July 8, 2015
Pyrostegia venusta or Orange Flame Vine is in full flower this month. It’s unusual in that it tends to lose leaves & look fairly insignificant in […]
June 22, 2015
Lemon fruits are maturing this month bringing splashes of cheerful yellow into our winter gardens. They are a great specimen tree as well as useful. There are […]
June 3, 2015
I decided to use Guava just to show off this photo of a kereru eating the last of our red guavas at the end of May. We’ve had […]
March 1, 2015
It’s officially Autumn today – March 1st. It’s also 27 degrees in Auckland and people are getting sunburnt. So before our deciduous trees start baring all […]
March 1, 2015
Chilli are a type of Capsicum and they are ripening in gardens now. Although they originated in the Americas (Mexico, Central & South), India is now […]
February 8, 2015
While on the theme of red (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis), I am so enjoying a great harvest of tomatoes right now. Originally from the Andes, many different varieties have been […]
February 8, 2015
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. This is the species we see in the north with the classical “Hawaiin flowers”. These plants are becoming more evident in Auckland – perhaps […]
January 1, 2015
Passiflora edulis – our most popular black passionfruit is just about ready to eat now. Did you know there are over 300 species of passionfruit, mostly […]
January 1, 2015
Fuchsia procumbens. Sorry there is no nicer way of naming it. This is our only native fuchsia which looks nothing like the fuchsias we used to […]
December 18, 2014
Also known as Sambucus nigra, Elderberry is a deciduous shrub growing up to 5m tall, but can be pruned or hedged to any height. They will […]
December 1, 2014
December plant of this month has got to be our iconic “Christmas Tree” – Pohutukawa aka Metrosideros excelsa. Around Auckland the trees are flowering on cue […]