Getting Rid of Agapanthus.

 After 18 or 20 years of growth agapanthus can be a real pest. The foolish previous owners who planted it put plants where over time they would hang over wooden retaining walls and wooden steps. The rain then runs down the leaves and rots the wood. That is what has happened down the sides of these steps.

 Which are now crumbling.

 R said if you can dig them out I will

mulch them up with the Hustler ( big mower ). So I did.   ( he sharpened the spade ) This is from the right side. Today I did the left side and rolled the clumps to the bottom.'  We then spaded them into more manageable clumps and I laid them in rows for the mower to go over.

 In a week after another mow it will look green again. ( kikuyu grass / lawn )  This was a 

  much better solution for us than having to lift it all onto the truck and take it to the green refuse station and pay by weight to get rid of it.

 The way is now clear to remove the rocks down the side and R to build some new steps with wooden sides.

Lots of Reading.

 I've just remembered to update my Reading List on my side bar. ( unfortunately Blogger has mixed my list all up ! )  I have been so enjoying getting lost in good books.  Authors I am currently passionate about are  Lucinda Riley; Belinda Alexandra , Fiona McIntosh and Santa Montefiore.

 Mostly we are staying home .  It's the safest place.

We have both been doing lots of gardening and now with a little rain things are are looking washed and less stressed. Water restrictions have come into force so the rain was very timely. We have had lots of plums,  tomatoes ,some beans, loads of courgettes, but  potatoes dug so far are disappointing in yield.

 Yesterday when 6 year old Grandson spent the day here we went collecting cicada skins. We counted them in piles of 5. 

 We also visited the Te Puna Quarry Park where the small ponds have flowering water lilies,

A small Finish.

 

 This little felt bird is a copy of a robin my friend Helen made before Christmas.

 I tried to use greens to make a New Zealand Bellbird..

 I sewed in 2 real feathers under the wings. ( they originally came off the peacock at the orchard  - I kept a whole lot )

 the green is iridescent.

 ******

 The Billington plums are now ready and there is a plentiful crop. They are red fleshed and tasty.

 A close up of a beautiful gerbra.

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 We all went to the jetty with the nets to  scoop out mangrove seeds and throw them up on the grass to get mowed up. We don't want our estuary to disappear and fill in with mangroves. Both grandsons enthusiastically helping R.

              Merry Christmas to All.

Lots of Gardening.

 Plants are responding to the care and attention I have been giving them lately. Frequent dead heading with the roses, carnations pansies sweet peas and gazanias.. 

 My 2  Abraham Darby  roses are gradually gaining vigour but its taken 2 summers. The weight of the blooms when it rains  means they are better if I pick a lot. as the stems are not strong.  Very lovely perfume.

 The first of my coloured callas to flower,

and the first dahlia.

 Grandson gave me a packet of bee flower plant seeds some time ago and I put them under the grapevine. Most of the flowers are blue or mauve or white but there's a few red, purple, pink and lemon.

 Not all have flowered yet.

 This lily looks promising. It was spectacular last summer.

 I have been picking some tomatoes from my potted one and the garden ones are forming. Courgettes are best small and we are loving the first half dozen so far. Have put in plant # 2. The strawberries are responding to water and producing lots of large tasty fruit. More than I can eat so some jam got made.

2 young boys also help with eating them. Something is stealing the few blueberries as they ripen. I can't figure out how. Yesterday I baked and baked . Froze some of it.

 If you have a garden you have a job for life seems to be true.

 The quilting progress is slow.

 I have made some more alphabet blocks and am currently hand making a felt bird ( A  female bellbird )

 Stay safe everyone.

Today I will start Quilting This.

 It's a rough and windy day in BOP. this morning  

Yesterday was lovely. Friends took us out to lunch which was pleasant. Here is a view of the rail bridge from where we were.

 So they picked the right day to be out and about.

 As it is all ready now, today I need to start simply quilting this.

 3 layers pinned together. The backing is a fabric that also appears in the front. As it is an extremely busy top I need to do something very simple like stitch in the ditch following the straight lines of the quilt. ( it is single bed size. I made it slightly wider than long so won't go over a pillow )

 ( I did consider hand quilting it? But decide maybe not. ) 

 

 Here it is pegged on the clothesline before I put the layers together.... but it was too windy that afternoon.

I better get started! 

***

 I have been picking repeat small vases of sweet peas which have a wonderful typical perfume.

Glorious Colours.

          There's lots of colour in the garden now.

 This is a raised bed behind a retaining wall. To the right wide steps lead up to the clothes line.

 It gets very hot so great for the lavender but the rhodo struggles . The rhodos also gets thrip damage on some leaves  giving them a white appearance. It's called Unique and stays a small rounded bush. ( lightly perfumed ) 

There are about 8 of this same rhododendron in the garden and the shaded ones do best.

Different light make this same lavender appear different colours. But whatever colour the bees still find it. ( see one in the middle below ) 

 By a narrow margin carnations are my favourite flowers. I am so pleased I have some established and flowering and pickable. This red is actually an even darker shade than it looks here. The clove like perfume is strong.

 This photo below was taken a few weeks ago and this display now finished but great while it lasted. Because I didn't plant it I am unsure which exact Pieris it is ( Temple bells maybe ? )

  

Would you believe my quilt is still continuing to get larger.

 I was given some more fabric by a friend and also had a trip to Spotlight.

 it has also been rearranged again! 

