Merry Christmas from The Lazy A

Have started food prep for Christmas, and now I wait for the pavlova to cook. Ive nervously checked, and  its looking great... smells how it should. We have ideas for smothering our cream filled pavlova with our own home grown berries this year. Mr 12 is head chef, and Im practicing tonight so he can make another one tomorrow... Lots of cooking to do, and this year, everyone who is going to here, will be helping. It has been thoroughly enjoyable.
We have had a good round of end-of-year functions and pre-christmas celebrations that we have all enjoyed and definitely need more sleep in general :) A bit bleary-eyed you might say!

Before I sign off, I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
Thanks for reading my blog, I hope next year will be a busy year - 2012 had some big ups, and some pretty terrible lows too. Nothing we cant handle, and I know there are worse here that people have to cope with.

Where ever you are in the World, drive safely, remember your sun screen or keep yourself warm, and swim between the flags.. and pay it forward if you can...
Thinking of  those of you who have lost special loved ones this year and have an empty place at the table this Christmas...

Til next year,

Love and Abundant Blessings,
Earth Butterfly
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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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7 Oclock Closing... Garden Love.

Cant believe it. Ive just dragged myself inside, away from the Garden. It is SEVEN OCLOCK and the day is  just now coming to a very serene and beautiful end.
The sky is a creamy yellow, and in the horizon, streaks of high cloud and the occasional puff of grey clouds, but just little ones. Fingers crossed, tomorrow will follow as one in the same.
I like this time of night, it is so peaceful, and although it is getting dark now and hard to see, the garden looked a good bit tidier than when I began this morning. Bliss - achy bones and satisfaction. Cant wait for tomorrow, and all it has in store.

We were sitting outside having dinner, and admiring the sky, and noticing the plants that are seeding. Giving their all, so they can continue through their seed.  We have tall towers of black kale, and purple cabbage with nodding seed heads, lots of buds full and about to flower.
The calendulas big flower heads are so very noticeable being neon orange in the half light. Like big beacons. Beautiful newly planted pineapple sage flowers look like cheeky little tongues, a good splash of scarlet red as the sun goes down.
 Everything is growing on and on, the small plants becoming bigger with each week. I love this time of year, the time of Promise.

I promise, Im going back there tomorrow :)

Love to You and Yours,
EBUTTERFLY
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After our fantastic Electrical storm and the thunder and lightening displays over the city the other night, yesterday was another good day, the weather was perfect for gardening. Between the enthusiasm of the little people and the planning we had done earlier, our garden turned into something pretty fantastic in just an exuberant hour.

Drunken Women Lettuce

7 or 8 helpers have planted Sage, Rosemary (upright) and Thyme, Chives, 2 Lavenders (grosso) and 5 strawberries (chandler) and about 40 lettuces! (Buttercrunch, Drunken Woman and Austrian Greenleaf frilled) The children really enjoy helping, but as one pointed out, Weeding is Boring, so the planting is the best thing.
A liberal composting ( horse poo), a sprinkle of blood and bone, a check of the bokashi units, and a flick over with the hose, and they look like theyre at home!

Today is a bit greyer, but the atmosphere is warm, a light breeze. I heard this morning they expect the wind to be a problem later but for now, its really pleasant, and very nice to have all the windows open, and the doors secure so the house airs out. Its SPRING! Definitely has that feeling about it. Time to throw things out, dust things off, and plant like crazy!?

Weve been making soup today - using up all the ends of the vegetables in the freezer, including the last of our tomatoes from last season. Apparently it tastes great... I asked the peeler of the carrots, and she reckons its good...
On to using up the lemons and oranges. We have sewing group tomorrow, so we are going to take some soup and lemon cupcakes IF WE GET THEM MADE in time... Theres a little procrastination going on, I think Miss would rather go for a walk to feed the ducks :)
Who can blame her, the River walk is always interesting, and we are looking at the moment to see if the ducks have ducklings... Its the cute factor.

Have just looked in on the citrus (we now have 9 trees) and Im really pleased to say, they all survived the Winter ( is it over yet?). I thought I had a problem, but the one that had dropped all its leaves has started with new growth everywhere, after my fussing over it. Its great news, as it was our favourite, The Clementine mandarins, which are easy-peel and taste fantastic.

