Brigitte’s autumn hideaway

Archive for the ‘Spring’ Category

This tui was sitting every day for some weeks in our tree to collect nectar from our Karo.

Fern has always been my favorite plant. New Zealand has around 164 different ferns. Sound’s like heaven for me

This one reminded me of a Christmas tree…

It’s koru looks so beautiful. Sometimes you can watch unfold the koru within hours (depends on humidity and warmth)

You can find a lot of koru patterns in NZ. It symbolizes new life, growth, strength and peace.

Other plants I discovered on our walk have been this lovely white flowers.

It is called Kirks tree daisy (Brachyglottis kirkii)

The flowers really look like daisies but not the leaves.

You could collect a bouquet with only one twig…

Near the tree daisy blooms another interesting tree.

It is called rangiora (Brachyglottis repanda) which leaves can be used as a soft ‘natural toilet paper’, that’s why it is also called ‘Bushmans toilet paper.’

There are many many rangioras in our region so look out for it if you need something in the bush

After a rainy weekend we enjoyed the sun on this lovely spring day.

The blue sky was amazing and so perfect as drop back for these lovely Japanese cherry blossoms.

This fig bush has already produced fruits before all the leaves are here.

When we walked the air was filled of the lovely scent of hawthorn.

I did harvest a basket full and dried it for tea. It is one of my favorite teas not only because it’s blood pressure regulating but also because it just smells and tastes amazing!

If you like to know a bit more about hawthorn just click on this link to my other blog

This lovely veronica (Veronica persica) always remembers me of my home country. As child I was sitting outside in the Spring sun watching this tiny flower with it’s amazing art of colours wiggling in the  breeze.

One of my favorite flowers since childhood is also forget-me-not (Myosotis)

It took me a while to find stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) in New Zealand… but thanks to Carolyn one is growing in Aileen’s bucket

Onion weed (Allium triquetum) is one of my favorite spring herbs. It goes in nearly all my dishes

Here is a picture of it’s beautiful flowers. The green lines in every white blossom makes them so gorgeous!

Our blue berry is also showing some lovely blossoms.

And this poppy was the most beautiful spring flower in my garden. It is as if the sun is wiggling on the fragile stem.

And look at this amazing stigma and anthers! Awesome how perfect nature can be.

Spring arrived in New Zealand but the nights are still cold and the buds of trees like this alders are still sleeping.

We had a bad storm in the last days but now a blue sky is stretching over our island and David and me went into the forest to discover this funny thing.

It took me a while to find out it was a premature pine cone since there are a lot New Zealand trees and fruits I don’t know.

After some rainy days we enjoyed a perfect sunny spring day outside.
We went to Takapu road at Grenada North.

Along the small Cannon’s creek river was a beautiful native bush with cabbage trees and tree ferns.

We met a nice German couple with two children and walked together for a while.
My husband discovered a rabbit running over the meadow!
That was a real big one! Hope you can find it on the picture.

At the roadside was a huge mud slide where the fence now dangles in the air.

I found some watercress at the road side and of course a lot of broom.

We had a lot of fun to discover a new corner of this beautiful land.

Aileen and David especially liked to climb over the fence!

On the way home we even saw a beautiful blue king fisher! (Click here for a nice picture on Brenda’s web page)