Back on Deck

First of all darlings, I must apologise for the lack of posts recently; my only excuse is that things have been rather busy with a real estate deal which  went awry, new carpet endeavours and family birthdays.  No, in truth I have been very lazy and that is the main reason for no posts but I shall make up for lost time now.

I am uncertain what type of berries these are - the plant was given to me because its previous owner was disgusted at the thorns - having been sold a "thornless" berry bush.  But they are very prolific and we have high hopes for a good crop.

At the risk of sounding boastful, things in the garden at Shoestring Cottage have been looking as lovely as I have ever seen them.  All those coffee grounds must have had some effect on the soil because things are thriving and it almost seems that you only have to stick a cutting into the soil to have it romp away and start to blossom.  Finally the lilies are unfurling their beautiful waxy perfumed blossoms.

Spurred on by these recent successes the little cold frame in the back garden has been pressed into service and there is a happy looking collection of mixed basil and hollyhock seedlings pushing their way through the earth and now some zinnias have joined them, in the hope of late summer and autumn colours.  Those intense shades are just what the garden needs in the autumn when things can tend to be a bit dreary, so here’s hoping for a 100% success rate from one packet of seeds.  Seed raising used to seem a bit intimidating but after one or two successes there is no holding back and all kinds of seeds will be given a try.  That is part of the beauty and fun of seed raising, for only a small expenditure there are so many plants to be started and giving them away to friends and family is great fun.  (Though sometimes it seems as though not everybody really appreciates yet another punnet of seedlings to add to their garden, it is a terrible shame to waste all that potential.)  Nothing beats the pleasure of opening a new packet and seeing all those hundreds of possible plants to come from such a tiny piece of foil – what potential! 

Spurred on by initial successes from more mundane seed varieties, Kings Seed catalogue was just too tempting to resist - after all, the descriptions verge on being poetical, who could resist the white moonflower with a heavenly perfume or the intriguing hyacinth bean vine and the snail creeper?  Then there is a mind boggling array of dianthus and beautiful old fashioned sweet peas (again with a heady perfume).  Lavatera trimestris is a very rewarding annual to grow as well, with flowers ranging from white through shades of pale and dark pink and we had to try those ones also.

Speaking of seeds and their possibilities, the aquilegias (granny's bonnets) have almost finished flowering now and there is a pleasant sound of their rattling seedpods whenever they are disturbed.  If you would like to have some seeds for your garden let me know and I will send you some.  The seed capsules are very interesting, having between five and seven pods on each capsule and scattering the seed out in a most satisfying way, lovely black shiny hard seeds which spring up in the most unexpected places.  Some friends have already asked me for seeds and it will be good to make a special illustrated seed packet to package it in.  

There is no guarantee of what colours you will have, these plants cross-pollinate prolifically and so it is a bit of a lucky dip, but very interesting all the same.  You can see from the colour variation in these two flowers how wide the range is, there are some nice bicoloured pink/yellow combinations also.

As we were on our way to the markets recently Mr Shoestring was chewing my ear in the nicest possible way, telling me that we really should stop buying unnecessary things for Shoestring Cottage now and that we had enough old curiosities to last us for a very long time.  Of course I agreed and nodded and made all the right noises.  Lo and behold, as soon as we got into the market Mr Shoestring spotted two cocktail shakers which he just had to have.  He already had one at home, so now with his extra two he has the beginnings of a collection.

 

I had to have a secret laugh and was thankful that it was Mr Shoestring who saw something irresistible after having delivered a lecture to me.  But of course after that I did see one or two things which I had to have as well.  There was this lovely set of green glass dishes with matching serving bowl – perfect for the vintage Christmas day celebrations we have planned – and another pretty plate for hanging out in the garden. 

After my mini-lecture from Mr Shoestring I thought this cup and saucer was very appropriate, and sincerely hope he appreciated it when I presented him with it. 

The latest find in the search for landscape masterpieces (!) is this charming one which makes me think the painter set out her palette and was determined to use every shade of blue and green it contained - and what a marvellous job she did of it!  I have to admit this was very expensive - it set me back $15!

