gardening
-
A ‘Grand [and lucky] Old Rhododendron’
I’m reading Barefoot Years, Martin Edmond’s wonderful account of his childhood in Ohakune. He starts by reflecting on the childhood game of answering ‘what’s the first thing you remember?’ It’s a difficult task but it gets easier when he describes the second house his family lived in while his father was a teacher in Ohakune.…
-
The Arrowsmith Phoenix Palms. Part 2 Sixty-three years later …
Unless affected by disease or pests, the Phoenix palm can live for 200 to 300 years. This means that even if the first plantings (late 1800s) in New Zealand were still growing they would still be relatively young. There is a strong chance that the oldest specimen would be in Auckland, not too far from…
-
The Arrowsmith Phoenix Palms. Part 1. An Extraordinary Resource
It is well known that New Zealand has only one endemic palm, the nikau (genus Rhopalostylis with several species). It has come up in a few posts within this blog, but more commonly discussed have been Phoenix palms (Phoenix canariensis) and the Chinese fan palm (Trachycarpus fortunei). This weighting is not due to dislike of…
-
Outstanding in the Paddock: A Pauahatanui Macrocarpa
As readers of previous posts will know, I’ve grown fond of macrocarpas in all the shapes and sizes they manifest in the New Zealand landscape. This short post reports on another one I recently chanced upon. I had walked up to the historic St Alban’s Church in Pauahatanui which sits atop a small hill, and…
-
Off the Road in Manakau
Recently I spent two days in Manakau helping a friend with plum picking. This small country town is about halfway between Otaki and Levin, with the main highway going through its middle. The bulk of houses are placed to the east on a gentle slope towards some foothills, giving it a distinct microclimate. If you…
-
Encircling Problems: Pohutukawas and Some Other Palms
I finished the last post noting that when pohutukawa grow close by, or within the fibrous parts of Phoenix palms, sooner or later a decision will have to be made about which of the two plants is to remain. If a Phoenix palm crown grows above the spread and height of an old pohutukawa, it…
-
The Pohutukawa and the Phoenix Palm
Here’s a New Zealand seaside scene from one of the bays close to downtown Wellington showing two plants known to many: Centre frame is a Phoenix palm (Phoenix canariensis), that from its size looks to be about 30 years old. Above and to the right of the descending walkway are several Pohutukawa trees (Metrosideros excelsa),…
-
Cemetery Gold
I wasn’t intending to do another post on macrocarpa so soon, but while visiting Whanganui I came across a cluster of 16 gold-foliaged macrocarpa. I knew a little about the garden history of Whanganui from compiling New Zealand Tree Register entries on the Phoenix palms at Virginia Lake and at Queen’s Park, and from writing…
-
Plant Identification: hold fire on the app
Recently I travelled to the small rural town of Cheviot in North Canterbury because I’d learnt there were many significant trees there. Some were planted in the 1870s when it was a large rural estate owned by ‘Ready Money’ Robinson. The old estate was broken up before the 1900s, and the land is now called…
