Bopeep Beat

The Shed Gets a Haircut

2011-04-12T23:28:00.000-07:00

For the last 6 years we have been gently trimming the Wonga-Wonga (Pandorea pandorana) which covers the shed, but last weekend it was decided that drastic action was neccesary. Even though I liked the fact that the shed was completely hidden under this growth it was getting a little bit out of control. Hopefully it will repay us with new growth in Spring. Fingers crossed.

timelapse in my garden

2011-03-28T17:55:00.001-07:00

This is my garden going through the seasons over about 4 years.

More Fun and Games in the Garden

2011-03-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

Fun and games in the garden

2011-03-17T00:49:00.000-07:00

Three legged race

Egg and Spoon race - Ladies

Egg and Spoon race - Boys

Homemade compost bin

2010-07-18T23:22:00.000-07:00

I set the resident labourer a task this weekend. Make me a compost bin. Well it wasn’t quite like that. I had planned to try and make it myself but because I needed his help to “acquire” a pallet he became more involved than either of us expected. He became the master craftsman and I, his supervisor and assistant. Our existing bin was one of those large black plastic things, seen here on the right. I never could get the hang of it. It seemed to take forever for anything to break down and was usually a soggy mess. Plus I could never figure out how to remove a small amount of compost from the bottom without the whole pile spilling out. And turning the mound was nigh on impossible. My new bin is super duper brilliant. And it was so easy to make that hubby is now keen to make more. This from a man who could hardly swing a hammer before I met him.

First we cleared the area for the bin.
Step 1:

Find pallets. Most companies have these lying around and are only too keen for the public to remove them. I regularly witness my neighbour carrying these up his driveway to be chopped up and put on his fire. We only grabbed one as we knew we had an old slatted bed in the garage which we could recycle. Dismantle the pallet and try to remove all the nails.

Step 2:
Divide the wood into 2 piles. Only one pile will need notches cut into them. Work out where the notches should be cut. Measure and mark on each end of the planks in the “notch” pile. We marked our notches 60mm in from the end and 30mm deep. The width of the notch should be just big enough for the “other” planks to wedge into. Our notches were a little bigger so are a bit loose but this will not affect the overall sturdiness of the compost bin.

Step 3: cut the notches. For this we used a jigsaw.

Step 4: assemble in place.

Step 5: layer compost.

All done. Brilliant.

Frost damage on a Puka

2010-07-18T23:06:00.000-07:00

We’ve had some great frosty mornings lately. Usually this doesn’t bother me and I quite like wiping a gap in the steamed up kitchen windows to see if jack has visited. Sometimes the back lawn looks like it’s had a dusting of snow overnight – very pretty. The morning chauffeur (hubby) has a different reaction to the frost. For him it means lugging bottles of water outside to throw over the iced up car.

Because the sun goes down so early in winter I usually don’t get a chance to look around the garden after work so I was horrified last week to discover my lovely Puka (Meryta sinclairii) had been struck by frost damage. The Puka was a donation to the garden from a friend about a year ago. It was root bound in a tiny pot so I transplanted it to a larger pot. It loved that improvement of living quarters and immediately started producing lush new leaves. Then I thought it would like life even better if it was in the ground. I planted it towards the back of the garden on the south side of the shed and slightly sheltered by a large old plum tree. Even though it liked its new location, even flowering, I wasn’t entirely happy with its placement and when I was offered two hydrangeas I knew that the hydrangeas had to go there instead.

So….. That is how a healthy young Puka found its way to an open lower part of the garden with no protection from frosts and getting the morning sun. It was only a matter of days after the move that it was struck by the frost. The exposed leaves lost their colour, some turning brown, and drooped horribly. I have since covered it every evening with an old mosquito net to prevent further damage and covered the soil with a good layer of mulch. Only time will tell if the Puka will fully recover. Not all leaves have been damaged and some only partly. I have researched what to do and it seems the best thing is to wait until spring (at least until the last frost) and assess the situation. Then I will cut out the severely damaged leaves and pray that new growth is still forthcoming. I blame myself. A fellow gardener had warned me that pukas were susceptible to frost but I hadn’t paid enough attention.

