Struan Farm

The Pond, One Step at a Time

I couldn't postpone this any longer, it's time for me to tackle the clean up of the pond and its surrounds at Struan Farm. While I planted natives around the banks last year (shrubs, trees and flax), which look great and are good riparian habitat for ducks, frogs, etc., I need to weed around what I've planted again, and we haven't spent any time picking up fallen trees and branches, raking leaves, etc. etc. from the surrounding paddocks. Literally for years. So it's well past time for all this.

It's hard, physical labour. I've been sweating. At one point this week I found myself on my bum pushing a huge log down the hill using the strength of my legs (and hoping it didn't roll all the way down off the bank and break the fence below, or I'd be in big trouble with John!). Some might say I'm a wee bit old to be doing this sort of thing, but I like to think this makes me stronger and healthier, provided I don't break anything! It's the kind of intense project where I can work hard at it all day, but need the next one off doing something else (like spreading paddock grass seed) to recover. 

Also the kind of project where the results are pretty apparent--think the bank that I've been working on looks so much better. 

I'm also putting paddock grass seed on the bare spots once I've finished, which will help keep thistles and other weeds down. John will now cart all the branches and leaves away with the tractor to one of our burn piles, not his favourite job in the world but oh well. (Rumour has it that Aaron has been recruited to assist with this truck and bobcat to cart everything to the burn pile at the river, given the sheer volume of stuff I've swept off the bank....)

p.s. I know what you're thinking: this will look great until the next major storm comes through, and I'll be starting it all over again...Yep, that's a given!

 

Creating Citrus Corner

I've been off to Wairere Nursery in nearby Gordonton again, this time to pick up dwarf Meyer Lemon and Satsuma Mandarin trees. These will be planted in "citrus corner" outside the front deck of our new house at Struan Farm. It's a reasonably protected area, so should be fine for citrus. And it will be nice to walk out onto to the deck from the kitchen to pick the fruit "in due course!"

I've set them out for a final opinion on location from John. Our deal is I'm meant to consult with him on trees, although I do have a bit of a discretion on fruit trees....

 

In a moment of weakness I also purchased a pomegranate! This is a complete experiment, it's meant to be an attractive shrub, and if need be I can spray the tree with Liquid Frost Cloth from Country Trading to help protect it against frost.

Fourth and Final for the Fig

Sigh. This poor heirloom fig tree, it is a survivor and thriver. It was grown from a cutting John and I took from the property next door to Struan Farm, from a huge tree growing at the original homestead site dating back to the 1920's. 

It has now been moved FOUR TIMES, and I've said "no mas," which in Spanish means "no more." John had Aaron dig it up with his bobcat from the lawn of our new house site, where he'd planted it over a year ago. Seems John realised belatedly it will turn into a big tree, and it won't work between two pear trees. Hmmm. It fruited last year too.

But the good news is that it is now in a great spot on this point, looking out to the hills beyond the Mangaotaki River, in excellent soil.

May it recover now and grow, fruit and thrive in peace!

Clifford Off to Wonderland

As I recall Alice fell down the rabbit hole and found herself in Wonderland, attending the Mad Hatter's tea party. Looks to us like our dog Clifford is headed in that direction, just hope the Mad Hatter had a decent head start, or he could be in trouble!

Don't worry, if he serves Clifford a good cuppa he should be fine.

The Dwarfs, Off to Join the Gnomes

Awhile ago my sister-in-law Anna told me about a series of dwarf rhododendrons called "The Seven Dwarfs," named after the various dwarfs in Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs. (Quick note: according to Tolkien it's "dwarfs" and not "dwarves," so I defer to his higher authority on that.)

I wasn't so sure about wanting any or all of them. But in a weak moment, I picked up "Grumpy" at Big Jim's Garden Centre in New Plymouth, thinking I would put him in the new garden area I'm planting above the rock wall at The Homestead's new parking area.

John, of course, had other ideas, once I arrived home with Grumpy. He has decided we need to buy ALL of the seven dwarfs, and plant them under the tawa trees near the new house, with the gnomes. Previously I had been directed to plant only NZ natives here (I was itching to plant rings of hostas around the tawas, but was told no, definitely not...only natives). Ferns would be okay.

But the dwarfs have changed everything, and life is about compromise, right? I have now managed to find Grumpy, Sneezy, Doc, Dopey, Bashful and Hoppy (Happy was misnamed Hoppy by the hybridist of the series). Sleepy is rather difficult to find, I've been advised to preorder him early next season.

And so six of the Dwarfs will join the Gnomes shortly. Hopefully Ringo, Tico and Stuffy will be cool with that and we won't have any Middle Earth type clashes!

I've checked with Ringo, who tells me he's pretty relaxed about it. If they were Trolls that would be different, but the Trolls hang out up the Mangaotaki at Hairy Feet Waitomo so we should be okay. (After seeing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey think we can all agree Trolls are pretty ugly characters.)

Welcome Spring!

With warmer weather these past few weekends we may have turned the corner, and developments in the gardens at Struan Farm would indicate so. But on top of all this today it's official--September 1st is our first day of spring here in NZ.

The beautiful old magnolia at the Homestead has started to open:

The Rhododendron "Cornubia" at the Homestead main entrance (yes, the one we've been mistakenly calling "Bob Hope" for six or so years, that one) is coming into flower:

The hundreds of daffodil bulbs I planted last autumn in the Homestead's roadside wooded garden are blooming in "enough" profusion for me to be happy with that effort:

And last but not least, the first tulip has popped up, with lots more to come: