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 

MyGardens Pass

Hamilton has an amazing asset with its collection of themed gardens, and they attract thousands of visitors each year.

From this month onwards, there will be an entrance fee for non-city residents.

I completed my initial application online, then visited the Gardens to finalize things and receive the card that allows me free access for two years.

The entrance to the Gardens has been revamped,  and I feel it has been done very tastefully. 

It is only the specialty gardens that are being charged for. There are still many acres of other gardens that remain free to wander through. 

Margaret xx 

A Walk In The Gardens

It was a beautiful morning for taking a walk through Hamilton Gardens. 

These are some of the photos I took.

Daughter and I finished our walk with a hot drink at the Gardens Cafe.

I am going to miss her so much when she goes home tomorrow. 

Margaret xx 

A Garden Stroll

 

I took advantage of our reasonably sunny afternoon here today and went for a pleasant stroll around Hamilton Gardens.

There were a few people doing the same thing, but nowhere near enough to say the place was crowded.

The Kitchen Garden was showing off a lush plot of winter vegetables.

I admired this large patch of Globe Artichokes,

And wished my rhubarb would grow as well as this.

The Italian Garden was one of the loveliest of the Theme Gardens I visited (I never had time to go round all of them).

Anyone for a game of Edwardian tennis?  It comes with dainty cream puffs and tiny crustless sandwiches!

Or perhaps you would rather join the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party?

The American Modernist Garden was quiet.  The only other person present to myself, was a gardener scratching around under the shrubs.

I loved this snake-in-the-grass in the Picturesque Garden.

The Waikato River could be glimpsed from some of the Gardens.

It was a very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.

Margaret xx

 

Happiness In Little Things

MY SON LOVES HIS HANGING BASKETS.  THIS ONE HAS VIOLAS BLOOMING IN IT.

THE YELLOW ONES MAKE ME FEEL HAPPY WHEN I SEE THEM GLISTENING IN THE SUN.

SNUGGLES KEEPS WATCH OVER MY BED EVERY DAY.

ENJOYING A SLICE OF HOMEMADE CHEESECAKE WITH TEA MADE FROM FRESH LEAVES OF CHOCOLATE-MINT. 

APPRECIATE THE LITTLE THINGS IN LIFE.

MARGARET xx

Te Parapara

 

Last Wednesday, when I went for a stroll through Hamilton Gardens, I mentioned I visited a few of them.  One was Te Parapara, the Maori kumara garden.

This was the entrance gate to the garden.

Outside the enclosure was this building.  It is a pity that there is not more signage around, as I would have liked to have known what its purpose was meant to be.

This building, built to sit above ground, looks like a storehouse for the kumara when it is harvested.

The ground is currently being prepared to be ready for kumara planting time, when that arrives.

This photo, taken in 2020, shows what the kumara look like when they are half-grown.

I’m not sure what this building represents (it may be another type of storehouse), but it is obviously tied up with fertility!

These carvings look to me like they are there to protect the crop.

Around the outside of the garden there is a planting of native plants.  I believe these are to represent the food that was gathered from the wild, as opposed to what was cultivated.

Our weather today (Sunday) is misty drizzle.  Hopefully, this coming week will bring some more lovely sunny days with it.

Stay happy 😊

Margaret.

 

  

Chinese Scholar's Garden

 

It was such a sunny day yesterday that I visited the Hamilton Gardens for a walk. 

I especially wanted to visit the Chinese Scholar’s Garden (also known as the Garden of Retreat-in-Flowing-Happiness) so I could see the wisteria in bloom.

This garden follows the Taoist tradition and portrays a miniature of the cosmos (mountains, lakes, cliffs etc), where scholars could relax, meditate, write poems, play music and so on.

A short walk leads down to the Blossom Court where one can enter the Arbour of Lingering Fragrance.  Jasmine grows freely over the arbour frame and the scent can be heavenly.

Exiting from the Arbour through a Moon Gate, the Moon & Lily Lake and the Wisteria Bridge come into view.

Unfortunately the wisteria was not in bloom, although it was in other parts of the garden.  I am wondering if perhaps it had been severely pruned this last year and was still in recovery mode.

I found this photo, taken in 2019, to give an idea of what it can look like.

The walk continues over the Wisteria Bridge and on to the Island of Whispering Birds (don’t you just love all the names?) before crossing the Willow Bridge and entering the Bamboo Walk.

At the top of the hill, can be found the Celestial Turtle of Taihu Lake, presented to Hamilton by its Chinese sister-city, Wuxi.

Nearby is the Golden Pavilion, a great place to stop for a while before heading back down to the garden’s exit.

I also wandered around a couple more gardens, but those can wait for another day 😊

Margaret.