Winding the clock

2010-06-04T15:58:00.000-07:00

This has nothing to do with gardening. Winding the clock at Old Govt Buildings.

How much is too much when it comes to topiary?

2010-03-13T21:35:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I finally got the chance to visit Richmond Garden in the Wairarapa. This is a privately owned formal garden which opens its gates for a fee to the public. Inspired by the 16th and 17th century gardens in Italy the owners designed theirs less than 10 years ago. I couldn't help but be impressed by the mammoth task they had set themselves but at the same time I couldn't help wondering "why bother"?

The owners cleared mature native trees from the property and replaced them with hundreds, if not thousands, of European specimens. Everything is green - not a splash of colour anywhere. That's just not my cup of tea. The endless box hedging clipped within an inch of its life seems stifling and unnatural. Give me wild borders, roses clambering for attention or even lush natives doing their own thing naturally any day.

I shudder to think of how much work is involved in maintaining this sort of garden. Could you ever just sit back and enjoy a glass of wine from the balcony (and what a great balcony that was)? One leaf out of place could throw the whole symmetry out. I'd be a nervous wreck.

The best part of my tour was the vegetable garden. There the box hedging is seen in wonderful contrast to the rambling beans and the tomatoes laden with ripe fruit. At last I saw some colour.

I have, however, started toying with the idea of incorporating my own version of topiary into my quite informal garden. I am growing 2 little Buxus and am slowly shaping them into balls. I don't know why I just said slowly, it's not like Buxus grows any other way. I am also trying out Lonicera Nitida,or poor mans buxus - perfect for the impatient gardener like me. Plus I have grown some Rosemary from cuttings and am attempting to snip them into standards. When these all grow to a significant size I will place them in or near various beds to act as focal points. Stay tuned!

Time Lapse

2010-01-24T00:09:00.001-08:00

I've put together a little time lapse video of my garden over a year or so.

Christmas Garden

2009-12-28T19:28:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve through the back doors

I have neglected my Blog for a few months but not my garden. It is now in its prime and just in time to host a lovely sunny Christmas day with my family. The breeze was a bit strong at times so we ate indoors and retreated to the garden to moan about eating too much. The boys played cricket on one side of the garden - I tried not to screech too much as I saw them foraging around the Holly Hocks for the lost ball - while the ladies attempted to keep the hula hoop going (a present for me). The teen son retreated to the rear but could never quite escape the attention of his little cousins who rarely see him.

The hula champ

Like mother like daughter?

2009-10-05T23:04:00.000-07:00

I am just teaching myself how to use a morphing program. This is my first try at morphing a photo of myself into a photo of my mum.

Losing Lavender

2009-09-14T19:10:00.000-07:00

Now that Spring has sprung I feel I should give this blog some of my attention. During the cold months I read my gardening books and magazines and looked out the window at the morning frosts. On the less wet days I did the slow tour of my garden, sometimes moving plants around but most of the time imagining how things will look when the sun came back.

I lost a lavender bush that formed part of a little hedge. With a gap in the middle and no sign of that type of lavendar in the garden centre I attempted to replant a larger lavender from a different part of the garden. It was a lovely big bush - until I moved it! Not only did it look ridiculously large bewteen it's new neighbours but it just wasn't happy and never regained it's former splendour. Weeks later I got a call from my local garden centre telling me they had bought in a plant for me. I raced down there and ran back to once again move that once former beauty. I've heard that you shouldn't cut lavenders back to the woody stems and although I've chopped one right back before and it recovered I wasn't about to try with this one. I have moved it again and filled the hole with my new little plant. It looks happy.

Until now I hadn't realised there were so many different types of lavender. I guess I should just take cuttings from the existing plants but I haven't had much success with that.

