Blog 661 - Starting a New Garden Life

[Michael J Campbell]

Anyone hear from Lesley lately, did the house move work out ok.?

[Maggi Young]

Anyone hear from Lesley lately, did the house move work out ok.?

I haven't heard from her Michael. I expect she is  up to her ears in chaos. Just hope she is coping physically- with her health problems of late the stress and effort is bound to be wearing on her.

If moving house is recognised as one of the most stressful things people do, then moving house with all those plants must be even worse!

[Lesley Cox]

Well thanks so much for your concern Michael and a few personal emails as well which tell me I'm not totally forgotten.

The move did indeed take place successfully, on Feb 22nd and we have been blessed with excellent weather during and since which has made the sorting and unpacking easier. Colder today and some welcome rain predicted.

It all took one large furniture removal van- furniture only, one trip. One large covered van, 3 tonnes maybe - we didn't need a heavy traffic licence for it - 2 trips with stacked trays of dormant bulb pots, troughs and assorted other trays, nursery equipment etc and Roger's brother's tip truck with sleepers, lathes and other vital man stuff, Roger's station wagon and trailer with smaller similar stuff and Marley, 2 trips and my small car and trailer with remaining plant trays and last minute house stuff, two trips. Of course Roger and I had been moving household effects into the flat for the last 6 weeks and I was able to take plants down over just the final week so two or three trips each day that week. Just as well it was a 45 min trip and not several hours away!

As well as the furniture men, one of my vendors from the market came and he and my son alternately drove the covered van, and my daughter and Roger's niece stayed behind to clean out the house. It wasn't too bad as I'd been picking at the cleaning for weeks but there were curtains to be rehung after cleaning, and cobwebs from behind big furniture items. You know my signature at the side of the page "...housework whenever." So a lot of people involved. And not a harsh word or angry comment from anyone about anything, the whole day, quite an achievement I think.

Then my sister from Tauranga arrived next day! I hadn't seen her for a few years so she was very welcome and had thoughtfully brought an airbed with her. She was on the last leg of a month-long holiday driving to see friends in the South Island. There wasn't a lot she could do to help but it was great to have her there and yarn in the evenings about our few various remaining relatives, all of whom she'd called on and stayed with. Not many of us left now.

I've been plant sorting in the daytime and house organising in the evenings ever since, as has Roger with his stuff. Fortunately we both have large sheds to accomodate our various interests. R is only keeping one extra car, an old VW beetle which his cousin is to collect and deliver here, from our previous neighbour's paddock, when he is ready.

I would have been here on the Forum throughout except that until yesterday we had no Internet as Telecom don't do Broadband in this country area. We have a new provider who sorted it all on his Sunday off, yesterday, (with small dog) as he lives just a couple of kms up the road. Roger hadn't been in touch with the new company all that time, leaving it until Friday last and me spitting mad almost. We are without TV for the same reason, but hope to have that sorted later today as well. It will hurry up the digital changeover which we must make before the end of April when we lose analogue altogether. I may have to change my email address or pay a large monthly amount to Telecom for the pleasure of keeping the same one. I'll decide that shortly I suppose.

We used to have a lot of frogs where we were, little Australian whistling tree frogs, milky cocoa colour. I never saw one in a tree and never heard one whistle but they were delightful little creatures. However I hadn't seen one for perhaps a couple of years. The day before we moved I saw a small one hop from under a tray and into a tray of iris pots. I didn't think about him again until yesterday when I moved the irises, there he was. So I hope he will manage to find a mate or at least another friendly frog in this distant place.

You are right Maggi, it has all been extremely stressful but at least now the pressure is off to hurry with everything. It's great to have as much water as I need and already I've planted a few things around the 'Ian's Red' magnolia which is in its own bed in the middle of the nursery part, a cover mostly, of Cyclamen coum tubers, just starting to come through now, and will add some clumps of snowdrops, autumn flowering crocuses and perhaps a few summer lilies so there's something all year round. I've put "falling-over-the-edge"  type plants around the four sides of the built up bed, two on each side to disguise the rather ugly wooden edging; a gaultheria, Asteranthera ovata in the coolest part, Mark's little cotoneaster, a very low and dwarf bergenia which closely adheres to anything it touches, the Australian conifer Microcachrys tetragona, an ajuga called 'Rainbow, Epigaea repens and Linnaea borealis americana.

So that's plenty talk for now. Time to get out again and get on with the work, which I'm enjoying very much, having had everything in abeyance for so long.

