Greetings from the North Island , New Zealand , where it is the middle of Summer.
We moved to our home on 37 acres 6 years ago .We graze heifers on the land.
The first picture is of our land . Our house is near the bottom of the photo ,surrounded by trees .
This means that so much of my garden is in shade .
On the other side of the distant mountains is the Pacific ocean - the part of NZ known as the Bay of Plenty.
Emelle.
A shady garden presents its own challenges .
I just couldn't think what to do with this area ,below a huge cedar with three trunks .Previous owners had paved part of the area and heaped stones under the cedar ,so I couldn't mow it and it just grew weeds.
The photo is looking down the steps from the house.
Emelle.
So I made a Fairy garden .
I will continue with the story tomorrow.
Emelle.
oh my! what a gorgeous property - and that view!! Looking forward to your next installment
Catherine
Having good staff is important (I don't pay him much though )
Emelle
I'm hooked....
Thank you so much for your encouragement .
My daughter lives in the bush in Wellington ,with lots of native ferns ,which I love .I brought some home and planted them in the fairy garden as well as babys tears
Emelle.
I love the little snippets, leaving us wishing for more!
Emelle, your last pic certainly fits into cottage gardening!
Hi Emelle, welcome to DG. So nice to see another Kiwi here. I used to live in Karori, in Wellington on a hill overlooking the bush. I never got sick of the view :-) and I sure would love to see it again.
Keep posting the pic's .
wgnkiwi
Thrilled to meet another Kiwi here .I love Wellington - my daughter and her family live at Point Howard - can see the whole harbour .
Lord of the Rings fans might like to see Rivendell -filmed in the bush near my daughter's home. (Hutt valley)The sign says 'Rivendell '
Emelle
Rivendell - The New Zealand native bush that wgnkiwi and I both love so much .
I will return to my garden later .
Emelle.
Seems like a pleasant area to live in.
Emelle, clapping of hands here. Can hardly wait for more fairy garden pics.
Of course more pictures of such lovely lushness will be appreciated too.
Haven't seen you around before, really glad I noticed this thread.
~Blooms
Dale - I adore your fern -do you have it growing ? In my cottage garden I like to have foliage among the flowers to give more substance .With so much shade , ferns are ideal .
The first thing I did in the fairy garden was to plant -ferns -this is a Dicksonia ,-a native 'golden wave ' flax and some ground cover ferns ; then I cut paths around the big cedar in a figure 8 shape .The ground was fairly soft and stony ,but it was fairly easy .
If you look on the branch at the top centre ,you will see one of the fairies.
Emelle
I paint stones which I place around the garden .A miniature cyclamen is happy in the shelter of the tree ,among the needles and ferns.........I will continue with the progress tomorrow -In the meantime ,I do appreciate my 'new' friends comments ...I have been lurking in the cottage gardens for a long time , as that is what I love the most ....Emelle
I'm finding this interesting.
I had a girlfriend that used to live in Point Howard. It was before I got my license and we had to walk up that hill. What a killer! Please post more pics from around the country.
Emelle, delightful!! And what gorgeous countryside.
Welcome Emelle! Thank you for sharing- I'm loving your pics:)
At the same time ,I had to keep working in the rest of the garden which had been allowed to grow unchecked for so long .I scrubbed and painted the wall of the steps leading down from the house towards the fairy garden .
I planted plumbago and roses .
Emelle
A local man makes little concrete creatures and I bring them here to live .I usually paint them .
Emelle.
Please excuse a personal letter to Wgnkiwi - (but anyone may read it ! ) This is my daughters house near the top of Howard road -It is in the centre of the photo and it is painted red ...The only access is walking through the bush -(not too good with supermarket bags and two littlies !) The bush is full of ferns .
The trees are actually the canopy -the track is below .Wgnkiwi - you probably remember this house -it would be amazing if this was where your friend lived !
Emelle.
Your daughter's house is charming and fascinating!!!! And I am completely in love with your gardens and "creatures."
