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Altruistic artichoke

The broad beans have finished and new plants are in the garden. I’m using the four stage rotation system and planted a tomato plant and a green zucchini where the beans were, and dwarf beans where the silver beet was. Beyond them, you can see how much the runner beans have grown since I posted about the bean frame recently (Old school tools, 9 Nov). The artichoke (on the left in the photo) takes up a lot of room in the garden but it is sculptural and interesting, even if I have found the artichokes pretty much inedible (Artichoke, anyone? 29 Dec 2020) or, at least, not worth the effort.

Artichokes are forming on the plants now and give the impression of bobble-headed stick figures throwing their arms upward as they ‘dance’ in the breeze. I’ve posted about their antics before (Wind-ravaged 21 Dec, 2021).

Having this anthropomorphic view in my subconscious, I was interested to see the artichoke had leaned across with one of its leaves as if to shade the zucchini plant from the sun. When the sun moved off that part of the garden, the leaf lifted up again.

From this, to this?

NZ Gardener

A photo in a magazine shows sweet peas growing on a greenhouse frame. This gave me inspiration. The greenhouse I put together in September 2020 had lost most of its plastic sheeting which I’d replaced with shade cloth. The lettuces I tried to grow in it this year were ravaged by white fly.

After seeing the photo, I ripped out the last of the plastic (now washed and ready for soft plastic recycling) and removed the shade cloth. I’ve planted dwarf sweet peas in the relined, replenished hanging basket, tall sweet peas in the black bucket and alyssum – to ward off white fly – in the other planter. A bit of old trellis softens the harshness of the iron fence a little. I doubt if I’ll achieve the lushness of the magazine photo with this dry, hot weather, but here’s hoping for some flowers.

In the bathroom window

It’s rare to see ladybirds, so I was pleased to see this one on the bathroom window frame this morning. However, having looked on the iNaturalist site, I can see there are many species and some of them are not so helpful. The Green Goddess site waxes lyrical about ladybirds until you scroll further down to the information on the Harlequin Ladybird and other pests. My visitor is possibly an Asian Lady Beetle, but it could be the Harlequin as they seem to have a variety of colours and markings. It had flown away before I had discovered it might not be such a welcome visitor after all. Like everything else, however, it will have to take its chances in my wild garden*.

*Like the little bird which rests on the fisherman’s boat in In the Old Man and the Sea.

It’s summer

Today there are cherries in my local fruit and vegetable shop so it’s official: it’s summer. There have been blueberries for a few weeks and, more recently, apricots. Asparagus is well into its season. And, because it’s close to Christmas, all sorts of tempting treats are offered and proving irresistible. Less healthy for the body, but great for one’s state of mind in my opinion!

Fading beauty

‘O Rose thou art sick…’ William Blake, The Sick Rose

From this…
…to this

This summer, the westerland rose is not as it was. Huge multiple blooms are this year a third the size. Only one or two pale flowers on each stem will bloom while the others wither away. Small stems sprouting from the branches blacken and die. This is despite my efforts to prune well in winter and to remove any dieback. I have fed it and watered it – perhaps too little too late.

In contrast, the iceberg has formed an arch across the drive. I can walk under it and smell the roses at nose level.

Eye catchers

Groovy glasses

My eye was caught by this picture (above) in a gift shop this morning. You could have a lot of fun decoding the messages in it.

As I walked home these signs caught my eye.

Even if you made it to the gate in 5 seconds it was wide open and the fence would be very easy for a dog to jump.

At the end of the street is a nice piece of roadside planting which could win the prize for best berm. It slopes down to a little wooden bridge over a creek. When I had dogs, they used to love running down and investigating the creek and shrubs on our walks. On the railing of the bridge I spotted two 50c coins with the ship Endeavour on one side. I liked the old large version of this coin.

Speaking of walking the dogs, this van pulled into a driveway in front of me and a woman, who looked fit and weatherbeaten, unloaded a shaggy brown dog.

On the other side of the road my eye was caught by these two flags on neighbouring houses:

On the left is the Hundertwasser flag and on the right is the United Tribes of New Zealand flag which dates back to the 1830s. Along with the Māori flag, it featured in the recent hīkoi mo te Tiriti.

At home, I looked at my collection of coins from here and around the world, but did not find one of the old 50c coins, just the old 20c coin, a 1936 penny (British), a 1945 penny and a 1947 half penny.

I used to wear the Japanese coins on my shoelaces as was the trend when I was in Japan. Apparently, there were holes in the middle of the coins so they could be threaded on string for safekeeping. The Danish coin has a hole so blind people can distinguish one coin from another. This made me think of the many things which could not catch my eye if I were blind.

On spec

In retirement, I’m outside so often it makes sense to have prescription sunglasses instead of using (when I remember) my old clip-on flip-ups.

It’s good to have found a pair of titanium frames by the same designer as my ‘normal’ glasses – and same colour – which I’ve had for almost ten years and which look new.

Although the glasses place (aka ‘Eyewear Gallery’) I have gone to for many years has changed hands, some of the same staff are there (wearing sensational specs) and they still have a range of interesting frames and the slogan ‘No boring specs allowed’. The store has kept its art deco vibe – and awesome technology. It cheers me up.

On seeing them, my brother mentioned Elton John. I was thinking more along the lines of Jackie O.

A fine vintage

The number plate on this Armstrong Siddeley made me stop and take a photo. It’s the same vintage as I am and wearing it well; similarly wide across the beam but still shiny.

The hood ornament is pretty ferocious. What I took to be a warrior holding weapons turns out to be a sphinx with wings mounted on jet engines. It looks as if it is crouching, but it is the jets reflected in the bonnet which create that impression.

New lawn mower barely cuts it

Some people prefer all hard surfaces in the garden, with pots and raised beds. I like a bit of green lawn too but no more than is manageable with a small hand mower. I tried the new mower yesterday and inspected the result this morning.

It’s a little unevenly mowed in places – where the dogs used to dig and the chooks had dust baths. When I had chooks I didn’t mow much at all so they could enjoy being up to their feathery bums in grass. Grass and weeds I should say. It is still quite weedy in places, which doesn’t bother me.

The new mower was quite a different experience from the old one. It felt as if you didn’t have to make any effort at all – and I do like to feel that I am getting exercise as I mow. The mower purrs along nicely not making a loud clacking as I feared it might.

However, the new mower seemed to make no impression on the lawn at all! For a panicked moment I regretted leaving the dear old Meteor at the shop. Luckily, you don’t have to muck about with spanners to lower the blades on the new mower. There are huge wingnut screws on each side. Even then, the catcher was barely half full when I finished mowing. Still, it looks tidy enough – especially with the edges done.

Here’s Felix, getting a bird’s eye view from the cabbage tree.

Lately, he’s been racing to the very top of the trees. Sometimes he chases his tail up there while I hold my breath down below.

Masport Meteor misses the cut

It’s goodbye to the old faithful family heirloom push mower this morning. The roller fell off again and, with the wheels looking about to follow suit, I decided to replace it with a new shiny mower. It was sad though, to leave it in the mower shop to be used for parts.

Old mower – although, I suspect the handle is not original. The new mower is behind it to the right.

The new mower is lighter and wider. You don’t need to put oil in little flip-lid points as it has sealed parts, but the manual recommends cleaning and oiling the cutting blades. There are huge, easy to use, screws for altering the height of the blades – which is good, as I like to have them high in summer. It is made in Durban, South Africa, whereas the Masport Meteor was made in New Zealand. I hope I don’t regret this decision!