Back in New Zealand

Arriving back in New Zealand I am once again overwhelmed by how over grown everything is. The grass is out of control, and the weeds in the garden are huge. But one step at a time, and slowly I'll get it all under control once again.
When it all gets too much I wander around with my camera and record all the great things that are happening in the garden even without me.

 

 

First thing I go out armed with scissors and cut some flowers to fill a vase or two or three.

 

 

 

 There seems to be quite a lot of flowers hidden under the weeds. From the sweet smelling roses and jasmine to the hot coloured canna lilies. It's a little bit like a treasure hunt.

 

The last of the December peaches are ready to harvest, and the avocados are thick on the tree.
The lemons are turning yellow and the early apples are ready to eat.
There always seems to be something to harvest.

 

 

 

 

It is easy to get distracted from the work, but it is time to put the camera away and pull out the lawn mower. At least I know there is something to look forward to when the work is done.

 

 

 

 

A few flowers

My garden in Thailand is very small and doesn't get a lot of attention.
It consists of two narrow strips , one either side of the entrance and a collection of potted plants on one side of the house (that get points for their persistence rather than their good looks.)
However just as I pack up and head out to New Zealand, I find their are a few spots of beauty and colour to be found there.

 

I am lucky to live close to a market, so I can always find bunches of flowers there to bring home when I really need some flower therapy.

 

 

Cool season

Here in ChiangMai it seems like the cool season has kicked in. The sky is blue again and the air is fresh. It actually feels cold as we sip our early morning coffee.
We've taken to driving around the countryside at sunset on our bike. In the golden light the valley is filled with farmers harvesting the last of their rice, and the pickup trucks are loaded high taking the bags of rice to the small local mills for processing.

 

 

The harvested fields are then either being burnt off or the straw laid back down on them in preparation for being planted again.

The bright green nursery patches of baby rice shine like jewels amongst the remaining stubble.

 

 

Our friends Bodge and Ya are also busy getting the last of their rice in. We paid them a quick visit to see how it was going.

 

 

Ya immediately harvested  some coconuts to drink and sliced up some perfectly ripe papaya. Yum.

 

Rice isn't the only thing they've been busy harvesting.

 

While up in the lower reaches of Doi Inthanon tasting coffee at a Karen village the other day we saw them harvesting tomatillos. I haven't noticed them here in Thailand before. They are tasty little gems.
I saved some seeds so maybe next year I can grow my own.

 

It's a good time of the year here for farmers. The harvest from last season is in and the preparation for a new season is under way.

 

 

Flowers or veges

While I am able to appreciate a beautiful garden filled primarily with flowers, foliage and trees, I find in my travels that the gardens that really get me excited are vege gardens.
They don't have to be pretty, just the sight of vege plants mingling with a few flowers and maybe a few fruit trees, all providing food for the table, will do it.
I love peaking over a garden fence and checking out what is growing, how they are growing it, and hoping that maybe I'll pick up a few tips or get inspired to try something new in my own vege patch.

 

Whether it is gardening in a container like this tire or on the side of the river as the waters subside after a rainy season as it is here in Northern Thailand, I feel my heart beat a little faster.

 

Gardening at high altitudes like here in Ecuador show veges growing in yet another type of climate.

It doesn't take a lot of fancy equipment. Just a sturdy hoe and a strong back.

 

On a larger scale - preparing a small field for planting in Ecuador.

 

Walking through the hillside terraces of Nepal one can see narrow beds each only big enough for a single type of vege in it, and maybe a few self sown flowers growing around the edges.

 

These small garden patches are often fertilised by the cows or goats that live around the homestead and the bedding straw from the rice harvest.

 

A simple bamboo fence is enough to keep wandering livestock out of the garden patch.

 

 

Many of the gardens in the tropics are set up so that the watering is done by diverting a stream into the garden and flooding the paths between the beds. The water soaks in sideways into the beds.

 

 

How about this hydroponic setup growing several varieties of lettuce in large bamboo in Thailand.

 

 

It is hard to beat the beauty of a corn patch surrounding a slate roof house and a background of snow capped mountains.

 

 

This stone wall helps keep the chili pepper plant warm at the high altitudes of northern India.

 

 

The corn has been harvested and is now drying on the roof in the late summer in preparation for storing for the winter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These gardens are all productive and beautiful in their simplicity. Often tended with simple tools and the healthiest of fertilisers - compost made on the spot.

I come away inspired, and get excited about returning to my own garden, and trying out some of the new ideas I have picked up on my travels.