Finishing up in New Zealand

Our bags are packed and our boxes are ready to go to the shipping company as we wind up our life in New Zealand.
The whole experience is very emotional but we are also excited about the next adventure.
The garden is sadly neglected so will benefit hugely from some fresh energy from the new owners.
We are still harvesting lettuce, pak choi, tomatoes and Chinese cabbage and there are still dozens of chillies on the pepper plant.

The chrysanthemums are putting on a impressive display, and brightening up the garden.

The kiwi fruit are huge and only weeks from being ready to eat. the odd one falls to the ground and if I am quick I get at least a taste.

The persimmons are hanging like jewels from their tree. They are still not quite ripe, so may miss sampling them as well this season.
Our next stop is Thailand. As it cools down here this autumn season, it is heating up there as they move into their rainy season. What a contrast it will be.

An end and a new beginning

We have started our packing. As I wander through the garden I think about all the things I will miss about it.
I will miss the all year round fruit, veg and flowers. It seems no matter when we show up here there is always something to harvest and some thing in bloom.
I'll miss the outdoor shower in the garden that we use in preference to the indoor shower.
I'll miss the chooks and their eggs, and the fish we catch so easily from the river.
I'll miss the sound of the morepork owl at night, the wakeup call of the magpies in the morning and the raspy growl of the possums and the song of the tui and bellbirds.
I'll miss this perfect climate that means I can always go out into the garden to work, harvest or enjoy.
I will not miss the non stop growth of weeds-go away for a week and come back to a hayfield. I'll definitely not miss the kikuyu grass- it grows meters every week,invades the gardens and takes over. It does make a nice lawn though.
I'll not miss the ants that take over the house, or the quail that seem to have found that my garden is the perfect restaurant for them and proceed to eat and dig their way through the crops before I do.

I'll definitely miss the vases of flowers I can produce any time of the year.

I'll miss the huge range of veges I can grow here all year round.

I'll miss the rose from my mums garden. It blooms constantly and has the most divine perfume.

The exciting news is that we have bought a property on Malcolm Island, British Columbia. This is a small island at the north end of Vancouver Island. We tell people to drive to the ends of the earth and take a ferry.
It is on a 1/3 of an acre across the road from the sea so lots of opportunities to garden. There will be lots to learn about this new climate, but I am looking forward to the challenge and in my mind have already started planting.