Gratitude

I have been away for a few weeks caring for my Mum.  It’s not easy abandoning the garden at Holt Cottage but there are positives.  I got to work in my Mum’s garden.  I find working in someone else’s garden makes you really appreciate things in your own garden. 

Mum downsized and moved to a little house on a flat section four years ago.  The little courtyard garden was lovely (and still is) but as time has gone on it has been interesting to see the plants that have not survived due to a lack of water, unsuitable plants and overplanting. I did remove a few plants too that Mum had decided just had to go due to their size or failure to thrive.

It is very pleasant living in a warmer climate, but the downside is that more water is needed, especially, if the plants in the garden are not well adapted to living with minimal water. Water is metered and you pay for what you use.  Mum has a water butt and is great at saving grey water but this has not been enough to keep many of the rhododendrons and azaleas alive.  We are fortunate that we have an abundance of rain here in Southland and additionally have more ability to save and store water on our bigger property.

The poor soil in the garden at Hellebore Cottage is unbelievable and Mum really does her best to mulch.  This year pea straw was $19/bale delivered – almost double the price here in Southland!!  I weeded – trying to get rid of as much of the oxalis as I could before applying sheep and poultry manure pellets, layering with sheets of newspaper and finally pea straw.  A big job even in a small garden and thank goodness I don’t have oxalis at Holt Cottage.  I try to be very careful with any plant material I bring from Mum’s garden.

 

I found a very cute little fairy house while out walking near Mum's house.  It made me consider there might be room for a fairy house or two in the garden here.

It was very special to see the king fisher sitting on the powerlines in Nikau Street, however I am thankful we have no powerlines to mar the view from the garden here.  Despite the weed growth, and the catch up required, it is so good to be back home with the tidy gardener.  He did a great job keeping lawns mowed, raking leaves and putting on frost cloth in my absence.  I did bring home some new plants too …….  homes need to be found for these!!