Amateur Theatricals

We recently went to see a play at the little theatre near Shoestring Cottage.  I am no expert where dramatic performances are concerned but the local theatre has been in operation for a very long time and the walls in the lobby are papered with photos of past triumphs.  As far as I am concerned, anybody who has the gumption to get up on stage and perform deserves all the support and admiration we can give them – I wouldn’t want to attempt it!  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and will try to go along to the forthcoming productions.
   

It is great to see the tradition of involvement in community affairs; it seems to be one of the things which makes small town life special.  In a couple of weeks we will be attending Miss Peaceable Kingdom’s annual ballet recital and recently the A&P show was held.  There is always something going on; in fact the first weekend we moved into Shoestring we were surprised upon flinging open the bedroom curtains to see hundreds of lycra clad cycling enthusiasts assembled in our street, ready for the annual cycle race.  Just across the road a community garden has opened and individual plots are yielding crops of vegetables and also lots of flowers.  Seeing the community garden made me want to do a spot of guerrilla gardening in town and geranium cuttings are dotted around the place in preparation for this.  Hopefully they will all strike and I will be able to scurry out and plant them around the city.      

Mr Shoestring made a starling house with some leftover scraps of wood one weekend.  We were not hopeful that it would be used because it was already nesting season and a library books we read pointed out that birds like a fairly lengthy period of investigation before they decide a new nesting box is safe to use.  How exciting it was this weekend to see this starling spend his days investigating, flying down, looking all around and eventually popping inside.

 Look at me!  Look at me!

I am a paragon of manly attributes!

So far he has not brought any prospective female with him so I hope he isn’t a bachelor.  Feeling like a desperate real estate agent, I dashed out and filled up the bird bath and hoped he noticed the plum tree nearby laden with ripening fruit.

Actually the bird house Mr Shoestring made is only a rough prototype knocked together very quickly.  As I watched Mr Starling darting in and out of it I formed an ambitious plan whereby the back wall would have lots of starling houses and they would all be painted in different pretty shades, with lots of architectural styles including a villa with ornate scrollwork.  I mentioned this to Mr Shoestring but he didn’t seem as enthusiastic as I had hoped.  Men can be somewhat lacking in imagination sometimes, don't you find that?

The sparrows have finally figured out how to use the seed bells we put out for them and they had a bonanza this weekend, feasting on the seed.

The kereru have returned and are gorging themselves on the fruits of the flowering cherry tree.  In the garden the sweet peas are continuing to blossom and you can see from this photo how few pink ones there are in spite of the fact that I planted all "pink" seedlings – but I have to admit that I am happy with the mixture and their scent is heavenly.  The best thing about sweet peas is that the more you pick them the more flowers you will get and it is very satisfying to strip the plants of their pretty sugared almond coloured flowers.

My mum has been so helpful in the search for plants.  When she heard of the plan for a scented back garden she found this honeysuckle – brighter coloured than the usual one, it seems happy so far in the far corner of the garden. 

I have planted nasturtiums on one of the archways left behind by the previous owners.  If they go to seed at the end of the season we might have more of them next year.  It would be good to put in the sort with darker leaves and darker flowers if I can find some seed.
 

The ladies mantle (alchemilla mollis) are looking happy.  English gardening books always claim that they become a nuisance and seed themselves all through the garden but I never find this; in fact just getting them to survive our dry hot summers is as much as I hope for. 

Jack (number four offspring) had his birthday this weekend and we had the customary birthday dinner with his favourite meals.  Being a boy there was not much in the way of vegetables on the menu, his favourite dishes being Crunchy Lunchy Munchy Pasta and Chocolate Mousse.  The chocolate mousse recipe is added to the recipe list at the side.  It is dead easy to make and always receives rave reviews. 

Pelargoniums - Are They The Gardener's Best Friend?

I have to admit that I used to look down upon pelargoniums.  (We all call them geraniums, but they are not geraniums.  Geraniums look like this and are another very useful plant, but more about them another time.)  

Not to put too fine a point on things, they are decidedly common – you see them everywhere!  But I have realised there is a good reason for this – they are the most hard working and least labour intensive garden plant I can think of for our conditions. 

When we started gardening at Shoestring the narrow strip at the front of the fence looked as though it was going to be a bit of a problem, rather hot, dry and sunbaked.  I decided to fill this area with the “cheap and cheerful” variety of plants, daisies and tough perennials, things which were virtually indestructible and capable of looking after themselves.  No coddling or pampering here, thank you very much!  It has turned out to be the most colourful part of the garden and the results have been great for so little work. 

The most surprising thing has been the way that the pelargoniums have all thrived and prospered.  Most of them have been unceremoniously plonked in the earth as cuttings and as if to give thanks for their chance at life they have without exception survived and flowered madly.  They are happy to rub along with all the other plants and there are climbers, sprawlers and upright bushy ones.  They come in so many forms and colours, and of course there are the ones with the variegated leaves – my personal favourites.

  

Also the blood red one looks spectacular. 

I am not so keen on the mauve climber but any plant is a good plant in the front garden and none of them will be excluded. 

The fragrant ones have perfumed leaves – for instance, rose, peppermint and nutmeg scented.  Plant them by a doorway or path where you pass by often and can release the fragrance easily by picking and crushing a leaf or two.

 Rose scented

They are great for drying and using to scent linen and instead of sulking if you give them a vigorous prune they take it as a compliment and grow back better and bushier than before.    

Now that I have developed a cunning plan for guerrilla gardening in the city I am taking lots of cuttings from the pelargoniums at Shoestring and will transplant them when they have taken root, I can’t wait.  

An Embarrassment Of Riches

This weekend there were so many bargains to be had that I hardly know where to start.  I have been wanting to plant a grapevine at Shoestring almost since we moved in, and finally found one which fits the stringent financial criteria.  ($2 at the local Anglican bring and buy.)

Of course there was no indication as to what sort of grape it may be, but as the fruit will most likely be scoffed by greedy birds that is not much of an issue.  Another interesting plant was one which is apparently a clematis , but not the usual climbing type.  It is a herbaceous plant and has brilliant blue flowers and I have popped it in on the shady side of the house hoping it will be happy there. 

This idea was suggested by my mum Bobbie (aka Wobblie) when I was telling her how sad the venerable old cherry tree was looking where it had had various limbs lopped off, resulting in large round sawn off areas daubed with green paint.  She thought hanging plates on the bare areas would be a nice idea and it turned out to be such a hit that I now want to scatter plates, and possibly cups and saucers, through the whole garden.

It is easy to find small plates cheaply priced but the larger ones tend to be a bit more expensive so it was a bonus to find two large ones this weekend (the top and bottom ones above).  Then when I spotted the smaller ones I felt I had to take them home, they looked so forlorn the poor things.  What to do with them though?  Onto the trellis they went, soon they should be surrounded by climbing peas and beans, plus a rose which is about to flower beside them.

Also thanks to Bobbie I finally have a Philadelphus Virginalis (mock orange blossom), so the ambitious plan for a white/scented back garden is finally under way.

Next on the shopping list is a Michelia figo (port wine magnolia) which has insignificant flowers, but with an  intense scent of winegums. 

And on the same stall as the plates was this old print which had a very spotty glass.  Fortunately that cleaned up well and Mr Shoestring has painted the frame for me also.  It will look lovely in the colourful gypsy room. 

Last but not least, no foraging expedition is quite complete without a bit of fabric as the icing on the cake.  This week I found a brilliant old silk blouse which will be perfect for crazy quilts.  It has such a wide variety of patterns included in the print that I will be able to use it in lots of different blocks.