Kept Inside by Rain and level 2

       From the window at the top of the stairs I look out and there are no Kaimai Ranges today (or yesterday ). Looking the opposite way sometimes there is an estuary and stream, sometimes not. It is either raining or misty or pouring. Great for the garden but being BOPlenty  doesn't know when to stop. I normally don't go out much but that has reduced to even less.( So sorry for Auckland folk who really are locked in  on Level 4 still.) 

 Lots of sewing is being done. I thought I had finished enough blocks but when I tried the length on a bed decided I needed another row.

 So I am "magicking"  up more usable pictures . The ones I have enjoyed most are the black and white fabrics I have coloured with my pigma pens.

 

 I am still fiddling around with the final placement. ( considering light and dark, bold and less so )

 I also have to decide if I am going to put a border on.

 The outside  rows had to have plenty of surround fabric so the motifs don't get compromised by a seam or binding. Friends think I should put a plain binding in maybe blue? as it is very busy so I will audition some plain fabrics..

 I have been baking ( bread  - 2 sorts and orange cake and shortbread ) I have been reading but am limiting myself to a couple of chapters per day or I will run out of books again.

Sewing During Lockdown.

 Here in NZ we are now in day 10 of  Covid level 4 lockdown.

 Staying home the whole time has given me more incentive to get on with making my quilt, called "These are a Few of My Favourite Things.

 I have been using my Inktense pens to colour some black and white fabrics to make them more interesting for this particular project.

 I have been cutting out parts of fabrics ( fussy cutting ) to sew to background squares or strips. I had been through my fabric stash 3 times and was becoming a bit desperate what to use next. I mentioned it to my sister on the phone and she went through her fabric containers and popped some bits in the post.-  they got to me in less than 4 days.

 I am now probably going to break some of my self imposed rules. I don't really like cup cakes but I'll put them in anyway.

 I have drawn a few with my pens but they seem a bit pale. Otherwise it is coming along well. I think I may  be 75 % there now. That depends on the final size I decide on.

 Every night I sew more on while watching TV - cause that's not always very exciting.

 I missed the company of my Quilting friends today but made sure it was a sewing day for me.

 I hope you Kiwis are all well an doing as we are told.( for how much longer? )

Several Seasons in the Garden.

 

Over the weekend I finished pruning the roses so late  blooms like this ended up in a vase inside. ( Graham Thomas ) 

 In the same vase are Spring flowers like my favourites Burtoni Freesias and Hyacinths. A real competition for which has the best perfume.

 Outside the wind made  these daffodils  lean.

 A good year for daffs.

 The Valthemia in a pot is quite happy not being planted out yet.

 The 3 flowering cherries out at the moment continue to attract the birds. Such a delight to watch.

 There are 7 cherries altogether the others flower a bit later.

 The mandarins ( 1000s ) are finished now so today I picked the first Tangelos.

I have been sewing too. I laid some of them out . Some are joined in vertical strips now.

 They will get swapped around as I complete more.

 I am enjoying the hand sewing of the motifs.

 I have sewing group tomorrow so that will be fun. We do enjoy each others company.

A Bright Spot.

 

 A bright spot in the back garden ( on a dreary day ) as the first of 7 flowering cherries begins to blossom.

 The Tuis and Wax eyes are very busy in the branches. 

A Great Series.

 I'm interrupting my previous theme to tell you about these books that I heartily recommend. 

The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley.

 Sadly Lucinda died quite recently this year so that is a huge and sad loss.

3 of the covers.

 Each book is about 800 pages but I have just raced through them. 

 I have missed 2 but my local bookshop rang me yesterday to say my copy of book 1 has arrived. Another friend who introduced me to the series said they could be read in any order. ( true ) 

 If you google Lucinda's name their are several website that could give you more information.

 Do try and get hold of these if you haven't already I am sure you will be enthralled as I was.

The Pantry , the Freezer, the Vege & Herb garden.

 Basically it boils down to I don't want items that come in plastic or are over packaged. Paper bags and boxes / containers are fine. Any fruit and veg I buy I use my own reusable ( string mainly ) bags. I try to buy whole items like pumpkin so no need for glad wrap across a cut. Best I like to pick straight from our  own vegetable or herb garden  Meat from the butcher's shop is okay but not supermarket trays with plastic covers.

 We make  and freeze a lot of our own spreads like pesto and capsicum dip so those are in small glass jars which get reused. We do however like cream cheese  and frozen peas etc  they come in plastic. When we freeze our own surplus veges we tend to put them in plastic bags or containers( sometimes glass jars )( glass jars in a freezer can become very slippery and heavy ) 

 I use a small amount of milk and cream mainly for baking/ cooking but can't find that in glass. ( we don't have milk in our tea or coffee)( but sometimes need it for guests )  Maybe milk suppliers  could go back to glass bottles that get recleaned and reused, ( I know glass breaks and therefore can be dangerous ) 

 Looking into the pantry cupboard in my picture I see glass jars, tins, al cans , paper containers but I also see large plastic containers that are in constant use - those I don't mind as I am reusing and reusing. ( for flour, sugar, baking needs and  home baked goods . At the bottom are containers to reuse.

 Looking elsewhere. Should I stop using biros and instead only pencils. Should I stop buying sewing thread on plastic reels - they used to be wood.  I use cotton or wool or bamboo batting in my quilts. 

 I use bankcards that are made of strong plastic, some are renewed every 2 years. The ones I think we could do without are pressy cards and plastic loyalty cards ( lots are cardboard so that's better ) 

 It seems to me I keep thinking we need to go back to a time before things were packaged this way.

 Next post I will start on about clothing, footwear, cars.

 * Thanks for your comments  I did find shampoo in a cake. Haven't tried it yet.   Any other good ideas Ladies?