First of the Season...

Lots happening here and there, it goes with the time of year I guess :)
We have some new faces popping up through the garden, it is so nice to have some good long hot days in Canterbury!

Harvesting the berries this week, we have had great success with the strawberries (Chandler especially!) and have a pottle or two of other mixed berries - black currant, red currant, raspberries.



Shame about the wind, but its what we are famous for I guess - the ole Nor' West wind!
The tomatoes are starting to appreciate the weather and are growing accordingly - slowly but surely.
A healthy dose of composted pooh and some seaweed is helping.

Have harvested some seeds in the past two weeks and learned how to winnow fine seeds successfully.  Swede, Red Cabbage, Mesculun varieties such as rocket, mizuna and mibuna, Black Kale and two varieties of carrot, and two of lettuce.

Sunflower - Giant Russian (6ft and still growing!)

Salmon pink Hollyhock

The first of my flowers are coming to flower this week - more of the red opium poppies, but after losing one to the wind, I have staked the remainder.

 I also found a purple variety which have just started flowering, and theyre quite smart - an unusual colour, so quite striking and very tall like their red cousin.

Thats all for now,
Happy Gardening!!
Take care
EB
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Photo Friday - Just the Pics :)

Marvellous Monday...

What a great Monday morning!
A drop of rain overnight, and a rather pesky wind out there, but its going to be nice later, so I can get back out and finish what I started yesterday.
I have a few new plants, so Im looking to get out there and plant them.
I have dug around and  found a pot large enough to put my nectarine tree in. It hasnt set fruit (yet), I dont know if it will this year, but thats ok. Its six foot tall, and Im sure its dying to get into the ground and get some growing done! I keep recalling the taste of  sweet juicy nectarines. I hope it does have fruit this year :)
Ive found that the chick peas are growing. Of all place, under the overhang of the potatoes leaves. About six or eight plants, which sounds good! Ive just read up on them, and I dont know if they will come to fruition given we are in the South, but they do prefer cooler temperatures, so who knows. I will try and see. It would be a real boon to be able to have chick peas on the menu, especially later in the Summer.

The first big opium poppy flower popped open on Saturday. It is always fascinating watching the bees, you can hear them too, buzzing inside the flowers, its really cute. The flowers never last long, but there is always another one or two in progress to follow along.

We are waiting for some compost to arrive, and then we can get sorted over at the school. The garden is in need of a  good weed, and  some companions planted alongside the plants. I see someone has donated some tomatoes, which is fantastic. They have a good system in place, that means all the children get a chance to help if they want to. Strangely, they all offer to help pick or plant. Not so keen to weed :-)
Have been reading about a community garden in Northland that has just planted a massive potato garden. What an awesome idea to support the families in the area. Ive been thinking on this, the idea is awesome, and can be expanded upon given more space... Love the idea that we can help each other feed our families!!

Well best get back into it,
The compost truck is here!

Have a happy Monday,
Love 'n' Shovels!

EB
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Sunday again... Witches, Fireworks and Other Stuff!

Its that busy time of year again.
The weeks are slipping by very quickly. This year, Mr 12 is counting down. Miss 6 is going to be gutted when she realises she has lots of *non-learning* days. She loves her routine.
I have noticed the calendar has started to have scratchings of busy times ahead added to it... Im not sure why, but Im busier than ever this year, the children are getting more involved as they get older, I guess.
Theres Halloween,  Guy Fawkes, The Santa Parade, Christmas in the Park, and Christmas, New Year... all these events just keep ticking over the weeks...

The latest catch - 4lb Trout 

Mr 16 has been at it again. Catching Stuff. He makes life very interesting, this lad. Hes an all-rounder, generally good at most things. Dont tell him I said that :-) But its true. Hes a great kid. He is working when he isnt at school, or fishing. His greatest love is Fishin' an' Huntin'!! He wouldve made a great cowboy too,  weve discovered this year that hes great with cattle. We are really fortunate to have had two trout to eat this term, and a salmon. I love trout, but the salmon was *delish*... We just bake them with lemon. Its simple and so tasty. We are all mad-keen on fishing, and the yellow-eyed Herrings that come up the Avon river from the sea dont stand a chance when my little family are present with rods in the water. Great skills G!

