Hi all

25 Sep '08 9:48 pm

I am another newbie from Canterbury.

I first found Mooseys site a long long time ago when I lived in the Manawatu, but there were no forums from memory. I stumbled upon it again today and what a lovely surprise. So much to look at, so I will have to call back regularly to catch up.

I had a 1.5 acre garden up north, and am learning to garden all over again in this different part of the country.
This is a new canvas garden here- seriously new canvas and very large scale, so very exciting. I am likely to have loads of questions for the locals - hope that is ok.

Cheers all
Jan

26 Sep '08 5:28 am

Hello Jan,and welcome.(I wonder why you have Gorse as a pen-name -let me guess !)
All the photos I have seen of Akaroa are gorgeous-truly a unique part of the country.I have kept NZGardener articles from long ago featuring the old houses with roses everywhere.Are you on the peninsula or in Akaroa itself?

26 Sep '08 3:22 pm

Welcome back! Gorsegirl - hmm.... that's an interesting name! Still, it has a better ring to it than 'Broomgirl'...

Please ask as many questions as you like. Keeps us all on our toes! Happy gardening, and good to hear from you.

11 Oct '08 8:08 pm

Sorry girls- I didn't mean to be rude by posting and running. Springtime busy-ness has taken hold so not so much time to spend online.

Potting up trees, pricking out all the new seedlings, and part of today has been spent building a new retainer wall in our vege garden/nursery. There never seems to be enough room Confused

Thank you for the welcome - I suspect your guesses about the name will be spot on. With around 2/3 of our property in gorse and regenerating native bush, it seemed appropriate! We are busily clearing at a steady rate and so far managing to maintain the cleared land without too much problem. As much of a pain as gorse is, it does have its redeeming features - and right now the perfume in our valley is just delicious. Gorse mingled with Pittosporum and pine, and flowering Cabbage Tree not far away - it is like living in an air freshener factory. Wink

We are on the Peninsular about half way between the city and Akaroa, and it is a beautiful place to live. I am a relative newbie to Canterbury, having just moved south in the last 3 years. I LOVE the climate here - most enjoyable. Even the wet winter was not too much of a bother.

Thanks again, I will be back for more reading and learning.

11 Oct '08 9:25 pm

Hi Jan!
Hubby and I visited NZ about 20 years ago and we thought the golden hillsides driving down towards Dunedin were gorgeous. When we got to our hotel we asked about it and at first the receptionist had trouble understanding what we were raving so enthusiastically about... and then she said "Oh, you mean the gorse!"

12 Oct '08 7:57 am

We also have our fair share of the horror plant from hell. Many decades of gorse seedlings have established themselves along one of our boundary fences - on the neighbours side. We have unfortunately had to wage chemical warfare upon them and now we are ready for the digger to pull the bigger ones out. The seeds last up to 100 years in the soil so we will never be totally gorse-free, but it won't stop us trying!

I never knew the flowers smelled nice - I guess I was too busy hating them!
Can't wait to see pics of the new vege plot etc... when you've got a minute. Smile

12 Oct '08 8:07 am

We had an old gorse hedge along the water race which was removed some years ago - we think it would have been planted in the 1890s. So you can imagine all the cute little seedlings which pop up year after year after year after year...

It is such a brilliant colour. Just like broom, and dandelions... Hee hee! Work hard - you could post some pictures as a reward...

Hi all

Hi all

Banks peninsula

Broomgirl?

Gorse - the naughty G-word!

The G Word...