Wind damage

Just recently we noticed that there were large dead pieces appearing in the weeping silver pear, and on closer examination found that there were several breaks in it, mainly at forks, so the chainsaw had to come out again, and more firewood has been gathered for the winter.
We had very strong wind one night recently, but what I think did the damage was the fact that we had a very vigorous rambling rose growing through it, and last year did not cut it back, so the top of the tree was carrying too much weight.
I did not want to lose the rose as it was one that has great sentimental value, being found in an old garden which had belonged to my great-grandparents, which my brother and I had visited a few years ago, and I took some cuttings, of which one grew. I later found that it was called Silver Moon, which a very knowledgable person told me would cover a barn in a season!
So it has been cut to the ground, and will let it grow and flower every year, and then cut it right back.
Purchased my first bulbs for the season yesterday, via the net, and they arrived at the front day this morning before 8.00am! Great service. Too early to plant them yet, so will put them all in bags and they can wait in the fridge until I decide where to put them!
Bought 100 more daffodils as I just love them after a long winter, so cheerful.
Just noticed that the photo of the silver pear does not look all that big, but that was taken 2 years ago, so things had changed a bit!

The tree has gone!!

Two days ago the last branches came down, and now we are left with just the stump, about 1.5 metres tall, and we will leave it like that and plant a clematis and a rose on it.
I have a rosa Fruhlingsgold, which is must unhappy. It was intended that it grow through a Ceanothus, but that didn't happen, so think it will be happier climbing around our tree stump, am sure it will look great with a purple clematis, perhaps "Blue Belle"?
About three years ago we took down a very large golden conifer, were unable to manage the stump so planted Clematis "Huldine" next to it, and it covered it in no time at all, and is a picture nearly all summer. Also planted beside it a rambling rose,"Leontine Gervais" but although it does plenty of rambling, it is not very generous with its flowers.
Picked the first of the "Peasgoodnonsuch" apples this morning, only a few on the tree, but it is very early days yet, hoping for a bigger crop next year. They are so lovely when cooked, go right down to mush, and such a great flavour.
Yesterday G picked a 10 litre bucket of beans, so sliced them all for the freezer, we are like squirrels storing everything away for the winter!
Am hoping to post a picture here today of "Sophys Rose", always great value right throu the season, also "Sally Holmes", what other rose has such large heads of flowers?

Tree felling almost finished

Just about three more large branches to come down, but these are the difficult ones, as have about 5 rhododendrons underneath, and they are ones we planted about four years ago, and just getting to a decent size, so keeping our fingers crossed that everything will fall in a suitable place. The ones in danger are Lemon Lodge, Belle Heller, Phyllis Kornn, Percy Wiseman and Macebeanum.
Once the tree is down will shift some others into this area, as a lot of them are not in the right place.
Spent yesterday in the garden, just a lovely day, enough breeze to drop the temperature a little. I tidied up the rock garden, and cut a lot of things in the perennial borders back, getting past their best now, and don't want them to seed all over the place, which they are inclined to do.
Was keen to spend another day there today, but grocery shopping got in the way, its annoying that, isn't it, just when you are in the mood something else has to be done, and when we have to travel 45 kms to do our shopping it cuts into your day.
However I did manage to buy three nice hydrangea plants while in Timaru, so that made up for it.
Picked a nice lot of beans when we got home, and cut them up for the freezer, as well as dinner tonight.
Was in the local Gardens on Sunday, quite small, but well done for a small country town, and went into the winter garden, where there were some hanging baskets of tuberous begonias, what a lovely sight! Used to grow them years ago when I had a suitable place, but thoughtI might try again next summer, have a verandah along the front of the house that just gets the morning sun.
I have baskets there this year with fuchsias, lobelia, schizanthus, and mimulus, they have been very colourful, but need watering every second day.

Garden Blooms Post No 2

Silly me. posted the wrong image, the previous one was an Asiatic lily flowering a month ago.
This one is an Oriental, always seem to have a few problems with these, do not multiply with me like the Asiatics, and seem to disappear over time.
Hope to but some more this season and see if I have more luck, as they are so beautiful.

Garden Blooms Post

This lovely lily is my contribution to the Garden Blooms for this month, hope everyone enjoys it.

Three more branches down

The weather has not been too great the last couple of days, also have been busy with some other committments.

Yesterday when clearing around some plants that were finished flowering I came across these little cyclamen, aren't they lovely, and developing into a nice little clump. I do love them and wish I knew where to get some of the different types. I have C. coum and used to have C. cicilium but seem to have lost it. That happens a lot in a garden like ours where we have a lot of different plants quite intensively planted.

Yesterday I emptied some pots of tulips....I grow them in pots as I seem to lose them, also I can place them to their best advantage. Was amazed at how they had multiplied in just 2 years. Both originally had 5 bulbs, and one now had 12 and the other one 21. Will put them in paper bags and keep in the refridgerator until planting time, and repot them into fresh mix. Did not get them all done, so must do that tomorrow.

Last year I repotted some rhodohypoxsis that had been in the same pot for about 5 years, and could not believe it when I counted over 80 bulbs!

Great for little gifts for people who have been very generous sharing their plants, and for the sales table at the Garden Clubs I belong to.

The tree feller in action

Another day tree-felling

Am entering some images of the tree were are felling, got another 3 or 4 large branches sawn down and disposed of , between the showers today, was very muggy out, and just enough rain to be annoying, but not enough to make any impression on the drought.

We are fortuneate here though as in this town there is a great water supply and in the almost 5 years we have lived here have never had hosing restrictions.

Picked some beans for tea, have an over supply of both climbing ones and dwarf ones, but slicing them and freezing them, they will be very welcome in the winter. Also processed tomatoes, courgettes and broccoli, altogether, will put them through the blender, and will be a good base for soup and spaghetti in the winter as well.

A busy Sunday

For some time we have been wondering what we would do about a very large tree in the shady part of our garden, and after a lot of thought we decided that we could remove it branch by branch, so today we began. It is going to be a big job as we will deal with each branch as it comes down, kindling, firewood, and the remainder we will put through the chipper, and that will be returned to the garden, so no wastage here!

We dealt with three large branches today, and already thinking what I can plant where it was.

Have some rhodies that are not in the right position, so they can be shifted, will plant some daffodils around, also some small bulb like chinodoxis and perhaps some frittilarias, already have quite a lot of english snowdrops in that area. Thought wood anenomes might do well, and some trilliums.

I notice that the greengags and the oval yellow plums are starting to ripen, not too big a crop, as only their second year, but we will get a taste.

Background to our Garden

We garden on 1200 sq metres in the South Island of New Zealand, where the climate could be likened to Mediterranean countries with warm, dry summers and cold winters. Not cold enough though to have snow lie in any great amount, but frosts of down to minus 5 degrees.

We are very lucky as we can grow many things like roses, clematis, hostas, rhododendrons, camellias, asiatic and oriental lilies, and many bulbs like daffodils, tulips, ranunculus, anenomes, crocus, hyacinth.

We garden very intensively, hence the name of the blog, "The survival of the Fittest Plants."

Because I like plants I try to fit in as many as I can, it discourages the weeds as well!

My husband has a very productive vegetable garden, and a glass house in which we grow tomatoes in the summer, and a few lettuces in the winter.

At the moment it is getting into later summer, with the roses having their second flowering for the season, and the oriental lilies flowering. Hydrangeas very colourful at this time of the year as well.

Have just begun reading gardening blogs and getting a lot of enjoyment from them, and as there seem to be few from New Zealnd thought I would start one, and try to keep a diary of the seasons.

First Post

Here I am, I have worked it out at last.