The *Mother* Garden is full and looking promising. It is the shaded garden where my comfrey grows in abundance. I have built up the soil, and mulch with my grass clippings in there. Then I pick bits and pieces off  where I can, and place them into the soil to let them root ( no rooting hormone, just fingers crossed!) It works, and Im pleased to say, this year I will have a few extra currants - unknown as to what colour at this stage, but theyre all welcome. I also noticed the cuttings from the hydrangeas are taking too. Again, not sure on what colour, but theyre going back into my own area, or over in the school maybe, so it doesnt matter about colour at this stage.



SEWING GROUP

Tomorrow Im meeting with a few other community Mums to do some sewing, knitting (or other crafts) and have morning tea together. Im really looking forward to it - its a morning that Im putting aside just so I can get some knitting or sewing done, it never seems that I get enough achieved when I try to do so here at home...And it gives me a heads up on getting some christmas presents made or started, so I can have them done well before December. Ahh to be organized!
Anyone local want to come, youre most welcome...drop me a note below for details!

Well that is what we are up to, it looks like we are going for that walk, Miss has got herself organized.
So, no cupcakes just now. Maybe later :)

Love to You and Yours,
E BUTTERFLY
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Springing Forward - Seed Planting at School

Already we are three days into September. I think I was better or more organized last year. I cant remember why... it just feels so.
Tomorrow we anticipate the anniversary of the first Christchurch Earthquake. Im not sure I should mention it, but Ive never felt such low energy, and Im not alone when I say, Im so glad to see the sun! We  have had several days of these low-feeling days - high grey cloud that sticks around, Nor' West Arch skies and so-so pleasant temperatures, without the cool wind of last month. Fingers crossed we can hover through September and October like this!

The garden is looking good, things are starting to pop through the soil and put their heads up.
Its such a great feeling to see them there.
Im still angsting about some of the seeds Ive planted - are they too dry, too wet, will they pop through at all, is it too early, will there be frost...?

My fenugreek seeds this year seem to be taking forever. I love their golden seeds, the plant is a little less impressive.

This morning spent a very  pleasant and enthusiastic hour and a half with a class of new entrants. Five and Six year olds - 22 of them. I have to say, their very capable teachers have them all figured out, and their behaviour was excellent. They are all gorgeous - each their own shiny promise of whats to come.
Interested, curious and full of questions. I cannot remember being that keen at six. I hope I was.

We are learning about seeds. What seeds need to grow, how to plant them, and what happens when they start to grow.

We drew  and coloured pictures for around the outside of our yoghurt pots, which we stuck on.
Then Mr Wood put holes in the bottom of the pots, and put our names on them.
I put soil in the pot, the children pushed their seeds into the soil, and *covered them up* so they will grow. Then, Ms Hunt put their names on stakes, and they are waiting for some water.

I chose beans, sunflowers and pumpkin seeds for the children to grow. They are bigger seeds, easily handled, and for the most part, they should grow easily.  Beans (Scarlet Runner) were mostly picked by the boys, (Jack and the Beanstalk maybe?) and Sunflowers (Russian Giant (5m high) for the girls, but one very enthusiastic wee chap chose a pumpkin (Grey Crown). I asked why, 'Cos they rock! ... Ok, Good stuff!

Thank You for having me Room Two, I really enjoyed my visit, and I look forward to catching up on the seeds and your progress as things grow and change...

As I mention things growing and changing. I am thinking of those who need change, and  those who have experienced a lot of growing in the past two years. Not just in Christchurch, as our Christchurch Earthquake and its effects run far and wide. I hope things even out, that things stabilise and start to grow good from here.

Love to You and Yours,
EB
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High Tea and Birthday Cake - Spring Fling

It cant possibly be a week since we celebrated Arlais' 6th birthday surely?
The week has slid by very smoothly, and Missy is enjoying being six. She has asked constantly what she has to look forward to, being six now. What will happen in the next 12 months? Heck, I dont know... I ve stopped asking that myself... Apart from losing more front teeth, and learning how to read and write, what else happens habitually as you turn from six to seven? ...
We had cake, of course. We all love cake.