And nOw For SoMethinG ComPletEly DiFferEnt

2009-05-18T15:38:00.000-07:00

HOW SMART IS YOUR RIGHT FOOT?

1. While sitting in a chair with your feet on the floor, lift your right foot and make clockwise circles.
2. Now, while doing this, draw the number '6' in the air with your right hand.

Your foot will change direction.
I told you so!! And there's nothing you can do about it! You and I both know how stupid it is, but before the day is done you are going to try it again, if you've not already done so.

A GARDEN LAPSE

2009-05-10T18:49:00.000-07:00

For a while over summer I must admit that I neglected my garden. Sure I was sitting in it and admiring it but when I spotted areas that needed attention I turned my back. For a short time I just couldn't be bothered. It was almost as if I'd looked at it for so long I was no longer interested. The pretty clumps of Shastas around the Plum tree were just more things I needed to dead head. The beautifully unruly Cosmos was just an annoying thing we all had to wade past to get to the table.
Thankfully, that ugly destructive phase has passed and now I am throwing myself into every inch of the garden. It's a magical time when I can plan and move and envisage next summer's bounty. I've even spent time in my Mum's garden helping her clear an area for an apple tree. I think the change occured after I returned from a weekend away. My family and I spent a few days at a homestead in the country (Tinui Station Homestead, Wairarapa, NZ). The owners had a beautiful garden and upon my return I felt quite inspired.
I read lots of gardening books (probably too many) and I buy or borrow the gardening magazines and I read the gardening blogs but sometimes it takes a good old nosey around somoeone else's garden to get those juices flowing again.

The work begins

2009-04-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

Japanese Anenome in the rain

So summer has passed and although the weather is still pleasantly mild the garden is not looking very pretty. Fortunately this is the time I love. Time to cut back things, move other things and brutally eject those plants that just didn't work. My muscles have a satsifying ache - a welcome feeling, knowing how many easter eggs are heading straight to my hips.
I admit I moved some roses well before their dormant stage but I have faith that they will forgive me. Not so the lawn which continues to shrink as I enlarge the garden beds. My husband eyes me with suspicion each time I take the spade out of the shed. I've told him I'm doing it for him - less lawn for mowing, which is his domain. He can't really stop me, after all I'm the one holding the spade.

The Birds

2009-03-14T19:23:00.000-07:00

What happened to the weather?

2009-03-10T22:17:00.000-07:00

I'm sure I ask that question every season. It sneaks up on you. Just when you get settled into the balmy evenings of dining al fresco on the produce from the veggie patch and sipping the gin and tonics with the lemons from the tree - bam! The wind picks up, the temperature drops and all the tomatoes split from too much rain.
Our wonderful weather forecasters, shaman that they are, predicted a long pleasant summer. And there I was believing them. Fool that I was.
Anyway, I can continue to garden by virtue of the internet by reading my favourite garden blogs which happen to be in the opposite hemisphere.
Thanks guys.

It's a Small World

2009-02-15T14:18:00.000-08:00

More often than not I look at the garden as a whole, sometimes even squinting at sections to view it in a different frame. Now I have found an even more amazing viewpoint. Walking around the garden with my camera set on macro I discovered the most amazing world. Just look at these incredible images - the colours, the symmetry, the complex formations. Fantastic!

a curious critter

Hibiscus

Stamen of Hollyhock

Cosmos

stamen of Bouganvilliea

Bug feasting on dried Hollyhock seeds

The impatient gardener

2009-02-05T20:43:00.000-08:00

The best and the worst thing about gardening is the waiting game. In the Southern Hemisphere we are in the middle of summer and my garden is at it's peak. Everything is in full bloom and the birds, bees and butterflies are loving it. The tomatoes are in abundance and the lemon tree is keeping up with the Gin and Tonics.

