Boundary Rejuvenation Mk 2 Trees for Bees

 

Further plantings along the boundary.  Many holes to fill, so this will be an on-going tale.  These plants were from a local big chain garden centre, and were expensive, and not quite what I went in to buy.  I'm thinking some of the smaller players that sell on line will offer a better deal for next time.  And supporting small businesses seems just right too.

 

 

Manuka - bushy medium tree, its the typical NZ nursery crop, so will cope well with the windy and open conditions here.  I'm planning quite a few more of these along here.  Good for bees too, manuka honey is a premium, got lots of health benefits, and is a natural antiseptic, as well as delicious.

 

 

Hebe, different kind to the first one.  Hebes have blue, purple, white or pink flowers, and are shrub sized.

 

 

Another hebe, different again.

 

 

A type of pittosporum, not quite the one I wanted, but when you are in the garden centre with money burning a hole in your pocket......

 

 

Hard to see, it is the little lime green plant in the centre of the pic, but this one will grow to be a forest giant.  Its a ngaio, quick growing and will form good shelter.

 

The list of other plants I want is quite long, might have to cull a bit.  Before all the desolation caused by both the digger (from the retaining wall) and the neighbours chopping efforts, my place was a veritable forest of native plants, some forest giants, some smaller, but all just so lovely.  I'm still struggling with the loss.  Good thing gardening is a cyclical thing, and increase and decrease are all part of the package.

Down on its knees

 

 

Bowed down by life but not defeated.  Still plenty of life left in this girl.

Hot Cross Buns

 

The sour dough farm turned out a few batches of hot cross buns.  A bit after the event, but still...  More satisfyingly chewy than normal ones, the audience is clamouring for more, so might need to rename them.  The bread of life.

Manuka Seedlings

Back in summer we spent a couple of weekends making cuttings of manuka and planting them.  So now we need to pot them up. 

 

 

Most of them rooted it would seem, although lately they have begun dying off.  Definitely time to move them on then. Some of the seedlings were also grown from seeds, but we can't tell which are seed raised and which are cutting raised, so as an experiment, not so helpful.

 

 

We also are experimenting with pot types.  Here we've got plastic bags (cheap), paper mache type pots (expensive), and recycled plastic pots (free, but we've run out).  I've also seen a way of making newspaper pots that I'll try next time.

 

 

A Path Round the Back

I'm gradually chipping away at the clay mountain, from the front and the back.

 

 

This is the back view, on the down side.  To the left the ground drops away vertiginously to the neighbours.  I've made this fledging secret path around the back by the trees.  Once the rest of the mountain goes it'll be a gentle slope and I'll plant fruit trees.  And have chickens running on it.

An unexpected feature

It rained.  Lo!, a swimming pool. For very short people, and those that like to paddle.

 

 

Contemplation

Hard to imagine just yet, but I'm thinking a contemplation garden.

 

 

This is a half round that used to be my vegetable garden.  Its lovely and sunny in winter.  Sheltered (or it was before the boundary desecration, but it will be again when the new trees grow), hidden by an orange and a persimmon, tucked away but still in the centre of the universe.

 

So...a single chair, a border of hebes as a back protection, a bird bath? or a beautiful stone statue, or just a beautiful stone.  Rules: no arguing in my space.  Peace and quiet.  That sounds like the ticket.