 We got through Halloween.
Do you celebrate at Your House?
Not here, we dont celebrate it, but there are plenty around here who do. Many little local drifts of witches, ghosts, and vampires. We got passed by. I think the notice on the gate that said We Dont Celebrate Halloween helped. Bad Mummy? Callous Neighbour... meh. My choice. I certainly dont condone targetted sugar collections. Kids get enough sugar these days!
I feel a bit like the Halloween Grinch :-)
Then we head into Guy Fawkes territory. We have a few crackers usually and a bbq if the weather allows. The past two years havent been overly pleasant - usually windy at this time of year here. We do enjoy watching others Firework displays. If youre up at Victoria Park, the view is great.  It is right at the top of the Port Hills -you can see right over the entire city... Awesome!
The view from the sand dunes in North Brighton is awesome too, you can see the council firework display on the pier. Again, its usually pretty chilly, wind mostly, but theres always plenty of people present.

I think I have my own displays erupting in the Garden too. Theres Iris, some nigella, alyssum, soldier poppies, chive flowers, some big displays from the calendula too this year. The french lavender is bursting too, I love the scent when the tips are picked!

The first tall Red Opium poppies are bursting out this week. Theyre so lovely and with them opening, the bees come.




The borage has had a head start this year and its gorgeous blue flowers smother the plants. I have at least 100 strawberry flowers for the bees to get into - I dont think my broad beans were a success. They are smothered in flowers but nothing is *beaning up* Its the first year Ive grown them, will try something different next year once I figure out what went wrong this year...? It may bee (get it? LOL) pollination related.

The cats are enjoying lazing all through the rising warm piles of composting materials. Especially the straw and the grass. Lazy brats...

Have several plants about to give seed.
The carrots - Paris ball and St Valery, swede, black kale (cavolo nero), silver beet (fordhook), yellow chard, golden beetroot, celery, leeks (Caretan), calendula (Orange & yellow), lettuce (3 varieties) parsley (*Afro*), sweet cicely, figwort, purple onions (Purplette), and some sprouting broccoli... though Im not sure, I think the aphids have got to the swede tips. Im almost ok with that, to sacrifice the swede so other things dont get munched.

Still brewing my own comfrey tea.
 Had my eldest over this week to get plants and fixings for his new garden. He is so funny, he absolutely hates the smell of the comfrey tea. Incidentally, it stinks like nothing else, so I dont blame him. I think Gardeners get over the smell when they realize just how good it will be for their plants maybe? Not Dee. He was truly disgusted by the smell. I sent him off with some rubber gloves and a couple of 3 litre containers of it though. Cheap when its free eh?!!  I dont think I will see him with his own tub of comfrey, but he does have a comfrey plant!  We sorted him with some plants, some worms and some tea.


Have been applying the contents of my barrel to the garden over at the school too. The children are excited, as their strawberries are getting bigger by the day. And their potato pile is going great guns! Lots! I just hope it doesnt go the same way as our rhubarb plants. I mean to say, who actually STEALS from a community garden for gods sake. I only hope their need was greater than that of the children at school. We had plans for rhubarb and custard :( Still, the garlic for their garlic bread is well under way, and there are other plans for some wonderful plantings...

Well after the past couple of grey days, its back to beautiful again. Loving the blue sky and fluffy clouds...
I hope youre all doing ok where you are... Our World has certainly had some definitive disruptions of late. My heart goes out to the people of New York. Flooding, Storms... from one disaster to another, it doesnt matter what it is, we all must help where we can, if we can.
You never know when it will be your turn to offer help or accept aid.
On that note, Im still refreshing my water bottles every three months.
Enuff Said.

