Autumn Gardening and Art Deco Inspirations

At the markets this weekend we had a wonderful haul of bargains.  There were these three lovely pieces of old green depression glass to join the ever-expanding collection, 

plus a beautiful pansy plate (pansies are my all time favourite) 

and two of these dishes which we will hang outside on the trellis with the other old plates. 

Mr Shoestring, flushed with success after his cocktail party last week, was in raptures when he discovered this old cocktail shaker.  It seemed at first that the top may be permanently stuck on, but it soon yielded and I am sure it will see some service in the coming months. 

The weather has been surprisingly mild for this time of year and on Sunday I had a very happy session in the garden scratching up the earth like a demented chook and attempting to root out the oxalis and various other tenacious weeds.  Obviously this is going to be an ongoing process so the best approach is to learn to love weeding and treat it as a period of meditation in the weekends.  I was pleased to find lots of seedling plants suitable for transplanting.  There were 

 seedling geranium

 foxglove (hopefully white, I laid down old white seedheads)

 cyclamen

 primulas

and violas coming up in the cracks in a path

 At the market on Saturday I was pleased to find a wintersweet, which I always plant and which always disappoints.  Garden writers go into raptures over its heavenly scent but I can never force more than one or two pathetic blossoms from my plants, perhaps it is too warm in our part of the world for it to thrive.  I remember it in my mum’s garden from my childhood and perhaps this is why I have such a fondness for it.  I do know that my mum also finds it always disappoints, but she perseveres and plants it wherever she goes also. 

I also foolishly bought a ginko.  I have planted a gingko everywhere I have gardened but it is really far too large for the tiny garden at Shoestring.  In time it will reach 20 – 35 metres.  Gingkos are very ancient and their fossilised remains have been found.  The leaf is like a maidenhair fern leaf and the autumn colouring is very pretty – a vivid yellow.  They were once widespread throughout the world but then their range shrank until by two million years ago it was restricted to a small part of China. For centuries it was thought to be extinct in the wild, but is now known to grow in at least two small areas in China.  Apart from the gingko I put in two new hydrangeas – only time will tell if they live up to the glowing descriptions provided by the gentleman who sold them to me.  (I must obviously be a gullible customer, I always come away with plants I never intended purchasing but at least at the market the prices are very reasonable.)

But by far the most exciting thing for me this week was that I purchased this hat on TradeMe. 

The Dancing Queen actually spotted it, she was buying another one made by the same lady.  Look out for "Decho Echo" if you would like your very own art deco hat, I can guarantee you won't be disappointed.  They are made from wool felt and the designs are sensational.  Since collecting my new treasure I have been in a frenzy of excitement as to what costume would set it off best.  There were these two Vintage Vogue patterns

and finally I think I will plump for the one with the peplum.  At Centrepoint Fabrics in Newmarket I found a perfect fabric (slightly imperfect, heavily reduced) so next weekend must get stitching and forego the pleasures of the garden or it won’t be ready in time for winter deco in July. 

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The Darling Buds Of May

Last Saturday Mr Shoestring was in a frenzy of preparations because he was expecting guests.  The Darling Buds of May was showing at the local playhouse and it is one of Mr Shoestring’s favourite plays.  (I suspect he has great admiration for Pop Larkin.)  Friends were calling round before we all set off for the play and Mr Shoestring planned a hearty repast for his guests and also a selection of cocktails (as Pop Larkin would thoroughly approve of) for their delectation and enjoyment.  He spent the afternoon preparing food and drinks, then slipped into his dinner suit and topped it off with his red smoking jacket (or dressing gown as we more sartorially challenged mortals would describe it).

All was prepared and the guests arrived in fine spirits and partook of his delicious food and drinks, which they seemed to heartily approve of.  Not a morsel of food remained, which is always a relief because it prevents one from feeling obliged to scoff down the leftovers the next day, and one is always trying to watch one’s figure these days.  We tried to stick to a suitably "retro" theme for the table, in keeping with the time frame of The Darling Buds of May.

