This is the view from the seat at the end of my vege garden. Isn't it great? This isn't a good day, the southerly is rolling in, see those clouds and that rain over there? The sun sets behind those faraway hills. That's my roof at the right edge of the picture. We're facing the wilderness that is my down-hill neighbours garden. They never ever set foot there. Honestly, not in 10 years have they been there. I clamber over sometimes to cut down the gorse and the fennel. If I live here for another 20 years I'll claim it and plant a native forest or something.
We have our backs to my uphill neighbours. A nice young couple with their almost 2 year old moved in about November. Before them, the house was empty for 12 months. Before that it was home to an old lady, who'd lived there for over 50 years. She told me tales about the neighbourhood and the garden...she had great photographs of when our houses were built (in the 1950s). Well, of course, because she was in her 80s, and then it was empty, there was no gardening going on next door for a good 10 years. Over the last 6 weeks, the new owners have been making up for lost time. They've slashed and chopped and utterly changed the landscape.
It used to be that I couldn't see their house. Now I can see all of it. There is a public path that goes up past their house, and last week I realised that you can now see my garden and my house, right into the lounge, from the public path. I've begged them to leave alone two of the pohutakawa trees that march up the boundry between us. They've cut down kitty's favourite limb of another pohutakawa. He keeps going over there and sniffing around it where it lies on the ground! I've told them quite firmly but politely that I think they should leave one tree alone (although they've trimmed it heavily) because I think it's holding up their property above mine. They were sad when I pointed out they'd chopped down a pretty good apple tree and a beautiful rose. I managed to save the pear tree though!
Actually, writing this is cheering me up a bit. I'm devastated about losing all that privacy. I loathe how they can now walk up and down their path and look into my lounge. I have been playing more music, loud, because I can hear all their conversations at their front door with no trees in between us any more. I went into the garden to take the pictures before and scurried inside again becos I didn't want to get into a conversation with them.
The worst thing is, that just as I was getting to be able to plan new planting, and maybe buy a beautiful garden seat, and start living out there, rather than just working my butt off out there, it's become - well, not what I expected I guess.
On the upside, they're good people, I like them, and I've let them know, gently and without confrontation, a bit about how I'm feeling. You'd have to stand still, on their path, or the public path, to have a really good look at my garden or house, and not many people are going to do that. The light's changed at my place, there's probably more sun, so that's probably a good thing on the whole (but not good for one quilt that used to hang in a more shaded spot).
And the moral of the story is, be careful what you wish for. Because I used to wish I wasn't surrounded by gardens that no-one cared about. Ha!
But hey, look at that view. Come have a g&t up there with me sometime.
It's World of Wearable Arts time again. Here's the winner.....made of merino felt. Pretty cool huh? Lots of pics and the winners names here, with grateful thanks to the Dominion Post. Click on their blue text, there are over 30 pics.
This one is from Max, and it's lovely. Except I live in Wellington. When am I going to wear such sleeveless-ness???
This is the view from the seat at the end of my vege garden. Isn't it great? This isn't a good day, the southerly is rolling in, see those clouds and that rain over there? The sun sets behind those faraway hills. That's my roof at the right edge of the picture. We're facing the wilderness that is my down-hill neighbours garden. They never ever set foot there. Honestly, not in 10 years have they been there. I clamber over sometimes to cut down the gorse and the fennel. If I live here for another 20 years I'll claim it and plant a native forest or something.
This is the very top of my long skinny section (block to you Aussies) and it's the home of my vege garden. The wind has wrecked the beans, the peas have fallen off their stakes, but there are beetroot, spinnach, carrots (must thin them out), leeks and lettuce. It's the third time (different houses) I've made a vege garden. This was a very low budget dig-up-a-patch-of-grass kindof garden. It's fun! There's a seat at the end there, it has the best view, photo to come in another post, and gets the absolute last of the sun. Sunset and a glass of wine, here I come.
This is to the right, and below the vege garden. That's a nice sunny seat to sit on. See that sloping bare earth? I'm growing to sow grass there, and plant 60 daffodil bulbs and let them naturalise. My very own daffodil lawn.
This is directly below the vege garden. It's a very steep bank. I've planted hebes, that are low growing and will spread out. 'Otara' which is a deep purpley blue, and 'champagne' a small white flower. I planted spreading rosemary too....so eventually it will all be covered. There's room for a ground cover rose I think. I'm going to find a yellow one.
This is my lovely yellow tree, in the front garden this time, taken from my bedroom window. That's an old bathtub I uncovered from the grass and weeds, with great crops of parsley, sage, chives, mint and a cute little bushy basil - Greek basil I think it's called.
and then, looking just to the left of the herb bath planter, here's the front lawn, and the bin I filled today, in one last big clean up. it's the third bin I've filled, and I've driven my packed car to the tip over a dozen times. Bamboo grows madly on that patch I've cleared today, so there'll be spraying and digging for a long time to come til it's gone for good.
This is a special little quilt, recently given away. 
Autumn sunsets are often pretty, maybe it's just that they're getting earlier so I notice them more.
I need to make a blue stripey quilt. That's a painting, not a quilt (via apartment therapy long, long ago).
This wallpaper would look wonderful on the wall at the head of my bed. I think it's from Laura Ashley, who's no where near as prissy as she used to be.
It's raining, so the planned garden blitz isn't going to happen today. Instead I am off to try to excavate enough bare space in Jack's room so I can get ready to paint it. It's going to be black and white, with a few natural timber accents, and (one fine day), a neutral carpet. No other colour allowed, because that's the way he wants it.