Love to You
From my Garden to Yours.
E BUTTERFLY
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Bees and other beautiful things

I read recently, that sadly, the Clarence River area has been affected by the virus Varroa that kills off bees. How sad that is, the best honey in NZ comes from our back country. Life as we know it pales without the bees!. Of course we need bees for pollination, and it is Natures way of doing its best to maintain balance around us.
... Today, right here in the city, I watched my borage, comfrey and lavender plants, as the bees hummed  around the flowers, bouncing in, doing their business, then moving on. It wasnt a lot of bees at all, just a handful, and the odd darling bumblebee. I love watching them. I enjoy their happy humming.  Long live the bees. I hope.

There are flower buds smothering the plants here, from the citrus right through to the strawberries and the broad beans. Not a lot of pollination going on yet though. My companion plants are a bit slower to flower this year, but theyre getting there. A lot of them have been self sown, and are just starting to stretch their heads up, buds unfurling. Theres Red opium poppy, some soldier poppies, beautiful blue borage and a handful of others. New ones this year include Nigella, Snapdragon, more Granny Bonnets, and Delphinium and the gorgeous Cleome. Foxgloves have finally set their flowers free from the tall flower spikes, and Im loving their speckled throats.  The sunflowers we sprinkled in a few spots are shooting upward, Im hoping they will cope with the wind, given one of the new locations is quite exposed. At worst, I can tie them to some bamboo til they gain strength...

We have seeds setting on some Swedes, some black Kale, Leeks, Walking Onions, St Valery Carrot, and some mesculun varieties. Im loving the new Valerian and pretty Pineapple sage. Even the echinacea is poking its wee head up from the soil. We have red, white and black currants on the bushes, just waiting for more sun... I love this time of year... and blueberries... we have them growing too! (Not nearly enough to satisfy this lot, but I have plans for more bushes!)

Eating out the garden has commenced, we have a few culinary herbs that are helping things along, and of course plenty of lettuce... which I am giving away whereever I can because there is no way we can eat them all... Plenty of potatoes which along with the yams are doing their thing. The early potatoes are just beginning to develop their flowers, and I cant wait to see

So there we go, no photos this time, life has just gotten quite busy and Im finding time in the garden to be really scarce but most enjoyable. I still cant believe some of the things Ive found to be growing successfully. This gardening thing is really cool :-)

Love to All
E BUTTERFLY
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Wandering Foxglove...

I had the devils own job being a successful bidder on my foxglove seeds, which must mean theyre pretty awesome, being so popular. I sowed some seed last year. I dont know if youve sown Foxglove, but they are  so tiny! I got 50 seeds - Pams Choice - a showy one. All of a sudden, there are no plants growing, so Im thinking my bid was a donation to the cause rather than a purchase!
Yesterday we replaced a gas bottle, and just on a whim, I went down the back of the house to see if the native plants had self seeded - it seems they like to grow in the shade, and can be transplanted throughout the garden. No - no seedlings this time. BUT. To my surprise, I see four or five rather large clumps of FOXGLOVE. Uh huh. So that ends the mystery. They didnt like it out in full sun, theyve taken up residence down the back side.

Oh Lord - the heavens have just opened and it is raining slushy hail. Very thick. A nice day to be inside. We hadnt planned any gardening today, so I will research the next few steps instead. I have two sickies at home, so its a good day to stay in! It has changed so quickly, I was just sitting here admiring the sunrise. I could see the sun creeping its way into the sky, and a bit of blue sky. Now it looks like we may get the snow promised.
Such is this transitory weather into Spring eh?

Nearly all my excess crown pumpkin seeds are gone - I think I have about six packets left, and I started with 72... So somewhere in Christchurch there are people planning Pumpkins in their gardens which is cool.

Yesterday I planted my ulluco, who probably wonder what the heck happened given todays weather :) And two rows of later yams, and another 2 varieties of potatoes. Potato salad here we come! Its a Summer favourite here.

Well, back into it I guess, dishes to do, people to fuss over, and homework to complete...
Love to You

E BUTTERFLY
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Banana Bread Morning - Flooding - Road Work!

http://www.facebook.com/RumiQuotes

Another Mad Monday morning - its bitterly cold out there, the wind is whipping through and to top it off, its raining so hard, it is flooding in some parts of poor old Canterbury.  I cant believe how many places have surface water sitting on it. The parks around Avonside are soggy and very rice-paddy field-like. The gutters are all overflowing and the cars whoosh past. I dont mind the rain, in fact, I like walking in the rain, its the bitter wind that is with it this time that makes my eyes sting! Definitely hat & boots weather! The magpies were out this morning pecking for worms, but they didnt have to try hard, as the worms had made their way out onto the concrete path. 

Despite our energetic Family soccer game this weekend, we got up early and made Banana bread. Nothing better to use up the *tired* browning bananas that noone likes!
RECIPE HERE - easy!

No stiff limbs this week, just a yawn or two. It was toasty warm with the heat pump on and so banana bread just made getting up worthwhile. Little chick decided to snuggle in a bit later than usual, and it was only fleet footing that got us away on time. Cor, it was a different planet outside though... brrr.

We have a broken sewer main in the street, after another mid-street cave-in, we have our own bunch of fluro-vested Cave-in men to fix it... and their grotty caravan. It sits in the middle of the street - guess where - yeah, you got it, just opposite my drive way.

Our new purple sage

Have you been watching the Olympics? 

Its the closing ceremony today, and I think I might just get the chance to watch it. No point in going out to do much in the garden today... in fact, I see I have some surface flooding to deal with. I just might raise ducks... and if it continues, goldfish!  :) 

Tansy - the wandering companion to Raspberry

Popular Red Poppy

I have listed some more seeds, and we have made a whole lot more envelopes for the enslaught of new seeds that we are hoping to grow this season. I see the little poppies we grew last year successfully self-sowed, they were very pretty, white with deep crimson frilled edges. Fingers  xed I can get them through to seeding this year, and save some!

I have some deep purple Liriope growing now, and it will look lovely under the fruit trees.

The frilled Austrian lettuce are popping up now, and the buttercrunch are settling in. Our broad beans are almost 40cm high, and I see the boysenberry has curled itself around the stakes, so it is well over six foot tall now... gulp. Im always nervous about planting things that grow *crazy* so I hope I can contain it.

Hope youre safe and warm,

Bee Gardening Happy

Love,
EButterfly

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Planning and Planting - Almost that time again!~

Its almost planting time again!
I love this time of year.  The days have been very long while it has been wet, but Ive dug over some of the front garden and Ive made a list, and checked it twice (or more!)
I just cant wait to get out there, seeds in hand.
Im waiting to see if some of the cuttings Ive taken will actually grow, and Ive sprinkled some seeds around the place in the hope theyll spring forth and liven up the bare spots in the garden as companion plants (marigolds and calendula). I see borage is coming up already, also bulbs - some narcissus, to remind us that Spring isnt far away. The hollyhocks and poppies will be fantastic.

I cant wait for tomato season. I miss fresh tomatoes, basil and lettuce... but it wont be long and the lettuce will be back... I have frilled cos raising its head already, and buttercrunch have just sprouted. The new mesculun bed is looking promising amongst the little sticks Ive also planted, to keep cats out.

If we get some harsh frosts, I have made little cloches out of drink bottles, so ... hopefully theyll help.
Im starting off seeds inside too. The school are doing Scarlet Runner beans, per child, and a Sunflower plant, per child as they learn about seeds, Spring and nutrition.  Im glad I can pass the seeds along, its a good thing. Just wish I could do more.
The class gardens are going to be dug over at the end of the month, and then we can get going with the planting!

I had some lemon and kowhai seeds in the fridge, and have taken them out to get them started. I nicked the end of each kowhai seed, and will they take off quite nicely after that. I have about a dozen three inch high seedlings from last Summer, so maybe I will make good progress with these ones too. The lemon seeds are a bit stubborn, but they seem to kick off once it gets warmer. Last years lemon pips are now small but healthy trees - about two inches tall. Yes, I know... slow. But hey, Im not going anywhere, I have time to wait and watch them grow...
Then theres the Quince seeds. Theyve started to germinate. Fingers crossed I can get them to grow too.

Not much else happening on the gardening front...but its a time of promise. Soon, little butterfly, soon!! :)
Loving the sunshine, even these cooler days with no wind are great.
Watching the Olympics is a good excuse to stay inside :-)

Love to all,
EB
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Simple Success! No words, just pics

Marmite Shortage... Plants... Seeds etc

Almost a week since I wrote a post, I cant believe how quickly that week has flown by!
Its wet and we are hunkered down today. Mr almost-12 didnt want to get up, and I cant say I blame him. Yesterday was a stunner, very warm. Last night even, was warm, a perfect weekend really, despite the aftershocks weve been feeling of late. The hedgehogs were out snuffling along the drive, looking for remnants of cat food. They make so much noise! We caught sight of one, and Blaise got the torch while Arlais got out of bed to have a closer look. He was a good size, they are such interesting, cute creatures...

So, here I am. Ive just lightly spread my last (ever maybe?) pikelet with marmite. Who'd have thought we would have a shortage of one of our kiwi staples? So Im picking the stores will be selling out too. Its such an unusual taste, but people either love it, or dont like it at all, or prefer Vegemite. Personally, we grew up with vegemite only - Mother loved it on her toast. Ex-hubbys family had marmite. We, when married, always had a jar of both...
Heres the story here - MARMITE SHORTAGE

Anyways... I spent a greater part of a very hot, pleasant day out in the garden yesterday. I dug over the soil and composted. I added horse poo and dug it in. I pulled out many! weeds and spent plants - beans that had given their all to make the remaining pods into seed pods, brown and twisted... and Tomato plants that had really done their dash - time to get ready for Winter and build up the soil. Ive also kept my marigolds tidy and the seed pods trimmed (seed saved) They make a splash of colour in the Winter garden, when not much else is around, and are excellent companion plants to most vegetables, also they create a general deterrent for most garden pests. Ive grown mine alongside my  potatoes, under my tomatoes and around my strawberries.Planting marigolds enhances the growth of basil, broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, eggplant, gourds, kale, potatoes, squash and tomatoes. Marigold also makes a good companion plant to melons because it deters beetles.

Loving the seeds I am harvesting this season. After having three bean plants last year, we had NINE this year. Next year Im going to continue with our old staple - Scarlet Runner, but try something like a butter bean and a string bean, and see if I can successfully get a better crop of Borlotti. I just cant quite keep them healthy for some reason (possibly hedgehogs!!) They grow pitifully.

I have a huge Winter deluxe pie pumpkin seed stash. Next year Ill do three plants of those instead of this years one vine... And hopefully keep the hedgehogs away. I had two live pumpkins on the vine still, but one died -- small nibbles like wasp bites or slug sucks? The other I found yesterday and I gather the vine holding it onto the plant has been bitten open. Im not expecting it to last long. Annoying!
I would also like to try a squash variety next season... I got one squash off our Hubbards golden nugget vine this season. It did very well, given it was late into the soil.
This is whats been happening around here...

Drying Tomatoes to store for stews and soups

Black Cherry - Sweet, but must be eaten quickly. Tend to crack if not picked when ready.

Black Krim and Purple Calabash. The Pleated one is Purple Calabash

A small Yellow Brandywine - GORGEOUS beefsteak that is fruity to taste, excellent cooked

Small Freakazoid Tomato, from F1 seeds. Grape Sized & Sweet!

Tommy-Toe cherry (red) Yellow Pear or Jaune De Coeur du Pigeon

Dried Tomatoes

Hubbards Golden Nugget Squash

Harvest - Black Boy Peaches, Green ripening Toms etc

Green Tomato & Lime Jam

So thats what we are up to... Hope life is treating you kindly.
Love
E BUTTERFLY
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