Struan Farm

Under the Redwoods

John and I managed to get the first installment of rhododendrons and azaleas planted under the redwoods this past weekend at Struan Farm. This is the area where we've recently removed some trees, eventually it will be the entrance to our new house.

The rhodos planted are "Lem's Monarch" (pink), "Cornubia" (red), "Bumble Bee" (purple), and "Karen's Triplett" (yellow, and of course my namesake). Here's Karen, looking happy to be home:

The azaleas we planted are "Pax" (white) and "Happy Days" (pink). Like to think that all will be happy and at peace at Struan Farm. We're envisioning a landscaped, woodsy garden here, so lots more planting to come. But it's good to get it started.

Spring Bursting Forth

We have a beautiful old magnolia in the front of the Homestead at Struan Farm. It's about ready to burst into bloom.

 

 

Happy Days, Sad Days

The happy news is that the lambs are starting to arrive at Struan Farm. Can't believe I caught this one racing on the fly:

Here's one that's just been born:

As these new lives begin we had some sad news that one had ended. My mother passed away this past weekend. 

I will be leaving for the US shortly. As a result, no blog posts next week, but I'll write this week's posts before I depart.

Mea Culpa but Good News

First, mea culpa. I haven't had enough time to write blog posts for this week. I've been too busy and am too pooped.

The good news is that the lambs have arrived at Struan Farm, so next week I should have some great pics!

 

 

Winter Roses

I'm realizing that we've got quite a variety of Hellebores in the gardens at Struan Farm, a number of which I've planted myself. These are also called "Winter Roses" in New Zealand, in the Northern Hemisphere they are called "Christmas Roses" or "Lenten Roses" due to the difference in seasons.

I love their delicate look. They are shy and often droop down, can be easily overlooked.

 

Dreamcatchers at Struan Farm

Walking out over Struan Farm this past weekend I was struck by the number of spider webs all over, on fences and in trees, glistening in the morning sun.

They reminded me of Native American "Dreamcatchers," which are meant to protect  sleepers from negative dreams. I've read that these were made originally by the Ojibwa Nation from sinew and hoops, replicating spider webs.

So guess this means only good dreams to be had at Struan Farm?!

 

Saturday Night's Special:Chookworld

John and I usually have a quiet dinner on Saturday night at Struan Farm, after  scrubbing up from a hard day outside. It gives us time to relax, reconnect after a busy week, and regroup on various projects.

From my vantage point there's also discussion and pre-positioning of my "wish list," including decisions on the sites for my soon-to-be extensive veggie garden as well as "Chateaux des Chooks" (in more common parlance, the chicken coop).  Lately I've been reading that chicken coops have reached doghouse status in the U.S., i.e., they're getting more and more elaborate. The latest trend seems to be building an entire garden around one's hens.  I've ordered a new book called Free Range Chicken Gardens to learn more.

While we'd given thought to putting the chooks around the new orchard, that's pretty close to the house and our main entrance. It's probably better to have them out of sight, where they could, indeed, have their own little contained area. I promptly christened this universe "Chookworld." Fits of laughter then followed as we decided the hens would be named "Fried," "Scrambled," "Poached," "Sunny Side Up," "Benedict," "Florentine," and possibly also "Soft Boiled" and "Hard Boiled" depending on total numbers. 

It's the sort of thing that makes our Saturday nights special. And on Sunday morning we stopped by to see Anna, who coincidentally is looking after some chooks for our friend Marg.

John can't escape chooks, they're everywhere!

Infrastructure Update

John has been working to make sure the new track at Struan Farm is consolidating, he's been running the tractor up and down to pack down the soil. We've also just purchased grass seed for the area, although it's still a bit early to get that spread.

Here's the new track going up from the Cottage Paddock, with a certain dog posing:

Clifford almost blends in with the mud above! Landscaping to follow, this is a major project.

 

New Zealand's Official Sign of Spring

A few posts back I wrote that New Zealand really doesn't have any "official" signs of spring, so I'd decided that the first daffodil in the garden at Struan Farm was that.

