What's Going On in The Gardens?

There is a whole lot of activity happening in the gardens, in our shade house and even in the trees around school. Here is a quick run down. The gardens are full of veges. The artichokes are particularly lovely. What a beautiful flower! Everybody will have to try them. They are great with a vinagrette. The garden club has been busy, weeding and planting at lunchtimes. We have started building wind protection barriers for the top garden boxes. This is a fantastic sunny spot but the wind cann be brutal and tends to harm our seedlings before they really get going.

Tom Mayo the Park Ranger came to see us last Friday and we potted up some new trees. Karemu from seed we collected when on camp at Kaitoke is sprouting now. We also have some Tawa that might be shooting. Very exciting!

Can you see the tiny Tawa shoot? We are also growing cuttings of Taupata which we hope to be able to plant out around the hillside next year. Tom said that he will take us on a seed collection mission too. We will be looking for Pingao seeds and other coastal species. Yesterday we had a Kererū in the Puriri tree. Good spotting Darrgh! It was eating the Puriri berries. We are hoping to attract more birdlife with a nectar feeder and this spectacular bird house. Finn and Cloe have been working on it all year and now it is ready to go up in a tree. Kākā don't make nests so we are hoping that a pair might set up house here. It will no doubt be a waiting game.

And, finally, we have a new compost bin under construction. We are planning a composting Event! An Event to put the new bins to work. A visit from the City Council Composting Team is on the cards too. Watch this space!