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runktrun

Photos of Plants Near And Far Part Two

runktrun
17 years ago

Not being very techie I have yet to find any one location that works well for both my long winded text and large numbers of photos. What I have come up with this time is each day to post my journal ramblings here on GW and post the coordinating photos in individual online albums. Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestionsŅŅ..

Today I visited the gardens of Max (81yrs) and Marge (75 yrs) Snow who retired many years ago in Wanaka New Zealand after spending most of their lives on a sheep farm in the Lindis area. Max had a herd of twenty thousand sheep that he, his two sons, and a hired man tended to. When he first began farming he tended to the sheep by walking and as time went on four wheel drive now his son who tends the farm uses a helicopter and manages the herd by himself. The sheep because of the arid alpine climate were Merino. Max mentioned that at this time of year farmers are shearing the sheepÂs under bellies as a general maintenance to help keep burrÂs ect from troubling the sheep. They are always watching the herd for any illness that may strike but because of the hot humid weather they have had more cases of fly rot recently. Fly rot can effect any variety of sheep but the Merino are particularly prone due to wrinkles or folds in the skin around their fore heads and buttocks. In the folds the wool begins to rot in hot humid weather and the stench attracts a type of fly that lays live maggots not eggs. If left untreated the maggots bore into the skin and quickly kill the sheep. The treatment is a dip but often has to be repeated and applied early on. When they retired from farming Max joked that he went into training as an undertaker as he dug sooo many holes in the garden for Marge. The Snows are like most New Zealanders very well traveled and have been around the world. Marge said to me "I love to travel so much you can just put me in a paper bag and throw me into a Nor Wester". She was currently reading Anne MustoeÂs "A Bike Ride: 12,000 Miles Around the World" which she described in such animated detail that I canÂt wait to read it myself. Through all of the SnowÂs travels they liked Africa the most and returned many times. When I first arrived to their home I was struck by the beauty of her roses so healthy and strong and commented immediately to her how impressed I was she like most gardeners down played her talent but did say her roses were far from perfect specimens as she is an organic gardener. Their beautiful home overlooking the mountains and lake Wanaka sits on 1 hecter (2.7 acres) All but a small area out back where Max still tends the chickens has been landscaped over a period of twenty years. When Marge gardened in Lindis she was limited to what would grow under the dry alpine conditions and found Iris was very successful she became such a passionate Iris grower that she even visited Boston to meet with the Iris society. But typical to what happens with most gardeners a passion for any one type of plant will often change their focus to another type of plant. When they retired twenty years ago and Moved to Wanaka her gardening interests shifted again to the plants that would successfully grow under different conditions. It took her six years to get the bones in and then of course the layering began. I would say that I did not see a single plant that was was not an excellent representation of the best of the species. She loves Japanese Maples and has more varieties than I can remember but she of course could recall every name. Some of the maples were so stunning and I have now discovered a new passion. Her Heath and Heathers were more stunning than I have seen anywhere. Companioned with the maples were pockets in the garden filled with rhododendron. The only pest she mentioned was rabbits and she protects young plants with a tin can. She has no insects that are pests Â.something we in New England can only dream about. Sedums of course abound as well as Hosta, Dogwood, and her passion of late are spring bulbs that of course can not be brought into New Zealand as bulbs but must all be started from seed. Her favorite being FritillariaÂs that she has planted in older sinks hanging off the side of her home like window boxes. The bottom two inches is gravel and other than that just the typical volcanic garden soil. Well before it is time to go meet Joe at the dock and see how lucky he was fly fishing I thought I would mention how fortunate I feel that I was able to meet Marge and Max as they have stopped for the last 6 years doing garden tours they are such perfectionists they didnÂt want me or anyone else to see their garden in a less than a perfect state. Of course my eye saw only perfection, talent, and the eye of an artist everywhere I looked but they were worried about the how tall the grass was in the rear yard. kt

Wanaka Garden

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