But I was way off base, and here's why:

Yep. These little guys appearing are the official sign that spring is here, when in fact it does arrive. And while the daffodils are starting to bloom away at Struan Farm, we still don't have lambs on the scene as yet.

I know, I'm always ready to jump the gun. But the lambs will tell me when it's here for sure.

Sweet Pea Pickle

I've been in a bit of a pickle over where to plant my sweet pea seeds at Struan Farm this year.

The perfect spot is the fence between the garden and the Pet Paddock, where we plant our sunflowers during the summer. However, two problems with this: (i) sweet peas are poisonous, so we can't have them anywhere near sheep tempted to nibble, and (ii) John is meant to replace this fence with a new one "shortly."

We consulted, as spouses (should) do, and decided that when John constructs the new fence it will go further along inside the Pet Paddock. So conceivably the old fence could remain to support the sweet peas as long as it might be needed. Problem #2 was solved.

With respect to problem #1 I decided not to plant along the length of the fence, but rather prop up two old gates inside the garden by the fence and plant seeds along those. Hopefully these will be sufficient barriers to protect both the sweet peas and the sheep!

I'll plant the rest of my seeds in other areas of the gardens, just not sure where as yet!

 

Wisteria for the Perfect Pergola

This weekend's work at Struan Farm included getting the pink and white wisteria purchased at our local garden centre last week planted around the perfect pergola, part one. "Pink Ice" and "White Silk."

Hope they're happy and ready to reach for the sky. I alternated pink/white/pink on one side and white/pink/white on the other.

My helper advises that he's pretty busy on the infrastructure side right now, but parts two and three of the Perfect Pergola will come in due course. I'm taking the rose cuttings to get those going now and researching grape varieties.

 

Infrastructure Project: Timberrrr!

It was a big week at Struan Farm. We're having to widen access to our new house site ahead of construction of the house and more grading, etc. So unfortunately a number of big redwood trees planted by my father-in-law Maurie years ago had to be taken out to make way for heavy equipment.

Here's what it looked like before:

These are non-native trees, and grow very quickly in the New Zealand climate, so it's not like giant sequoias being felled in a national park. But it is sad for us nonetheless, as tree lovers we don't like having to do this.

Here's what is looks like currently:

We've had a local timber guy with access to a mobile mill involved, so are hoping we'll get some wood we can use to construct tables, chairs or sheds around the property.

This lovely grove of giants has diminished considerably. We were thinking we'd re-plant seedling redwoods, but looking at it now that the work has been done we are liking the more open look for the entrance driveway to the new house. So the plan is to landscape around the remaining redwoods, plant rhodos and azalea beneath them. 

In the meantime just a wee bit of clean up to do!

Bromeliads in the Bush

Walking through Struan Farm's grove of tawa trees recently I looked up and saw this:

Reminded me that bromeliads are basically everywhere in our native bush. We used to call them "air plants." Technically I think they're called epiphytes, since they take moisture from their exposed roots.

Would not want to be walking through here in a strong wind and have this land on my head!

 

First Sign of Spring

In the US there are at least two harbingers of spring that I'm aware of: the sighting of that first robin, and Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog who does or doesn't see his shadow on Feb. 2, "Groundhog Day."

In New Zealand we don't have these longstanding seasonal traditions, at least in terms of the arrival of spring -- so one must look for an omen where one can. For me, this year it's the first daffodil of the season at Struan Farm:

 

This eager beaver is the only one blooming as yet, but I'm happy to see it and believe it!

More Trees

This weekend we planted two more fruit trees in our (ever) expanding orchard at Struan Farm: "Katy Cot" apricot and "Button Bright" flatto nectarine, both from Mapua Country Trading. I should confess though that I supervised while my helper did the work, since I'd been sick with the flu and was still feeling pretty dreadful.  My helper insisted that some fresh air and sunshine would help, but I wasn't so sure about that, much as my presence and input were desired.

 

We've held off on planting our "Santa Rosa" plum for now. A number of redwood trees nearby are being taken out this week to widen the drive, and we didn't want to risk having any new fruit trees in the path of that action.