But I just had to have it, I have had a drought of paintings in recent months and was beginning to suspect somebody was competing against me in the market so had to snap this little masterpiece up.

We are planning a vintage themed Christmas this year and this tablecloth should look perfect if we hang up lots of paper lanterns to complement it.

Just a couple more pieces of china to add to the collection - Mr Shoestring could hardly complain after the cocktail shaker incident. 

Last week I was scratching through a drawer searching in vain for something very important – something so important that I can’t recall for the life of me what it was, now.  But I did unearth a cache of lovely old postcards.  My favouriteis this one with a clock on it where the sender drew in the time they were expecting to meet the recipient. 

How strange it seems that such lengths had to be gone to in order to arrange a meeting!  We would just email, text or call on our mobile phone if we needed to do that.  And how many clues about the life of the sender we can glean from the message on the back, but more questions are posed than are answered.  It offers a fascinating chance to speculate about the sender and his/her life.  I love the way she (because I am convinced we have a "she" here) had problems with her fountain pen and quite a big blob of ink has made a bit of a mess. 

It seems as though the writer of the message must have been a travelling performer, who was appearing in Thames and coming to Auckland for the a new show.  The fact that she travelled to Auckland by sea rather than road seems surprising to us now but presumably sea travel was faster than going by road, so this must have been quite some time ago.  Then there is the idea that she was bringing one of her company home with her to stay with her family.  Was she a black sheep and slightly raffish of reputation if she performed on stage?  Or was she the shining star of the family, of whom they were all very proud and possibly dropped her name casually into conversation because of her fame?  Thames is quite near to Shoestring Cottage and we sometimes go there – its main claim to fame now is that it has the longest straight stretch main street in the country at 1600 metres but at one time after the gold rush in the 1870s it was a thriving and prosperous town and still is very picturesque and retains a lot of its quaint old Victorian buildings. 

To go by sea to Auckland and come ashore at the ferry buildings (still at the port and near where I live in Auckland central) seems so romantic and leisurely.  I see that the postcard is addressed to 43 Boston Road in Auckland, which is not far out of the CBD but I think there is no longer a house there, the area is mainly shops and commercial premises.  Next time I am going that way I must remember to have a look and see if by some remote chance the house is still standing.  As for the Tivoli Theatre, it was in Karangahape Road (still a slightly “edgy” part of town and always raffish), opened in 1913 and closed in 1977.  It was demolished in 1980 and the Sheraton Hotel development is now on the site. 

I suppose looking back and speculating about the life of somebody who lived in the past always allows us to put a rosy glow on things, but from this distance it looks fascinating anyway and probably it is better not to know the full story, but to be able to imagine one of your own. 

Now usually gardeners say, “I wish you could have seen the garden last week, it was a picture!” but for once I am not in this group, I find myself thinking that I can hardly wait for next week because so many blossoms are ready to open and there are one or two things bursting through the earth which I can’t identify (though I am sure I must have planted them at some stage).

 This rose was already in the garden at Shoestring when we moved in.  I think it is Compassion.  It has a beautiful form with very reflexed outer petals, and a good scent too. 

 Another rose I haven't identified as yet - any ideas?

 One more mystery rose which has appreciated compost and coffee grounds, has returned to life and is romping along the front fence now

 I love these "pinks" which were so often depicted in Elizabethan embroidery.  The scent is so strong and the markings intricate and fascinating

This colour combination is accidental but perfect all the same.  Such intense colours together epitomize spring time in the garden - they almost make your eyes water.

Yet another iris has opened this week and once again it is a different one, excellent!  This one has more subtle and soft shades than the first two and I fear it may be in for an upheaval and a move once it has finished flowering as I suspect it could do even better in a sunny spot – I just have to find a rare piece of earth with no close neighbours to provide strong competition. 

No painting this weekend, for once we had a rest and even went for a soak in a private spa pool on Saturday night, what luxury.  We will have to get back into the swing of things soon or we could lose interest in painting altogether – after all it’s not the most enjoyable of pastimes but the end results are worthwhile. 

The bounty of the season isn’t confined to Shoestring – look at these strawberries growing on the balcony at our apartment high in the sky!  Not really enough for a feast but a little taste all the same.  Luckily the birds show no interest in them, city birds more interested in bread than berries.  

Labouring Through Labour Weekend

Labour Day in New Zealand celebrates the gaining of an eight hour working day and many clever people take advantage of the extra day’s holiday and go away for a long weekend.  Not Mr Shoestring and me though, oh no!  We celebrated the true meaning of “labour” by painting another room at Shoestring Cottage over the long weekend, and what a mission it was (once again).  I donned my white Little Gem disposable coveralls (complete with hood) and felt like The Michelin Man as I bobbled around the place preparing to paint and then actually painting.  It turned out to be very fortunate that I had a hood because as Mr Shoestring painted the ceiling I could feel blobs of paint plopping down onto me from time to time – uncanny how he had the ability to be painting just above where I was painting!  Naturally the weather turned sour as soon as the paint can lid came off, so that the drying speed was glacial and we eventually had to turn on the heater, which made things even more uncomfortable.  I can report that I was very happy to eventually toss my Little Gem overalls into the rubbish at the end of the weekend.  White was the colour of choice once again and I can’t really say much more about it than that it looks white, and we are pleased with the end result even if it did take a lot of time and effort.

Luckily I had gone out into the garden before the weather really turned to custard.  I can’t understand why the birds will only go into their homely old bird house from last year and not the more attractive one with the sloping roof made by Mr Shoestring to improve their comfort.  They are still using their old flat topped "art deco" style one though and raising a large brood of nestlings from what I can gather. 

Now be honest, don't you think the one on the right is more attractive?

After being so pleased with the more homely clematis plants last week I had to splash out and buy these two beauties, and planted them near trees so that they will hopefully in years to come climb into the tops and festoon the canopy with flowers – doesn’t that sound picturesque?  The trick is not to plant them too close to the chosen tree though, or they will be starved of water and nourishment, so you have to endure them looking a little but ungainly at first as they bridge the gap between their spot and the tree you want them to climb through.

This exotic minx is named Ramona

All ready to frolic up the trunk of a kauri tree (fingers crossed)

A slightly pedestrian name I thought - "Bees' Delight" - but it must be very difficult to keep coming up with thrilling new names, a bit like naming paints or lipsticks

She coordinates quite well with the aquilegias and cinerarias but you can see the awkward looking stakes she has to negotiate in order to make her way onto the tree trunk

Another iris has is blooming this week and it was a relief to find it is different to the first one.  After they led such a peripatetic early life, and were constantly wrenched out of the earth as I thought of better places for them to be planted I worried that perhaps instead of having a wide variety of plants they would all end up being just one tough iris which was able to withstand my attentions.  So far so good and with more buds ready to break it will be interesting to find out what else is in store. 

The wind and rain were so powerful that the bees seemed to be exhausted and rested wherever they happened to fall

 The latest star

Inspecting the strawberry plants (which I have moved also, there is never a moment’s peace for the inmates of my garden world), I was surprised to find the leaves all lacy and holey.  Closer inspection revealed attractive bronze metallic backed beetles.  I don’t know what they are, but they are quite pretty.  Hopefully they will only feast on the leaves and not on the actual berries as they ripen because so far there seems to be a fair crop coming on. 

Perhaps I was suffering cabin fever after a weekend locked up with my paintbrush and roller (or maybe it was the fumes), but when I came home after work on Tuesday night I spied a fabulous pair of old kauri chairs in the second hand shop just round the corner and something came over me - I just had to have them.  What a bargain!  Can't you just see them with lovely needlepoint seats?  What a pity it takes so long to complete just one but it is always good to have a project.  Do you think the nylon leopard skin covers on the seats may have put a few people off?

And this birdy plate had to fly home with me too.  The man in the second hand shop is my new BFF, he starts laughing and rubbing his hands together when he sees me approach, I wonder why?

Ah bless the little darling!  You can't see it in this photo, but he has a very twinkly little eye!