HIGH COUNTRY GARDENING
When we purchased the land in 1995 it was just a sub division, fifty two hectares of slightly neglected farmland. The area we selected to erect the house upon was a weed infested paddock near the road, with gorse and grand daddy broom flourishing in all directions. There was so much to do - find and buy horses, build the garage, build the house, put in a well, obtain electricity and telephone, do a mass of fencing. As each building was completed I was already making plans for what I could put where. Being a very keen gardener in the U.K, in fact earning my living as a gardener in the last few years, I was fairly certain that with gorse and broom doing so well the soil would probably take happily to more cultivated species.
My two big problems were lack of time, we were so busy from dawn to dusk, and a distinct lack of funds. There had been no cash coming in for all the months of packing up and travelling and now it was obvious that plants of any kind were going to be very low on the list of priorities. Fortunately New Zealand has a very friendly population and everyone I met was keen to give me cuttings and seedlings and advice . Our beloved nor- westers were problematic. We badly needed wind breaks to allow the new small plants some respite. Early on we had a really bad drought and a gardening expert on television advised people to tie a wet blanket round the trunk of a tree to help save its life. I remarked that to soak a large hanky and tie it round my "tree" would be enough to topple it over!
My two big problems were lack of time, we were so busy from dawn to dusk, and a distinct lack of funds. There had been no cash coming in for all the months of packing up and travelling and now it was obvious that plants of any kind were going to be very low on the list of priorities. Fortunately New Zealand has a very friendly population and everyone I met was keen to give me cuttings and seedlings and advice . Our beloved nor- westers were problematic. We badly needed wind breaks to allow the new small plants some respite. Early on we had a really bad drought and a gardening expert on television advised people to tie a wet blanket round the trunk of a tree to help save its life. I remarked that to soak a large hanky and tie it round my "tree" would be enough to topple it over!
Getting Started
The Bank Below The New Vege Patch. Grandaddy Gorse Is The Feature Plant.
Vital Rock Walls To Protect The wee Vege Plants
Persistence Pays Off. Builders Tip On The West End Of The House 2007
There Is Now A Deck With A Porch On The West Side Of The House. 2007
A Cool, Shady, Woodland Environment For A Lovely Rhododendron Near The Front Gate.
Roses Just Love The Manure Rich Environment