Thank Goodness for family - while some forgot, the others did her proud - they gave her some beautiful gifts, including a biscuit (cookie) maker. It wasnt about the gifts for Arlais, it was about the FOOD! Pink Lemonade, and High Tea in cups and saucers. Crackers and Dip, Chips and cheese.

Arlais' Lemon Cupcakes

Arlais made the perfect Hostess, she offered food around, and kept her visitors engaged with her excited chatter.
Missy chose her cake, and we had butterflies and big balloons.
Who doesnt love cocktail sausages  with their chocolate gateaux, topped with six pink and purple candles ?

The Birthday Girl was exhausted by seven oclock, and Im sure it was all the chasing of balloons.
The tea set gets carefully washed and packed away, and as long as there are no more big earthquakes, it will be brought out again next year for another round of High Tea.  Happy Birthday Darling Girl! You made a fantastic Five Year Old, and you make a Gorgeous Amazing Six Year Old! We love you so much!




As it gets lighter, at nights we have been going for bike rides - Arlais has a shiny new bigger bike, her birthday present from me. She isnt yet as confident as she was with the older one, but it wont take long Im sure, as this girl is an Amazon - tall, beautiful and fearless :) Blaise rides like he is master of the chariot, in fact I some times wonder if hes awake at all, he has a very relaxed pose on his bike :-)

Hmm, why dont I believe this?

She loves being out and about too, naturally curious, and absolutely loves being near the river and seeing what is happening in our neighbourhood. Of course, theres plenty happening, as usual!
It is *that* time of year when change happens - Spring brings new ducklings, goslings, cygnets, in the River.

Miners lettuce - Full of nutritional goodies!

 Then theres the bulbs - a whole band of new plantings along the Avonside area, the Red Zone - where all the houses are being pulled down. Someone has very thoughtfully planted daffodils and narcissus along the walkway. They are a beautiful memorial, and of course in September, we pass another memorial date.


Planting is underway here, Ive sprinkled seeds everywhere... Some more later in the month when things warm up a little. Even inside, Ive started my tomato seeds, with greater success now Ive done it before. Im so looking forward to eating fresh tomatoes. We have missed them!

Foxglove

Poppy  Seedlings

And Basil - nothing goes  with tomatoes as well as Basil. I love the smell, its lemony zing. Theres lettuces everywhere... Ive photographed everything as usual... Bear with me :-)

We have sprouting borage seedlings, some poppys self sown, foxgloves peeking from unusual places, violets creeping down bricks, and cats lying in the sun next to the catnip. Its my favourite time of the year because it brings with it, so much promise. Potential.

Loving My Garden
Love to You
E Butterfly
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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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This Old House... Clearing the Way... Spring Forward!

This Old house indeed...
It is full of cracks and this week, it seems to have developed a squeak - it now has an identifying squeak when theres a truck going past or theres an aftershock. Its been quite audible overnight and it sounds like we have mice. Better than Bats in the Belfry, I say :)
We are all concerned about the excessive speeds down our street of late, and I see one of the neighbours has sprayed big *30* signs on the road in spray paint,  to encourage people to slow down, but it doesnt seem to have worked. We have more traffic than ever before, given our main thoroughfare is blocked off and down to one way so crossing over our street, is like playing Chicken.
It isnt surprising, about the squeaky house, everywhere you look we have road works, diggers, noise, dust etc - on all sides at the moment, even our side road is blocked off with people rearranging road cones, leaning on shovels with their bright orange vests and hard hats on.
They may be filling in the crater that appeared after last weeks eq. Its quite an impressive size. With all this rain, it has filled with water, and I do wonder when we will get our own water feature. You know, you want what the neighbours have, right?... not so much, in this case :)
Its a familiar site around Christchurch though, those deep holes in the road, surrounded by road cones... theres no forgetting where you are, especially when you drive into one!

Things to be grateful for, there are a few - AWESOME WEATHER - it has taken on good form the past couple of days, and it is glorious to see the sun! We have got out and about, and taken advantage of the heat. It wont be long and it will be seed planting time again, how quickly it comes about.
I have started PLANNING THE GARDEN for this season. And clearing out the weeds that have grown over the cold snap. Im sure there will be other cold bits, but I might as well get ahead while I can.