[Maggi Young]

Great to have you "plugged in " again Lesley. It is good to hear that the move has gone well and that your sister managed her visit too.  A really busy time for you but so exciting to contemplate the new garden.

[annew]

And let us have some photos as you can. Best wishes for a great future in your new home/garden

[angie]

Exciting times Lesley, good to hear that you are settling in. Would be nice once you have time to see the layout of your new garden.

Angie 

[Luc Gilgemyn]

So glad things worked oud fine Lesley !
Have fun replanting ! 

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks very much everyone. I find I am resenting the time I have to spend on market work when I'd much rather be working with the plants.

So far it's a matter of sorting - into separate generalmostly, and putting all the bulb pots in the warmer parts of the nursery area as with no rain for quite a long time, herbaceous things, potted rhodos and the like are drying out very quickly. Then I can select what I want to put where I want it. There are a lot of things to get rid of first, such as beds of petunias and I've come to the conclusion that though there are dozens of roses, they're all rather nasty. Lurid colours, and not attractive habits. Some very old plants have been let make huge trunks with maybe just a single living stem emerging and a few scrawny flowers on top. I really dislike the roses which are brilliant, hard orange and the whites with red edgings so I think they'll just about all go. I have 3 to plant, all old but I seem to remember something about rose sickness and not to plant new ones where others have come out so I need to research that.

Once the bedding stuff has gone I'll dig those parts over and simply plant out primulas, gentians, dianthus and many more things, to get them into the ground and growing, then decide where they're to go later, probably after the winter.

Anyway, it's good to be handling plants again and most things have coped with the shift very well. One sad loss is the single seedling of Anarthrophyllum desideratum but it was already a little yellowed beforehand, having spent too long in the tunnel and becoming rather drawn. I'm hoping there may be another seedling ot two in the winter or spring.

Yes, photos, when I get around to it.

[Brian Ellis]

Don't overdo it Lesley, but it does sound as though you are enjoying the challenge.  I had to smile at the thought of all those roses going, and it reminded me of this which also made me laugh:

http://www.classicroses.co.uk/products/shopproducts/peter-beales-rose-replant-box/

It's basically a wine box (you may of course have one or two lying about the place).  Simon (the manager at Peter Beales Roses) recommends sinking a box like this into the ground, filling with fresh soil and planting the rose -he suggests with mychorrhizal fungi.  By the time the rose is established the roots will be escaping through the rotted cardboard and all will be well!

[Maggi Young]

Chateau lafite comes in boxes? 

[Lesley Cox]

Alas, Chateau Lafite doesn't come at all. Not to here anyway

[Maggi Young]

Alas, Chateau Lafite doesn't come at all. Not to here anyway

Look on the bright side, Lesley- if it did you'd likely never get any work done!!

[Otto Fauser]

Dear Lesley , good to hear you are settling in , shifting houses and gardens is one of the dramatic experiences in life . It made it easier as you had so many friends and relatives to help you. I share your dislike of most of the modern roses ( species and oldfashioned ones are nice ) ,so when you showed us your new property in February with the large rosegarden in the middle of the lawn , I personally would get rid of it and just have lawn and nothing else -less is more .

'Chateau Lafite ' is available here ,but it is out of my reach too ,otherwise I would send you a bottle for your birthday on the 11th.

     Is your Gentiana depressa setting seed ? it was a wonderful sight in flower when we visited .

[Lesley Cox]

No Otto, I'm afraid not. I had hopes as always but then the fatness just faded away and nothing was in the little capsules. Not surprising really as I had a polystyrene tray upended over the trough most of the time to keep the sun off while we were still living in Sproull Drive but the trough was at 661. It became a bit etoliated and pale but has perked up a lot since we moved. I really need another clone to cross-pollinate, though I did get that single pod about 6 or 8 years ago and every seed, over 100, germinated. But then I lost all but one when I potted them and even that one died on me after about a year. I'm surprised the main one has lasted so long really. It's easy from spring cuttings but that doesn't help you of course. So sorry.

I'll phone you on Saturday, probably in the afternoon or evening as I'll be away to work at 3.15am (your time!)

[Lesley Cox]

So long since an episode of this sometimes Blog, and even now, I can't get a clear run, having written the tent below on Friday. Now it's Sunday so Roger's birthday is over, we had our dinner out but disappointingly, no Bluff oysters, in the middle of their season and at best, the restaurant was, to my mind, mediocre. It was Ombrello's, for the locals' benefit and previously we've enjoyed meals there but the staff has changed so many times and young, inexperienced people provided very ordinary food and service. Oh well, such is life.

So, another Blog below and then a few pictures.