Firewood season

It's been unusually chilly here. So, time to crank up the fire. I got another delivery of my firewood in, stacked it all beautifully in my gorgeous wood shed under my steps. (ahhh, the happiness in saying all that - it wasn't a happening thing last year - how time flies!). Must have squirrel in my genes.



and here it is

Flowering Nikau

Look at this beautiful flowering nikau palm. Tree stages of flowers / seeds on at once.

How to make a path

I had made a path along here last year, but the pineapple sage has grown so magnificently well that it overhangs it and you can't walk on it. So, a new path is required. This time I used the hose as a straight edge and it does look a bit straighter.



This was last year's attempt. Which is still there under the weeds and clay.
Progress huh?

Plant winter seedlings

Rain rain go away, come again another day

It has been raining! Cats and dogs! But it finally stopped, so I can go back out into my garden. It took a few days for the bog to seep away, and then, gumboots on, winter planting time!

I've got spinach, and kale, and wall flowers, and alyssum, and basil, all grown from seed.
Soooo satisfying. It can rain again for a week, I'm all good with that.

Winter Produce

It has been raining for weeks! And weeks.

But today it was sunny and gorgeous (and freezing). So...a trip to the garden to harvest things.

I've got half a box of persimmons and silver beet and courgettes. And flowers. And a sprig of the bay tree. Quite a haul. Sooooo satisfying too.

I'm needing to pick the persimmons before they are totally ripe because last year I had a big crop. And ate about 3. Because the birds decided they were delicious. And they were.

This year I'm picking them under-ripe and ripening them up on the window sill. And leaving a few for the birds, high up where the cats won't get them.

Greens for Bunnies

I was in the pet shop buying bunny nibbles today, and the pet shop lady was feeding the bunnies kale and greens.

I can do that too!

So I did.





Maybe some dock too?

Pineapple sage in flower

Looks good en masse in the last post. Looks great up close too.

Before and After

Before:

After. Ta dah! (if you can just ignore all the weeds for a minute)
Isn't the pineapple sage along the wall flowering gorgeously?

Seedlings for Winter

Autumn seedlings growing like mad

I rummaged through my seed collection and found a few packets that I had either got for free, or bought a year or 2 ago.

So I decided to plant the ones that said 'sow in autumn' and hope for the best.



Well, the best definitely happened! Now I've got trays and trays of seedlings coming up. Not entirely sure where I am going to put them all though.

I've pricked out some of them already - that is, taken them from the crowded trays and put them in their own punnets, just like you see at the garden centre. That'll be $3 each please.



The punnets in the front of the top picture are spinach and calendula and sweet peas.

The punnets in the bottom picture are wall flowers.

I've also got, still in the seed raising trays, alyssum, snap dragon, verbascum and anise hyssop. Oh, and basil. Mountains of basil. (well, I had all these free packets of seeds of basil...)

Might have a planting crisis on my hands soon then... Time to find a lot of gardening friends.

Oh, but wait! Got some more pots ready for seedlings... (run out of the proper punnets)

Growing Microgreens

Here are some new microgreens I have got going. These are radish and broccoli and black mustard.

The trick with microgreens is to only use seeds that are either for sprouting or especially for microgreens. You need seeds that have not been treated, as the leaves are still quite close to the seeds and I think the sprays on them will transfer if you use coated seeds.

I put these on my window sill and snip and sprinkle on salads or sandwiches.

And sow a new tray every few weeks.

Cat Traps

One size fits all...

Wild Life in the Urban Jungle

Its a big scary world out there in the suburbs. These are a couple of pests I caught inside one day.






The rat was thankfully dead, but still warm. The clever moggy that caught it was sooo proud of herself. Normally she also eats them, and just leaves the tail.

Normally she then regurgitates them.... under my bed is a favourite spot.

So, a win this time.

Autumn Vegetable Planting

Summer is over and now is the time to plant things for winter. So I've put in some spinach, kale, caulis and broccoli. But something has started to nibble them already.

And some coriander, because it is so yum.

How to have flowers in a small space

My sunny flower places are not developed yet, so bring out the old and cracked pots and get planting anyway!

Plus, buy some new pots as a treat.

Still not enough room? Plant some in the vege garden!

Plants that grow really well

Must be called weeds, right?

This is my thriving crop of convolvulus. Rampant. Smothering.

Annoying.

Cat TV

'Entertain the (fur) kids for hours'

Basil for Pesto

Gotta find that pesto recipe too, basil coming out my ears. This one will do, good old Jamie Oliver. I've got 2 types, the regular (to me) at the top, and these smaller roundy spicy bushes. Two types of pesto then?

New Season Carrot

More from the 'one only' department:

"Don't eat all at once".

I am grateful though, truly, to have even one. Such an improvement on the last years.

Planting kumara

What the heck do I do with these? Sprouting kumaras. I've just bunged them here for the meantime, and they've become attached to the ground. I feel they should be buried though.

This might help Stuff NZ Gardener

New season butternut

There is only one though. And I haven't figured out when to pick it yet. Also...note the dying kale in the pot in the background, didn't quite get it into the ground. But I've done it now, and they seem to have rejuvenated.

A Trip to New Plymouth

A weekend away is always a good idea. And New Plymouth is just the greatest place. Although quite out of the way, so not somewhere I've been to since I was about 12. A hidden treasure then.

Decorating with Rabbits

Fred the rabbit's room has recently been vacated by its incumbent human. And now it is getting painted. Fred has plenty to see in the process, and hops outside if the noxious substances become too much.

He's got a harness on, tied to a rope. But the rope is not tied to anything, just acts as a long tail so we can see where he is. She. Fred is a she.

Best No Sugar Muesli Recipe

When you are sick of the sweet bought stuff, try this one:

- about 6-7 cups in total of whole oats, whole rye flakes, rice flakes, bran, wheatgerm, LSA, whatever you fancy. I use 4 cups of oats, 2-3 cups of other things

- 1 cup of boiling water and 1 dessertspoon of honey, mixed together

pour the honey water over the oats in a large roasting pan. Mix it all together well, breaking up any clumps. Roast for about 30 minutes, on fan bake if you have that, or longer if you don't. I like mine super crunchy so I do longer, if you want a softer toasted muesli do less time. Till it looks about how you like it. Continue to break up the clumps part way through, and at the end.

When it is cool add things, roasted almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut chips, sultanas, dried cranberries, chopped figs, dried apricots, Just remember that dried fruit is sweet too, so go lightly on this if you are aiming for a low sugar option. I think nuts and seeds and coconut is pretty good, with just a touch of fruit. 

And serve with fresh fruit too.

Wild Flowers for Bees

My wild flowers are finally flowering. Emphasis on the 'wild'. A few other wild things in here too.

The bee hive is right above all this wilderness.

And here are the bees. Not millions of them though, this was a weak hive, sent to me to recover. Not sure how well I am doing at that though.

Beach Art from Found Objects

This amazing sculpture was on the dunes at Uretiti. It looks like its made from an upturned tree trunk that has been washed up, seaweed, shells, feathers and bits and pieces.

I love the necklace!