Then we all set off for the playhouse (ladies wearing furs in honour of the occasion) to take in the spectacle of the amateur theatricals.  What a pleasant evening we had, the set was very cleverly designed to include the indoor and outdoor scenes and the actors all played their parts very well.  Pop Larkin was especially good, we thought.  Perfick, just perfick.  

The next day we had an early mother’s day high tea at Banco, the café just around the corner in the town.  There were two of our daughters, plus my mum, and we took Mr Shoestring along also so he wouldn’t feel  neglected.

What a feast!  The table was set with pretty floral crockery and dainty linen, the sun streamed through the windows and the Earl Grey tea flowed.  We did our best but we could not finish all the dainty tidbits we were served.  All in all a very well rounded weekend, good company and lots of jokes and conversation, delicious food and an outing to the play. 

The garden was somewhat neglected of course, but I have been on an excursion to the garden centre and plan to put that right next weekend.  Now that we have been at Shoestring for a year I have more of a feeling for what thrives and what does not in our local conditions and am going to stick with the things which reward by flourishing.  Next weekend there are more lily bulbs and cyclamens to go in, and also there are plans afoot for more polyanthus (gradually doing away with the garish ones and replacing them with more muted, old fashioned looking shades), plus more fuchsias (which have been an unexpected runaway success).  Looking at the woody stems of fuchsias it seems that they should strike fairly easily from cuttings so when they finish flowering and I prune them I shall give that a go.  The plants I experimented with were only tiny, $2.99 each from Le Maison Rouge (aka The Warehouse) and I was somewhat doubtful of their chances of survival but they have done surprisingly well.  Now that the weather has broken and the rain has started it will be time to linger indoors more often, gazing at gardening books and making plans for the spring time.  Lots more spring bulbs have gone in this season, which reminds me there are still lots of tulip bulbs chilling in the refrigerator, they need to be planted out this weekend too.  So much to do, so little time at Shoestring!

Now that Mr Shoestring anticipates being once more in paid employment we are excitedly planning winter deco in Napier, a pleasure we feared we may have to forego.  Last year two of the girls came with us.  They took surprisingly well to hats, gloves and fur coats, and feature on this year's programme:

A Jaunt

Recently Mr Shoestring and I took a trip to Napier and enjoyed a stay in Ormlie Lodge, a Victorian mansion with picturesque grounds.  

 There was a dovecote with a flock of amorous doves

 a romantic gazebo which was illuminated at night time

and a picturesque fountain where the blackbirds splashed and fluttered to their hearts' content

The summer was at an end but the garden was still looking pretty and the doves in their dovecote were cooing and pitching woo.  (Mr Shoestring didn’t manage to make it indoors without getting bird poo on his trousers, but that was only a minor inconvenience.)  The whole experience was very special. 

We also spent a night in our favourite hotel, The Masonic, oozing art deco ambience and  being refurbished and gussied up in a very sympathetic way.  We have "done" the art deco walk in Napier already but it was good to do it once more and brush up on some of the sights we had forgotten. 

 The original light fittings in the municipal theatre are amazingly colourful and in original condition

The deco details are all round the town to be taken in at one's lesiure

Walking up in the hills behind Napier we saw these beautiful swallows sunning themselves; somehow they are even more appealing than the doves

And there were lots of interesting fungi growing in the botanic gardens and in the hills, including these russety coloured ones

The view from Te Mata peak is spectacular, the rugged landscape awe inspiring

Back to reality again it looks as though Mr Shoestring may soon be joining the ranks of the employed once more, a great relief for all of us and cause for much celebration and rejoicing at Shoestring Cottage.  I do wish he wouldn't insist on telling people that he is about to leave the ranks of "the great unwashed", but boys do tend to favour these less than colourful utterances from time to time.  I always remember that when I was expecting our third child Mr Shoestring took to singing, "I've never been so broke I couldn't leave town" in the shower each morning, which I found somewhat unsettling to say the least!