An article in the recent issue of NZ Gardener magazine inspired me, with a DIY bouquet of autumn leaves and berries. While we don't have the same materials used in the article here at Struan Farm, I went off to see what I could find in the gardens for seasonal raw materials. It was a good excuse, we've been so busy this past month that I haven't had any time to wander or be out in the gardens. I've been overdue to reconnect with the gardens, myself, and of course check out what might need a bit of love and attention in the process. I also gathered the last of the walnuts, picked some figs, and fed more than a few pet lambs apple treats in the process. Efficiency thy name is Karen. It needs to be!
While I was walking around I remembered the time I went out in the fields around our house and gathered a dried bouquet for my mother, picking things like seed pods, berries, Honesty, etc. Shortly thereafter I came down with a terrible case of poison ivy, the worst our pediatrician/paediatrician had ever seen. I even had it in my mouth. As a result I stopped picking dried bouquets. Sensitive skin, thy name is also Karen.
Fortunately we don't have anything like poison ivy here in NZ, so I think I can dip my toe back into the dried bouquet game. Plus I know what's around the gardens. I am wary of stinging nettles, privet, and cotinus/smoke tree, all of which tend to cause allergic reactions in many people, including me. I'm careful working with the swan plants we grow for Monarch butterflies, which are poisonous to people and stock and have a toxic sap that can blind. I've just been reading about the dangerously poisonous Phoenix palm tree, thankfully we don't have any of those here. Good news: I did find some colourful autumnal bits and pieces to play with in the gardens.
Here's what I managed to come up with:
I'm quite pleased with these, and I haven't gotten any rashes just yet, even better!
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