Already though I am making mental notes for the winter work and imagining how things will look next summer. Am I the only one who does this? I have plans to move shrubs, shuffle the roses so the colours aren't so muted, expand one bed to make room for more dahlias, transplant all the self-seeded Hollyhocks to the back of a bed.... the list goes on. None of these things I can do until the growth has slowed, and even then I won't know if my decisions were right until next summer and then the cycle starts again.

It's not that I am not happy with my garden - I love it - but there is a sense of dissatisfaction which keeps me going, and that will probably never go away. I guess if I had a garden which required no thought, just a bit of maintenance, then I'd lose interest.

Renting a garden

2009-01-23T21:14:00.000-08:00

Despite my love of gardening I actually don't own my own garden and never have. People, non-gardeners mind you, can't understand why I would bother putting any effort into someone else's property. For me it's a no-brainer. When you rent a house there isn't a lot you can do to the actual rooms to fit your taste. You can't knock down walls or extend rooms but you can do that with a garden and it will always be an improvement from doing nothing. I have yet to meet a landlord who has complained about me working on their garden. In fact in most cases I am adding value to their property.

The cost is very low too. I take cuttings from plants I like, I make my own compost and fertilizer, and I save money by growing my own vegetables.

I spend a lot of time in the garden, whether I'm gardening or lying in the shade reading or hosting a BBQ. To me it makes perfect sense to work on a garden whether you own it or not. For the last few years I have been renting a house with a fantastic space at the back. It is large and flat - quite a rarity in this area. There were some beds already growing a mess of plants but I have extended them and added new ones. There are a few limitations though, like the ugly concrete path dissecting the garden and the concrete area you need to cross to get to the garden. How I would love to rip all that up. For the time being though I will just work on training the focus away from such eyesores.

Even though I don't own it this is my garden. One day I will have my own garden, preferably a large area in the country where self sufficiency will be my aim. Until that time I will continue to be the model tenant and enjoy the fruits of my labour.

Make Your Own Ice Bucket

2009-01-01T17:21:00.000-08:00

This is a great little project to show off all your flowers and looks wonderful on the outdoor dining table. The finished product is sure to impress your guests.

STEP 1

Collect a variety of flower heads from your garden. For this one I selected Cornflowers, Shasta Daisies, Marguerites, little rose buds, Sweet Peas, Lavender, and even some Dandelion flowers.

STEP 2

Put all the flowers in a plastic container. I used a round one here but you can use any shape you like as long as it fits in your freezer. Also it must be large enough for a bottle of wine to fit in the centre and still have an area at least an inch thick around. Add water.

STEP 3

Place another container in the centre which is roughly the size of a bottle. If you have a large enough freezer (which I don't) you could actually use a bottle as the centre mold. I have used a pickle jar. There should be some flowers at the base under the jar. The jar will need to be weighted down to stop it floating up. Arrange the flowers around the container to get a nice display once it is frozen.

Place in freezer.

STEP 4

When the water is frozen remove the inner jar by filling it with warm water. This require a bit of patience. You don't want to melt too much of the ice or crack it. Run some water over the outside of your container to loosen the whole thing.

Your finished product should look something like this. Sit it on a plate, put your bottle of wine inside it and enjoy.

I Love Summer

2008-12-26T14:37:00.000-08:00

So we survived Christmas. Yay. The big test for my garden is coming up. Every year on New Year's day my garden hosts a BBQ for all the family - about 12 adults and as many children. The adults perform the required oh-ing and ah-ing at the garden and the children do their best to destroy everything with the cricket ball. Usually in winter, once things have died back, I find all manner of toys nestled under the foliage. This year we have a badminton net set up which should do considerably less damage in the long run.

Some of the dahlias are just starting to open so hopefully by next week they will be in full bloom. And the Cosmos are just about there too. I've given up trying to control the tomatoes. In the first few weeks of growth they get a lot of attention - pinching out the side shoots, applying fertilizer, and carefully supporting them to the bamboo stakes. At this time though they get quite unruly and dense. So I just make sure they get enough nutrients and protection from the wind. I figure that as long as they are producing fruit then all is well.

The Monarch butterflies are finding the swan plants and laying their eggs. Two caterpillars (above) have already had their fill and wandered off to make their cocoon somewhere. I love summer.

What to grow over the arch

2008-11-26T11:59:00.000-08:00

I am very excited.I have been given a garden arch.

I have it in place after extending a few beds but am now faced with the daunting task of deciding what to grow over it. Ideally I'd love to move a red climbing rose to it. The rose is currently going crazy on the fence beside the vegie garden. Although it is growing really well there I should use that space for more beans or Snow Peas. Anyway, moving the rose with the least amount of trauma should happen in winter so I'm still faced with a bare arch for summer.

So I need something quick growing and temporary. Sweet Peas? Beans?

Tigridia

2008-11-23T22:35:00.000-08:00

Things are humming along in the garden now. The warmer weather has brought on a wonderful flush of healthy blooms on the Iceberg Roses. I have these planted between pink bush roses which are covered in buds but not open yet. Hopefully the Icebergs will continue to flower for a few months yet.

The Tigridia (pictured) is popping up in great clusters. This is a delicate flower which only lasts about a day but I get 2 flowers per stem and they are quite amazing. I've never seen Tigridia growing anywhere else and it took a bit of research to discover what they were. They grow from little bulbs which must have been planted by the garden's previous caretaker. They are great multipliers so each year I get more and each year I give them to other keen gardeners to grow in their own gardens.

Spring work

2008-11-23T22:30:00.000-08:00

So the wind has picked up again. The weather peeps call it Spring wind which leads me to hope that it will stop at the end of the season. But then again maybe after that they will call it Summer wind. Not much damage this time around. The tomatoes I planted a little too early are clinging on for dear life. One of the Zuchinni seedlings has been wrenched from the ground but I was being a bit unrealistic thinking they would last an early planting.

9th Nov. I've just dug a new garden bed around the base of a large old Plum tree. I have managed to create this without any expense just from transplanting a few things from other overcrowded beds - Shasta Daisies, Catmint and white Petunias should fill up the space quickly. On my photos page you will see a before and after photo. Hopefully in about a month I can show you the end result. The Catmint (Nepeta) has been grown from one tiny cutting I got last summer. This is one of the easiest things to grow. There are now at least 12 plants dotted around the beds all from the same cutting, which is just as well as our cat is completely addicted. Catmint tends to grow best in sandy soil.

Today's garden work also included fertilising all the garden. I make my own liquid fertiliser in a large lidded bucket with water and sheep pellets. Every week this gets stirred up and the pellets eventually break down. I dilute this mixture to a tea-like consistency to put on the garden. Any stronger and the plants could burn. In the growing season I fertilise every second week.

A garden in black and white

2008-11-19T18:02:00.001-08:00

Imagine a world with no colour. Recently I read an article about some siblings who all suffered from a rare congenital disorder (I forget its name) which meant they could only see in black and white. One of the sisters was interviewed and she spoke of her garden. At the front of her house she has a large Rhododendron. She can’t discern the flowers from the leaves so it is only when the flower petals drop to the ground that she knows it is in flower. I look around my garden and delight at the colours which nature has produced and wonder if I would have that same pleasure if the colours weren’t there.

Is it the scent of the Sweet Peas, the form of the gnarly old plum tree, the activity of the insects and butterflies, the reward of a days weeding, the seven different shades of a fading rose, or all of these things put together which fuels my passion? Would taking one of these elements out of the equation lessen that desire?

Through the Arch

2008-11-18T21:02:00.000-08:00

The arch is drowning in blossoms cascading down its limbs. The intoxicating scent lures me towards the promise of what lies beyond. I step through, tendrils brushing my arms in welcome. Petals drop at my feet like red carpet for the premier of it's timeless movie for which there is only one invitation. Mine.