LAST GARDEN VISITS.

We chose to visit some gardens south of here together then Joan and Denis drove off to Napier and we headed home.

The morning turned out to be bitterly cold and so not as many stops on our rounds for photos.

These beautiful clematis blooms were my favourites.

CELEBRATIONS CONTINUE-DAY 2

We started with a visit to Hollard Garden and also to the Farmers market that was being held there, where these delightful Scarecrow people took our attention..

We had all visited the Hollards gardens earlier in the year, but todays visit was really at the right time, The rhododendrons were in full bloom.

and every where you walked lovely burst of colour appears and not only the rhododendrons but the deciduous Azaleas were out standing

Joan and I were both busy with the camera. top photo is mine and the lovely view of the glowing orange azalea is her photo. And she also took this one of Paul and I, as I was getting a photo of the lovely soft apricot primulas. there were several other shades but the apricot really the ones that impressed me the most.

above the photo I was taken and here a close up shot by Joan.

CELEBRATIONS & FESTIVALS

My sister Joan and her husband Denis have arrived to spend a few days with us. It's to be a very special time, as for the first time since we were children we are having a joint birthday celebration, our birthdays are 10 days apart, and its made more special as we are celebrating Joan's 70th Birthday.

Its is also start of the Taranaki Rhododendron and Gardens Festival so we have both chosen places we would like to visit during the next few days..

We started the day with a visit to Tupare in New Plymouth as not only did we wish to visit the gardens, the house tour was a must on our list.Tupare was a private family house and garden established in 1932 and is now owned by the Taranaki Regional Council. it was amazing going through the house. built in the arts & craft style it is a Chapman-Taylor designed house. see http://www.trc.govt.nz/tupare-house/ for photos of the house.

The gardens are extensive and in parts the paths are quite steep, we only did part of the walks today, its a must for a return visit soon.
 I loved this display of deep blue Iris Siberica gainst the brick wall in part of the garden near the Gardeners cottage.

After that we visited two gardens each having chosen one, we chose small gardens that compared in size to our own, and each quite different.
"Thorveton"  a small secluded town garden was full of all the tiny delights I enjoyed and was beautifully layed out. In contrast the other garden we visited was a newly developed one on a small section and Joan was interested to see the use of textures and layouts as her own garden is quite a new one.

From there to Lake Mangamahoe for our picnic lunch. The sun came out but unfortunatly the clouds covered the view of the mountain, in the distance beyond the end of the Lake.

We then went on to visit Kings Garden on the way home.A large garden, beautifully set out with lovely paths that rambled through the garden. I specially wanted to see the yellow Candalebra Primulas growing beside the tiny stream. I  would love to have a stream in my garden and be able to grow them. In our garden we have made a bog corner and at this stage  two pink ones are growing well.

Joan and Denis admiring the primulas.

A corner in the King's Garden

THE LILACS ARE FLOWERING.

Every morning Paul has been looking out the bedroom window and telling me the lilac is flowering.... he has been saying this since the first few buds appeared. It really is flowering now and with bad weather threatening I have had a good reason to pick myself a bunch. The scent is heavenly when you walk in the room.

 After a very very  slow start this year it has  developed into a nice shrub.and rewarded us with a fine showing of flowers.
 I have fond memories of lilacs growing in both my mother and grandmother's gardens. At Granny Haworth's it was a big bush by the gate, later flowering in the South Island, it would be in bloom in November when we went up for visits.

COLOURS OF SPRING.

I think of spring colours as the lovely yellows of daffodils, primroses, and crocuses mixed with purples iris, violets hyacinths and more crocuses, however one corner of the garden at present is glowing with bright red flowers.

The Kaka Beak  (Clianthus puniceus) has been really superb  this year, this lovely NZ native is virually extint in its natural state, but fortunatly is grown in many gardens.  We planted this one about 5 years ago and it is now 10 feet tall and much wider.

Named for the Kaka, a NZ Native parrot, quite a big bird with a large hooked bill. If anyone overseas wants to see this parrot  there are some lovely photos among the birds on this site.
www.maungatrust.org/birds/

One of the first cross stitch designs  that I had published many years ago was a border of kaka beak flowers, this new pattern I have posted would be suitable for a bookmark. the colours are 3 shades of red DMC 666 light red; 304 mid-red; 815 dark red;  and two greens 472 light green; 937 dark green. Outline the flowers in 815.

HARBINGERS OF SPRING

Welcome,wild harbinger of spring!
To this small nook of earth;
Feeling and fancy fondly cling
Round thoughts which owe their birth
To thee, and to the humble spot
Where chance has fixed thy lowly lot.
- To a Crocus [ Bernard Barton (English Poet 1784-1849)
This morning its truly feels as if spring is on its way, lovely sunny and mild and everywhere I look in my garden clumps of crocus are boldly flowering, there seems to be more than I remember having ever planted.
I continue to pick violets of different colours and enjoy having a posy of them on my kitchen window sill. A lovely deep pink one that is flowering really well has been in the garden for a few years now, but never flowered this well before, unfortunately as much as I would like I can't match its colour to any embroidery thread.
With spring around the corner I had better post my Winter posy, I have just finished stitching this piece and the chart will have to be posted later.