Today we had an eruption, but it was a bit of a “go nowhere” eruption – it was only a big ash plume – no rocks the size of mini’s being tossed or bubbling hot lava and the main bit was over before it started. Exciting, but not terrifying!
For the last couple of days the weather has been verging on something that resembles summer. There is a mounting excitement as summer not only brings warmer weather and longer days; it also brings the end of the school year and Christmas. The kids are starting to get that restless excitement that is synonymous with the beginning of summer.
At least the kids can run about outside now. Although it hasn’t always been like that. A mere four days ago it was cold, wet and miserable and no-one went outside. There was no point – it was too yucky and then the next day was brighter with no rain, but a wind that would have taken you to a whole new location if you wore anything remotely baggy. My peas took a real hammering – it looked like elephants had been dancing in my pea bed. So while it nearly feels like summer, I’m not trusting the weather just yet.
I think it has been a colder spring than usual and my plants – instead of growing frantically, are just sitting there in their holes in the soil – shivering and refusing to move. But they are all shivering together as everything is now in; including the beans, as I finally got them planted. I sowed two of each kind, and there are 12 climbing beans and 9 dwarf ones. That’s 42 beans in total, not counting the row of red kidney beans. Not bad considering we don’t like beans all that much!
So despite the great excitement beyond the boundaries of my garden, within them, there hasn’t been a lot going on. Having said that, yesterday I got Hubby the Un-Gardener and the boys to plant out their Giant Pumpkin Seedlings. I love how they get all competitive, boasting how they will have the biggest, yet in between these momentous moments – sowing seed, planting out and the big weigh in – they don’t really give their plants a second thought and it is all down to me to keep them alive. Well that’s the way it’s always been – maybe this year will be different – Nah… probably not!
I have started to take my panoramic photo once a week so I could see if there was any actual growth. But then I looked at the photo and realised that I couldn’t see passed the peas as they were too tall. So I came around the other side and took another photo in the opposite direction, so now I have the garden covered.
I have harvested a whole load of artichokes and we spoiled ourselves by eating the largest ones in front of a movie, dipping each leaf into melted butter. It was better than popcorn! It’s a bit of a shame Tim the Helper is quite allergic to artichokes, because eating them is great fun!
It’s all really a bit boring now for a while as we just wait for things to come ripe. Sure there is weeding and watering to do, but that’s hardly the heady exciting days waiting for seeds to germinate!
Coming again soon – something exciting is bound to happen – or I may be forced to make something up!
Sarah the Gardener : o )
So exciting to see everything bursting out of the ground, etc. . . . it is very much the end of the growing season here in the Toronto area 🙁
Hi there. It only seems like yesterday that I was the one at the end of the growing season watching northern gardens grow. This year has gone by too fast.
Cheers Sarah : o )
Glad to hear that your rumblings didn’t amount to much! Today our weather has been a typically miserable, damp, nondescript day bt your elephants really made mw laugh! I don’t know about your pumpkin planters though; they look to be having far too much fun – don’t they know that this gardening malarkey is SERIOUS?!!!
Christine
Hi Christine. It’s all been a bit weird around here. The experts were expecting a different mountain to erupt and so when it’s neighbour erupted, they were a little blind sided. But there were articles in the newspaper saying things like “the blah blah sports event will still be held if the mountain doesn’t erupt by the weekend” Only in NZ!
My non-gardeners aren’t taking it at all seriously… if it was left to them the plants would be dead by now as no-one has been near the plants at all – not even to look! So I’m the one left holding the hose – again!
Cheers Sarah : o )
Can’t wait for spring! LOL. I love your bean markers, very creative. 🙂
Hi there. Thank you so much. The bean markers are just large ice block sticks that I painted with wall paint and then wrote the name with a correction pen. I am constantly searching for the perfect plant label that won’t fade or perish in our strong UV loaded summer sun. So we shall have to see how these stand the test of time!
Cheers Sarah : o )
I have the same issue as well. I’ve started painting rocks with glow in the dark paint with the kids. I did a post back in September I think. We got a lot of rocks painted them with acrylic and then clear coated them. Once dried we added a bit of glow in the dark paint. The kids loved them.
Glad that New Zealand is still alive! I would most certainly miss this wonderful blog but not so much the envy that your rainfall induces in me. The son and heir and his Texan sweetie are heading over to New Zealand in January to try to increase their chances of being able to stay together for a bit longer (visas etc.) so I should be able to get a real feel for New Zealand via their pictorial exploits. Your garden is looking magnificent for a garden sitting huddled and shivering. Mine is positively stunted compared to yours! I guess I shouldn’t complain about the lack of rain as the sun has been shining and my veggies are growing nicely. It doesn’t quite salve the lack of rain but it does at least make for some kind of hope in the veggie stakes this year 🙂
Hi Fran. I just did a quick check on the predicted summer weather forecast and found statements like “rainfall – near or below normal” and temperature “Air temperature – average or above” which is just fine and dandy if you’re not a gardener – a cracking Kiwi summer on the horizon. But the good people at the weather office have also included soil moisture in their forecast and it’s not good at all “Soil moisture levels are likely to be below normal.”
So it should be an awesome time for your young people to visit our fine country and see it at it’s best…. but I’ll probably be spending quite a bit of time slaving over a cool hose!
Cheers Sarah : o)
mulch Mulch MULCH my girl! Lots and lots of it…that’s if you don’t have heinous chooks that wait like ninja’s in the wings pretending to care less in a nonchalant way until you turn the corner and they are in like the proverbial Flynn to dig up everything you just laid and THEN some…sigh… Tasmania is supposed to be a bit like New Zealand…we have the same economy and spend most of our time trying to escape to mainland Australia and our governments are both female and a bit wet behind the ears ;). Oh well…looks like we will have a drier than average summer as well…mulch…Mulch…MULCH it is! 🙂
Hi Claire. Thanks so much for the mention. With the regular photos, you begin to recognise the garden before you read any of the words and it seems oh so familiar. I love watching the changes in the gardens of others – especially during our winter, when there is nothing going on in my garden.
Although there is loads going on in my garden now – I just have to pick strawberries again, and the raspberries are catching up, and the peas… and don’t get me started on the watering. It’s been a while since we had proper rain.
Cheers Sarah : o )