Morepork please!

Well it has been a while since I last blogged, however we have had a very busy November with lots of functions, mainly groups for lunches, morning and afternoon teas combined with garden and house tours. Along with trying to keep up with the growth in the garden it has been fairly full on! The growth in the garden has slowed considerably now as after the lovely start to spring with plenty of moisture things over the past month have been very dry with only 16 mm of rain recorded in November and virtually nothing this month. In the garden this spring the flowering has been very good with those plants that flowered, however a few plants didn't really flower at all e.g. the big leafed rhodys. The garden is on the way over as far as flowering goes however as always there is something in the garden flowering, at the moment all the Cardiocrinum lilies are out, deutzias, some roses and rhodys amongst other things. The Moreporks (native owl) are also starting to be more active and the picture above was taken just outside our kitchen window. They love the large puriri moths. We are having a family Christmas here and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2011.

Rhododendron time

Things have been fairly busy and the garden is full out. The bluebells are still out but just past their peak. A profusion of colour and scent throughout the garden The loderi Rhodos are really doing their thing now. One of Mike's ( Phyll's dad) Rhododendron hybrids has been spectacular this year nuttallii x lindeyi ( lower photo)of which there are several groups around the garden. To my mind they have everything going for them, great form, beautiful large flowers and flower trusses, fantastic scent, stunning new growth colour and amazing bark - what more could you ask for! We also have a number of Michelia doltsopa x figo ( top photo) bred by Os Blumharbt in the garden which at the moment are providing amazing scent. We have had a wedding in the garden last week, the bride and groom got married on the long wooden footbridge, the day was perfect! We are also busy with group garden tours, lunches and morning and afternoon teas. The grass is growing and there is dead heading of the rhodys to be done so plenty to do!

Heaven scent

We managed to get through the last couple of weeks of very high winds virtually unscathed, touch wood! At times it wasn't great to watch with the big pines, cupressus and abies really getting a sway on, luckily nothing came down thanks to the marvels of mother natures engineering! Having said that the wind has spoilt the late magnolis although one of the best plants in the garden is still a glorious sight, the Michelia doltsopas, see photo. We have several through the garden, the oldest planted in 1951, one of the earliest in New Zealand and several large ones around the edge of the side lawn. Not only are they a glorious sight but they also have an amazing thick honeyed scent, which when the air is still fills the whole area, mmmmmm! We have also been spoilt by having three kaka with us since May, today they were in the Magnolia Iolanthe on the edge of the side lawn where they were laying waste to the new flower buds! see photo. The bluebells are out and making a great show down the nut walk and off from the side lawn. Amongst the Rhodos and magnolias flowering there are also late cherries, puyas and our daffys are still out, a glorious time of the year. We have also just started to get some leaf burst on the oaks so the greens are also great at this time of the year. The grass is growing so I am busy mowing and weed eating as well as burning the remaining pruning piles. I We are also getting an abandoned angus calf from my parents so have been fencing off an area for it and the pet lambs!

Magnificent Magnolias

I really enjoy this time of the year as we have virtually all the Magnolias out also a lot of the early rhododendrons,especially the reds such as Cornubia, Camelias, Prunus and the large Michelia doltsopas. As some of the Magnolias are quite large they make a spectacular sight as without the leaves on the deciduous trees you can see right through the garden to all of these large flowering trees. Heaps of bird action with tuis especially in flocks in the flowering cherries, sometimes over 20 in one tree. Lately we have had 3 Kakas flying around the garden, screeching and making allsorts of other sounds. Today room 2 from Tikokino school was here filming part of a movie set in the mid to late 1800s with a plot about saving native birds from extinction and the kaka was mentioned in the script and the cool thing was we could actually film it and record its song in the film!

Things are warming up a bit and quite a few more things are out now with a lot of bird action, particularly Tui's in the early prunus. We have to keep an eye out for drunk Tui's as they can over indulge on the early Rhododendrons and the nectar can be toxic to them. If got in time the Tui can be brought round by putting it in a cage with some water while it dries out! We had an inch and a half of rain last week and all the bulbs shot up and we now have quite a few daffy's out. Another tree flowering now is the Corylopsis, beautiful yelow flowers which really stand out at this time of the year, a great tree for any garden. Camelias still glorious and the Daphne bholua also still going. Early mags also out. This time of the year brings young rabbits about so Max our labrador is very busy excavating in search of a snack, some of his holes are a bit of a hazard so I am continuosly having to go round with a shovel and fill them back in! With the help of Phyll's mum I have managed to get all the roses prunned. As well as weed eating (knocking back a bit of rank grass here and there) I am splitting firewood as I had a couple of oaks blow over earlier in the year so just getting to them now. The garden feels as if it is ready to burst into spring!

The Girls are Out!

A number of Camellias are out at the moment and a group of three in particular have been glorious this year - "the girls - Flower Girl, Show Girl and Dream Girl" all sasanqua cross reticulata. Pictured is Dream Girl.

The daphnes and winter sweets are still really providing great scent in the garden. The garden is still quite wet so have not yet got on to the rose and raspberry prunning, next job!!! Have also got some fallen trees to split for firewood and quite a bit of mowing and weedeating, so plenty to do! We have had very little wind this year so all the leaves have stayed where they fell providing natures fertiliser and mulch for the garden.

Camellias

Camellias have been flowering for several months now and a relatively recent planting has really caught my eye, it is Camellia "Cornish Snow var. Michael" it really shows up well this time of year in the woodland setting, great value! The Mahonia's are nearly over, however the daphne bholua are still really doing their thing with great fragrance thoughout the garden.
Have had four frosts in a row, a couple of real beauties so that should be giving the bugs a bit of a tickle up. Have got plenty of rose pruning to do so hope we don't get too much more rain!

Quite a bit of bird activity in the garden with Tuis, Bellbirds, Fantails and Wood pigeons looking for winter sustenance. We haven't sprayed the outside of the house for bugs and I am sure that this encourages the Fantails in close to help with the house keeping! Over the last couple of weeks we have had sporadic visits by a Kaka, down from the Ruahines for a look around, fantastic! Heard it today but unfortunately didn't catch a glimpse. Moreporks also very noisy at night. When the Porina moths are flying, earlier in the year, we turn on the outside flood light and sit on the veranda and watch the Moreporks swooping in to catch them.

WELCOME TO OUR BLOG

Welcome to the Gwavas Garden blog.

This time of the year we are getting on with our maintenance, prunning, mulching & weedeating however this month has been very wet so have not been able to get on as much as I would have liked. Daphne bholua providing lovely scent throughout the garden. The first Snowdrop Galanthus nivalis is out. Hopefully this blog will improve over time!!