Tag: christmas

Another sure sign

A fall of snow may be a sign of Christmas in the Northern Hemisphere. Here in the antipodes, the white flowers on the myrtle are one sure sign that Christmas is near. Another is the vigorous Iceberg (haha) rose.

Despite being pruned in July to the height of the trellis, the rose has just about doubled its size to form an arch over the drive.

Balm for the troubled soul, as I worry about Mum and how we will manage when she comes home, and hope she will be fit enough to enjoy our Christmas and summer family events.

Christmas trees

As I worked in the garden this morning I could hear the hum of many bees. Sure enough, the Rōhutu (lophomyrtus obcordata or NZ myrtle) is beginning to flower and is attracting honey bees.

I associate the Rōhutu with Christmas, although we have a ‘traditional’ tree in the house, kindly delivered by my sister and family on Saturday (we were anxiously keeping busy while Mum had her hip-replacement surgery).

It’s usually Mum who decorates it, but this year it had to be me. She is keen to be home, but has a wee bit of recuperation to do first. I’m sure Felix misses her.

Felix takes a break from chewing Santa’s hat

While I’m on the subject of trees, I took a photo of this amazing, huge tree in Hagley Park as I walked to visit Mum at the hospital on Monday.