My girlfriend used to live at the top of Howard Road too! After many years though I don't remember which house was hers, but she had an amazing view of the harbour from the kitchen & living room. Of course, being snotty, lazy teenagers we were completely unimpressed with it and thought Pt Howard & the rest of the Hutt valley were a complete h*ll hole. LOL.
Not anymore!
Welcome to the CG forum, Emelle! Being from the North Island, you're going to have a much warmer climate than most of us, and I see many things gorwing there that are HOUSEplants here LOL! The fuschia in one of the first pictures was so perfectly placed, and the ferns, why, some of those are monsters! You would laugh at my puny things here.
The fairies are delightful and we'd love to see more. Since it's summer there, you have no excuse! LOL!
Oh, my! We need to get a coop package to go to NZ!
Suzy
Thank you - It is sheltered under the cedar ,so plants can stay there all year round -I do appreciate the climate here .
Well I was thinking one day ,as I do ,and I suddenly thought "Wishing Well "!!! Every fairy garden needs a wishing well ! .I found a design on the American website 'Buildeazy' ,and Hubby and I bought the timber ,and cut it out - I scrubbed and painted it before we assembled it .Building things together is not that chummy -puts a strain on a marriage ! However it turned out really well I think ...I painted it white and brick red ,and painted small patchwork designs on it -hearts and forget me nots.It is about shoulder height -I found a little bucket in a hardware shop and painted it to match .
The obelisk is a frame for a thornless rambling rose.
And a real live Pixie -taken by a besotted Grandma .
Emelle,
Adiantum pedatum is the fern in the photo above, it has lots of subspecies. Like all ferns, its spores have spread all over the N.Hemisphere.
Adianthum peruvianum is another fern that is the cat's meow.
Emelle, delightful!!! I laughed out loud at your comment about building together being a strain on a marriage!!! And, of course, just ooohed and aaahed over your little darling!!!
Dale, I love that fern!!!
Oh, Emelle, your wishing well is great! Giving me ideas......
Thank you for the name of the ferns ,Dale - They look just what I wanted ...I have some that spread over the ground ,and they look similar ,growing slowly ,so I am not sure how they will end up . 'Fronds NZ' are a good source near here ,and they export too .
This picture is to the left of the entrance to the fairy garden ,as I said ,I had to keep working everywhere else too.
This is from the paved area ,half way through the task .The path goes around the back of the cedar .The light green is Helichrysum Limelight .I have started cutting more paths at the front .The WW is not in its final place.
Thank you so much for this thread and for sharing all those gorgeous photos! My folks are leaving this weekend, spending a week in Australia and then driving around New Zealand for a month.... they're so excited, and we're excited for them! Mom says she's going to treat herself to a look at this thread after her packing is mostly done, LOL.
You're got a great eye for layering texture in your garden, and of course my favorite photo is the one of your precious garden Pixie!
Great photos and lovely gardening, Emelle!
In the previous photo there is a concrete stepping stone - the former owner left about a dozen here ,and AHA ! ! ! I had a bright idea ! ! I thought I'd make some mosaic stepping stones (but I'd never made them before ) In the next photo , the littlest Pixie has just heard the fairy bells in the tree .
Emelle maybe I will have to get a wishing well then I could wish for what you found in yours!! How sweet your little pixie is!
I love your garden wall with the flowers and bench, Oh my! What are your temperature extremes where you are in NZ. I think your first photo is breath taking, so different yet so lovely. Thank you so much for posting these photos.
Joy
What a dear little child!!!!
I fell so very honoured with everyone's messages of greetings ..It takes some courage to tentatively write something ,hoping that others will find it interesting. (Love to you all )
There were a pile of a dozen concrete stepping stones ,so I thought I would use them in the garden .
Here are two before they were put outside.
Marion....
The entrance to the garden , in winter -spring ...I planted little ferns there ,and campanula ,fuschia and dwarf agapanthus which seem to do well in sun or shade. There is a little hen there which I painted white .Zoe ,the cat is looking a bit disdainful ,but she was really quite interested .