Its nice to see some of the SEEDS COMING UP already. (self sown ones) We have a fine crop of 3 kinds of lettuce, some kind of onion and beans, and the silverbeet has survived well. I cant say the kids are keen about that :) but I am.
The berry plants have buds and are growing away quickly. Black currants, red currants, raspberries... We also have lots of self-sown plants, I love discovering them all. Strawberry, Borage, calendula and chamomile, marigold and some native trees. Ive also found some bits  I plucked off trees and bushes have grown, so  Ive got myself a fine start on a forest :)

We have been FEEDING THE BIRDS, and love watching them out the window. The bird feeders we made have been great, the birds come back again and again - carefully dodging our clumsy cats and their efforts to catch either a tasty bird treat, or climbing the tree to see if they can reach the fat with seeds in it... No luck, thank goodness theyre all far too well fed.  We have wax eyes, starlings and sparrows as usual, but also a family of three magpies, which have ventured over from the park. Theyre very polite, and wait up on the lines until Ive put the bread out before they come down.

Back to the Garden... Let is Spring, I say!
Thanks to some kind friends, I swapped some lavender for some vege seedlings, and I have a good bunch of seedlings and some mint to put in. Im going to isolate this mint, given it grows here like crazy, and we have some already that just takes over... it doesnt even mind the concrete, it just pops up through the cracks, but I have found that boiling water takes care of that. I also have an eau-de-cologne mint, which is lovely. I really like the smell of it, and have just recently been shown how to make a tea with lemon balm, the mint and honey. Very nice!

On My List of Must-haves this year - more carrots, more onions (more than I planted last year!) more potatoes in several varieties. Oh and Yams... Parsley, Basil and Coriander in successive plantings... and Im sure there will be other things later :)

Everyone is KEEPING WELL, despite the Winter chills. Its been a really crazy SCHOOL HOLIDAYS, but we are managing to use our time together wisely... Baking carrot cake, doing some art classes with Miss B, Reading, visiting, walking, taking some cool sea photos, packing some seeds, going to Kaikoura, going fishing (and catching a SALMON! wahoo!) and catching crabs on a handline. Lots of neat stuff. Making up for the time we spent last holidays in the hospital or at home, waiting for news.

Lots to get on with, and it looks like today might be another day outside, around in the garden.
Yes, thats why Im up early.
Roll on July!
Hope you are all safe and well,
Keep Warm
E Butterfly
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Busy Times... Holidays & Garden Plots

Between the Christmas Shopping and the Weeding, its been a busy month already.
Have just put in another little bed which Ive planted in carrots, two sorts, Nutri Red and Paris Ball, Some celery, and some Leeks.

The Back Run - Bath, Corn Bed and Pumpkins (Winter Deluxe Pie)

Zucchini & Stevia, Small Basil plants

Bath 2 - Eggplant & Stevia, Chicory and Basil

Corn Bed 2

New Gardens - Raspberry & Tansy in Front, Carrot, Leek & Celery behind

Higgledy Piggledy Garden Stuff
Tomatoes Red Russian

Basil in Front, Big Boy Tomato in behind, then Red Russians & Missouri Love Apple...
A Work In Progress

All sorts, still sorting out this corner. Mizuna & Lettuce, Basil, Poppies & Tomatoes

I dont know, I dont plan like I should, so Im going with the Flow. It felt right, and lets face it, Miss 5 ate her way through the last bed of Nutri Red carrots pretty quick, so Im going to make sure there are plenty. Its awesome to know she loves fresh veggies!

My echinacea looks gorgeous - second year, and a new position in the garden, and it has five flower heads promising to colour up. I had no success with raising seed from last years, so maybe this year I will do root division and have better success!!

Sunflowers, Companion to Corn



Self-sown Scarlet Runner Beans
Happy to see them, love those flowers!!



Chamomile - love that daisy head!



Calendula



Boysenberry!

The calendula have taken off, I love their golden faces poking up everywhere, they really are like Garden Sunshine! Im collecting seed, and have dried some heads to make Calendula Balm in the Winter.

The Grosso Lavender has been cut and dried this week. The plants have been much more successful this year, I think getting rid of all the clutter around them and improving the soil quality has helped. I love the scent of lavender, and it was nice to have the house lavender-scented whilst it dried.



