In contrast to last Saturday’s gorgeous sunshine, today is overcast and windy. In fact, there has been pretty awful weather most of the week, with some gale force winds forcing flight cancellations and Civil Defence warnings about flooding in parts of South Canterbury in the South Island. Thunderstorms and wild weather are affecting other parts of the country as well. No doubt you have all heard about the devastating bush fires in Australia. Smoke and dust and westerly winds have, believe it or not, blown across the ditch (as the Tasman Sea is known), turning snow pink and red at Mount Aspiring National Park in the South Island. Who yet knows what this means for Australia, and perhaps us here in New Zealand too.
Meanwhile, in my little patch in Wellington, I have my first wild strawberry. I can’t tell you how excited I am by such a simple little thing!
Last Sunday, I picked up this salvia at the Thorndon Fair. I can’t quite decide where to plant it though. I’ve been reading up about the plant but really need advice for local conditions, so will ask my gardening colleague at work what he thinks.
Next up, a lovely clump of nasturtiums by the lemon tree, and some other plants popping up elsewhere too. I fall into the ‘love’ camp when it comes to these flowers.
And so to the things that are not so good…like plant labels blowing away in the wind (judging by open seed packets, must be calendula) and an interesting display of marigold seedlings, caused by our cat sitting on half of the pot. Don’t talk to me about the new basil plant….it is no more as I forgot to bring it in for the night and it kind of ended up in another part of the garden.
The Peruvian lilies are still looking really good, though quite a few of them have been battered by the winds. There are still lots of buds and we should still have a decent display at Christmas.
Other things that are doing fine are the miniature sunflowers, most of the herbs (even a saggy dill plant which might be reviving) and the camellia bush which is still flowering.
Thanks once again to The Propagator for allowing us to share what is going on in our gardens.
As usual, I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s beautiful gardens in other parts of the world.
You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram@thistleandkiwis. As for Twitter….am totally inactive these days. If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com
Thistles and Kiwis 
I like nasturtiums too – they remind me of my parents’ garden in the house where I grew up, and I hope to plant some here next year 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely to see your flowers when we have virtually none!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve had a good few colours of nasturtiums coming through I don’t remember sowing, but that’s what comes of giving a three-year-old the seeds packets that can be sown directly into the soil. The last flowers have only just gone over after months of flowers. I’ve scattered some of the seed pots to new spots for next year.
LikeLike
That happened to me a few months ago…some suddenly appeared that I didn’t remember planting. They do provide a nice pop of colour.
LikeLike
We flew Wanaka to Milford Sound when in New Zealand some years back, did a loop round Mount Aspiring, then covered in pristine white snow. Utterly stunning. It’s an uncomfortable thought that we were contributing to the current state of things by doing so. Alstroemeria might yet be flowering at Christmas for me here, and outdoors at that.
LikeLike
Yes it is an uncomfortable thought that our past actions may not be helping what is going on with our climate. Oh hope your Alstroemeria do flower for Christmas!
LikeLike
This wild strawberry makes me want to see here, still a little patience. Same for the nasturtium. I’d like to eat the flower right now …
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is a pity I can’t post the flower to you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ps : I forgot to tell you that you made a mistake in the title of your Six … it’s 7-12-19 not 7-11 …😉
LikeLike
So I did! Oops!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That yellow nasturtium is gorgeous. Such markings & all the detail on the inner bits (sorry to be so technical in my jargon). Very lovely photo. I’m astonished at your weather, as your garden always looks so protected in the photos. But the lilies survived, you’ve a baby strawberry & that salvia looks very healthy. Which one is it?
LikeLike
Yes I love the detail on the nasturtium too and everyone is slightly different. We are protected from the cold southerlies, but not so much from the northerlies. As I am typing, I am looking at the rain coming down again. We had two thunderstorms yesterday! The salvia is labelled ‘blue black’ – I can find one called ‘black and blue’ so I presume it is that one.
LikeLike
We heard on the news about your wild weather – hope it settles soon. 38 degrees in Melbourne today and windy but thankfully here on the mountain only 33. Keep dry.
Flavia
LikeLike
Oh gosh that is warm! We have sunshine and blue skies today – much more like summer!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those jaunty nasturtiums go a long way toward banishing gloomy thoughts of the climate crisis. Lately, I have been feeling such grief over the situation. My generation has a lot to answer for.
LikeLike
Yes they are lovely. Well, it isn’t our generation….it is the rise of industrialisation going back hundreds of years. When I was young at least the big concerns was nuclear war and acid rain…and the threat of a new ice age. Science has also come a long way.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree, but the the challenge came to our generation to do something about it. And so far we have failed.
LikeLiked by 1 person