I went out for an Autumn walk with our garden club and we visited a wonderful garden with many large trees which were showing their colours. It was a rainy afternoon but we were all equipped with umbrellas and thoroughly enjoyed our ramble. After many weeks of little or no rain , and with garden watering restrictions in force, it is very pleasant to have the Autumn rains come. The colours of the trees in our part of New Zealand are not so dramatic as in cooler areas but still lovely to see.
Lovely photo!
I'm not anxious for Autumn, but I do like that season in the garden. I really love the ornamental grass plumes.
donn, you will be enjoying your spring weather over there. The grass is called here, toi toi ( the Maori name) I don't know its correct botanical name.
Ahh. Toi toi is a Cortaderia. Very nice.
Enjoyed seeing the beautiful scene!!!!! Pat
Donn, so it is called a cortaderia, thanks for that, you have increased ny knowledge. Checked the name out on the net and saw an image of the pink blooming type, this is a very pretty variety but I think that the powers that be have now classed this pink one as a noxious weed in our country. But it is very pretty.
heya Tess ;-)
That photo is breath taking. We are currently Welcoming Spring here.
I know NZ is the opposite in seasons from us but to see someone post it is really something.
Your cortaderia is commonly called Pampas grass here and yes there is a var.whose feathery plumes turn pink with age.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=Pampas+Grass&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search
Cheers , S
ferrymead, what a beautiful photo. It is just barely spring here in my zone 5 garden. trees are just nicely budded. Actually when I walked a bit around my yard yesterday before the rain, there was very little green. so I admired the daffodils.
DonnaS
Hi Donna, yes, I was pleased at the way the photo came out, I really liked the raidrops on the lake. My daffodils are sleeping at the moment but when the come again I too like enjoying their cheerful colour. Cheers, Tess
Scooterbug, Toi Toi is in the same genus (Cortaderia) as Pampas Grass, but it's a different species. Pampas is C. jubata (Purple Pampas) or C. selloana (White, Pink and a variety of cultivars). Toi Toi is C. toetoe, which is very closely related to C. richardii.
Beautiful! I wish I had a setting like that in my back yard!
Hi there hczone, I had travelled down the road where this garden is many times, but had no idea of the garden hidden away behind trees/ Belonging to a garden club has given me the opportunity to enjoy these hidden delights.
Ferrymead wow you have my choice for picture of the day! New Zealand must be the most exciting place on the planet earth.
Where is Nelson? North or south island? Please keep sending pictures. do you have a Diary site?
Great Picture! Nice assortment of colours. What is the shrubby thing on the right side of the pic growing at the edge of the water? Salix (Willow)?
My significant other's name is Toi Toi. I'll have to mention that.
Ferrymead, it sounds like you're really enjoying the garden club. It's a great way to learn stuff, trade plants and get to meet like-minded people.
Saferdig, Nelson is at the top of the South Island. It has a port with a large fishing industry and its great climate means it has a huge amount of horticulture: viticulture, orchards of pip fruit and kiwifruit and because of its scenic beauty is also a popular tourist destination. Yes, I have a diary, not many entries as yet but I am working on it.
Oh, growin, I am sorry but I do not know if that is a salix. Was so concentrated on taking the photo I did not notice the wood for the trees! . I took another picture of a sweet little bird house. The owner was not at home when we were there so do not know what sort of feathered inhabitants it may have. No sign of any life at the time but perhaps they were sheltering from the rain.
Gosh, your significant other is called Toi Toi! Way to go!
;ferrymead, I like the birdfeeder/house. I collect bird feeder and houses. Some are suitable for outside and others are out of the weather decorations. Some are occupied and others aren't That is an interesting one.
DonnaS
ferrymead I like what you have done to the front yard! Your area looks like it could be a zone 5+ area is it? It is very similar to our trees and mountains behind your house. I always ask this but does the front of your house face mostly east and a little North? I try to get an idea off color of sun vs angle of light. It is harder to guess down there cause your Northern exposures are sunnier and our Southern ones are.
This is the only photo I have of the foot hills in the distance. Lots of fir trees here too.
Donnas, how many bird geders, houses do you have and what sort of birds come to your garden? As we live in a street of new homes birdlife is pretty sparse at the moment as there are very few big trees around. Have only seen sparrows and starlings sitting on the rooftops so far.
Hello Saferdig,
Yes, the front plantings ard coming along pretty well, give it a couple of years and I will be able to see how the planning has panned out. The front of our house faces noth east, morning sun at the front of the house and it moves around from left to right so we get the afternoon sun on the north (living areas of the house) in the afternoon.
Now as to the garden zone ....well, I have no idea, I do not think your garden zones would equate the same . Our climate is temperate and does not have the highs or lows of your continent. I will have to try and find out what the zone is in our neck of the woods. The top of the North Island is sub tropical, while at the bottom of the south island, the climate is much cooler and snow falls on the lowlands.
Cheers.Tess
Tess, Outside in the yard there are probably 25 birdhouses ready for the birds. The darn English sparrows are occupying some. A pair of bluebirds are building a nest in one. They are my favorite birds. i feed them mealworms, and they come if they are within hearing distance when i call them.
In past years I have had one or two pairs of house wrens and several pairs of Tree Swallows, but last year neither, I don't know why.
In side the house and in the area that connects the house to the garage, under the roof, there are a dozen or so decorative bird houses.
There are 7 or 8 birdfeeders around the house, plus 6 or so hummingbird feeders. I hung one hummer feeder up a couple of days ago but haven't seen any yet. The Orioles have not returned yet. There has been a pair of chickadees here for the past several years, but I think a Sharp Shinned hawk got them for which I am very sorry as I really enjoyed their chatter.
DonnaS
Ferrymead we have much the same birds as Donna but we have lots of Owls (screech and northern), Hawks (red tail), Perrigren falcons, Piliated woodpecker, Many bald and golden eagles, and the neatest is the nests of Osprey. So with all these predators around we don't get a whole list of song birds. though I enjoy the Grossbeaks, and crossbills,and humming birds. Oh yeah lots of geese like Donna we are on the flyway to Canada.
Here is a Zone map for New Zealand: http://www.liddlewonder.co.nz/zones.php
It shows you are in USDA Zone 9, almost 8b. I believe you have a very simular climate to coastal North America between where I live and northern California.
No wonder New Zeland is so beautiful. Zone 8 - 11. How tough it must be to grow things. Ha Ha. I am planning a trip down to see the gardens in your world.
Donna S ,
Hi,you are obviously a bird lover, you must get so much enjoyment from watching all those different birds who come into your yard. When we lived out in the country we had swallows building their nests under the eaves of our big shed. I once had a budgie and a canary but our cats managed to get to both of them!!! I never felt happy of having birds and cages and felt they they should be able to fly free, so I would not have any birds in cages again. When we were in Queensland, Australia last year we visited Birdland and saw all their tropical birds flying free and were able to hand feed the parrots. They were georgously coloured and it was so good to be able to get up close to them.
I hope you are able to take some photos of your birds when they fly in and post them in the pets forum.
Tess
Hello there grwin , so good to know what zone we have her. I have boomarked the hyperlink, thanks for that.
Saferdig, if you are in .Z. and come to Nelson you would be a very welcome visitor to us. JUst need a bit of warning so I could get any weeds out of the garden.!!
Tess
Here in America we always have our weeds out of our garden. We are always continually keeping our gardens perfect. Yah sure you betcha. LOL You will get notice but I need to get a sail boat first or start crewing out of San Diego.