Echinacea - My Favourite!


The dehydrator has had good use this week - We also dried some catnip. Im thinking of some little felt mice to amuse the cats... Another good Winter project with our newly dried catnip.

Hmm,  What else? ...I have companion planted the Raspberry canes with Tansy.

We are watching out for the large poppies to colour up - they all have buds that are emerging slowly!

Have put a light dose of Epsom Salts in with my citrus. I noted today too that the wind has relieved our Akane apple of most of its blossoms, so I guess that will mean no fruit. How sad, but until I get it settled into a grow bag, it wont really matter.

Have dug out a very misshapen deformed Missouri Love Apple (tomato). Still have three of these beauties, love the name! ... They are better shaped and will hopefully grow strong and healthy from here on in!
One purple calabash plant, a very tiny one. I hope it will grow up big too, I so cant wait to see its fruit...

The others all seem to be going well. The Albenga Oxhearts and the Red Russians are my main tomato crops this year. Im really loving seeing fruit setting on my Bloody Butchers too!

Our Red onions from last season were yummy! I dug them, set them out to dry, and really couldnt resist. They were so sweet... I think I have four out of two dozen left. Next time I will be planting more... Its amazing how you notice how many you use when you plant and grow them yourself!

Hollyhock

Have planted a bed of lavender, all Grosso, so hopefully they will take and be my welcome patch for the bees in the coming years!

And now, some photos! :)

Love,

E BUTTERFLY

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Dreams and Aspirations...

Night Light

Im grumpy.
Ive just spent the past day trying to organize my thoughts into an online forum for self reliant gardeners. It didnt work, and Im annoyed with my lack of skill, and that I spent so much time to amount to nothing much at all. Oh it looks pretty. Thats it. I cant decide where I have gone wrong.

So... Scrap that idea for now.
Ill continue when Ive done a bit more learning. Im quite keen to have a NZ based board to network with other gardeners who want to get some self sufficiency going. Know any? ... Id love to hear from you. I want to network with other people who are struggling to make their food budget stretch. Those who eat from their gardens... any tips, ideas, sharing experiences would be fantastic. Theres a growing trend of people going *back* or moving forward towards utilizing their gardens again. Fruit and vegetables are so expensive. Amongst us gardening folk, that doesnt have to be so. We gather seed, we could share it. We can share our bounty, or perhaps take a look to guide the hand of a new gardener... It doesnt take much to share your expertise, your skills to help someone who isnt so sure of whats what.

The library is a good place to start if youre a newbie to gardening, but then, so is the internet these days...
I love reading other peoples blogs about their gardening passions. It can be a small garden plot in the back yard that they pluck their herbs from, or a self-made brewery that makes cider from their own apple trees they propagated and grew themselves. It is all awesome, and its exciting to see the progress. We can empathise and commiserate in the losses, but celebrate in the successes! Nothing like watching your own sown seed grow into something you can harvest, or drink, or bottle, dry or sell... Or donate, bake, cook... The list goes on.
Ok, so now Im finished my bleat, and now that I have *talked it through* I dont feel so bad about my lack of success. Perhaps I ll stick to Gardening in the Real World, instead of trying to take it into the Cyber World. 

I love my garden. Oh wait, you knew that.

But I do.

Peas (Easy Peasy)  and Beans (Borlotti *Red Rooster*)

Seedlings - Radish, Beet, Carrots & Lettuce

Onion, Coloured Chard & Lemon Balm

It is still in its infancy, but it is starting to take shape. Not a definitive one yet, it would probably be classified as a Blob. Not a Square or a Circle yet. I still have to shape it to perfection. But I think that is the goodness of gardening, it is always small snippets of perfection - never the entirety, just glimpses... that make you want more...

Garlic on the Up!

New Raspberry Cane

Rhubarb

Roll on Spring, we have daylight saving which turns the bodyclock topsy turvy for a week
Then Wha-lah!! Time for planting, long days, crisp mornings... sunny skies.

Red Currant

Alpine Strawberry - Yellow Fruits

Rhubarb

So there we be.
Tomorrow is the start of another week. We are counting down til school holidays again...
I hope all your plans are fruitful, and you are keeping safe and well,

Til next time!
Love and Violets
EButterfly