden.  It is a non-trailing dwarf named Empress of India.

Most of the grasses have seeded this year.  These are all planted in pots, and they are growing well under son’s tender loving care.

The large potted cyclamen has gone into hibernation for the summer, but a couple of these little ones are still flowering.

The rhubarb is about ready for us to make another small harvest.  I like seeing the lobelia flowering beneath them.

This salmon-coloured geranium has flowered and flowered.

The marigolds have also flowered well.  We often let the seeds set on them as the pet rats find them a tasty treat.

This day lily has been living up to its name, and most days gives us a bright splash of colour.

I couldn’t remember the name of these pretty flowers, but I think they were asters.

Dwarf impatiens brighten up this corner, but, as you can see, the weeds are growing as well as the plants!

Most days I enjoy wandering around looking at the garden (I’m not able to do much work in it now). 

There is always something new to be seen, and a garden can truly be said to be a place of joyous experiences (and, perhaps, sore backs!).

May gardens always bring you pleasure 😊

Margaret.

 

Gladioli and Grass

 

I woke early this morning and decided to write this before I got up.

Butterfly Gladioli have been flowering in my garden.  They have such pretty colours and frilly edges and don’t grow as tall as normal gladioli, so are perfect for my little tub-garden.

I seldom pick gladioli for the house, preferring to watch them as they gradually bloom all the way up the stem, but yesterday I decided to pick some of the tops and bring them inside.

This one brightens up a little spot beside the kitchen sink.

When I also brought a bunch of grass seed-heads indoors, my son thought I was a bit balmy.  But now he agrees – they really do make quite an attractive picture when you look at them.

The grass was growing wild and I have no idea what it’s name is, I just liked the look of it!

Hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season 😊

Margaret

 

The Orchid Show

 

The National Orchid Show (named Orchids & More) has been here at Hamilton this year, so I took the opportunity of visiting it.  

Orchids may not be my most favourite bloom, but I was impressed by the variety available and the richness of so many of the colours was amazing.

Each individual Orchid Society had their own display – some of them quite impressive – and there were also stands selling plants and pots and fertilizers etc.

It did not take me very long to see everything, but I will say I really enjoyed my visit.

Margaret 😊

 

HEADER PHOTO FOR OCTOBER 2023

Wairere Falls has the distinction of being the highest waterfall in the North Island (153 metres) and is found in the Kaimai Ranges near Matamata.  It is visible for miles around, and after heavy rain can look quite spectacular.  There is a track that leads to the top, involving a steep flight of steps at one stage.  Although the walk is quite picturesque, it can also be quite challenging for the unprepared.  The views from the top are what makes the trek worthwhile.

Sweet Violets

 

Sometimes it is so cheering to see the sun shine.  This morning the yellow globe in the skies (which I believe has been working overtime in the Northern Hemisphere), braved the shower clouds and sent some glorious rays of bright sunshine down into my little garden. 

However the clouds took their revenge and this afternoon is dreary and grey again, but I did manage to sit outside and soak in the sun for a little while. 

That was when I noticed that my Sweet Violet (Viola odorata) is flowering.

I first fell in love with violets when my eldest son suffered croup as a toddler.  The doctor advised holding him in a bathroom full of steam (running the hot tap into the bath) to help him breathe, but there was little else he could do for him.

Around this time, almost by accident, I found a book on herbal remedies that explained how Sweet Violet flowers can help with whooping cough.  With croup being so similar – and having violets flowering in our garden at the time – I decided to try it (recipe below).

That was one of the best things I have ever done.  The results were fantastic – the syrup cut through the croup and halted it immediately.  He still coughed, but the frightening croup was gone.

For many years afterwards, I kept violet blossoms in our freezer ready to use (both of our boys got croup but our daughter never did).

Nowadays, I just appreciate the sweet scent of the flowers.

Margaret 😊

 

This was the original Violet Syrup recipe that I made up:

Put 3oz of fresh violet flowers into a jug and pour on 5 fl. oz. of boiling water.  Cover the jug and let it stand for 24 hours.  Strain out the blossoms.  Add 4oz white sugar to the liquid.  Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat and allow to cool.  Cover, and keep stored in the refrigerator.

I used to use a teaspoonful at a time and sometimes would administer another one if needed.  It kept quite a long time in the refrigerator, although now I don’t remember quite how long that was!

Flowers on my Feet?

 

Our Dutch Iris are all coming out and looking really pretty in the garden.

Son sent me a couple of photos on his phone of his Irises, plus one of my feet in my purple slippers.  What?!!

He reckons the colour matches the flowers – so therefore I must have flowers on my feet!!  What next? LOL

Today I’ve been making grapefruit marmalade – very bitter marmalade!

Store-bought marmalade, of any kind, is far too sweet for my taste when eaten on my breakfast toast.  My marmalade is made with shredded grapefruit and lemons. 

New Zealand grapefruit is a member of the citrus family, but not really a true grapefruit (it is often sold as Morrison’s Seedless, and is also known as Poorman’s Orange).  It originated in East Asia and is believed to be a hybrid between a pomelo and either a mandarin or a tangelo.

Remember, a smile a day keeps you happy 😊

Margaret.

Spring Flowers and Pressure Valves

 

I was very happy this morning to see the plumber drive up to the house. 

Our native Kowhai

For the last couple of days, the overflow pipe from the hot water cylinder has been pushing up water – which then drips down into our back porch area.

Snowflakes, often referred to here as Snowdrops

Everything is wet through and one could not walk across the porch without getting dripped upon.

I have no idea what these are - does anybody know?

We were afraid it may have meant a new hot water cylinder (this one was installed in 1985) but that checked out fine.  The fault was a pressure valve, which has now been replaced – no more drips!  

Star Magnolia, a beautiful spring-flowering shrub

Spring continues to advance and our weather is quite variable but the temperatures are slowly rising.  

Polyanthus nestled into a tree-shaded garden

I have been enjoying seeing spring flowers almost as much as I enjoy seeing autumn foliage.

Old fashioned muscari (grape hyacinths)
are always a pleasure to see

I hope these pretty flowers have cheered your day up a little,

Margaret 😊

November Blooms

 November is our last month of spring and summer is just around the corner.  It is a time of year when growth is becoming rampant (the lawns need mowing every week now, although that is not my job) and more and more flowers are beginning to bloom.

These photos were taken of flowers in my different gardens over the last ten years.

Passionfruit

Red Lily

Avocado

Rose 'Blue Moon'

Grapefruit (can you see the honey bee?)

Double Stock (which smelled heavenly)

My garden efforts are much smaller these days!

Have a great day everyone 😊

Margaret.