Frankton Locks, Montgomery Canal, August 2005

Old storehouse, Montgomery Canal, August 2005

Oak Tree, Montgomery Canal, August 2005

Wheatfield, Montgomery Canal, August 2005

Farm Bridge, Montgomery Canal, August 2005

Ellesmere, Shropshire, August 2005

Whitchurch, Shropshire, August 2005

As New Zealand suffers some of its coldest winter weather for a few decades, we're staying close to home and not venturing out and about so much. So I thought it a good opportunity to look back at some of our summer holidays in the old country in years gone by.

To start us off, here's a shot from one of our many canal holidays - this time, a voyage down the Llangollen and Montgomery Canals in August 2005.

Florence Court, Epsom

Eden Garden 4

Eden Garden 3

Eden Garden 2

Eden Garden 1

Our latest gardening club trip took us to Eden Garden on the edge of Mount Eden - a lush green haven known for its camellias, azalias, clivias and magnolias.

Bush Walk & Talk 5

The final tree that I learnt to recognise on our walk was the kahikatea or white pine. The most distinctive feature of this tree is the striped bark.



But when the tree matures, the striped bark disappears, and it's easy for an amateur (like me) to mistake the tree for a kauri, thanks to its size.



The shiny bronze leaves of a kauri tree are quite distinctive but that's not much use when the leaves of both trees are so high up in the air!

Bush Walk & Talk 4

There are few signs of autumn in New Zealand's native bush as most of the trees are evergreen. But these fungi were a bit of a giveaway...



It's Armillaria limonea above and some kind of bracket below - Crepidotus sp.?

Bush Walk & Talk 3

I learnt the name of this fern after our walk as well - a thread fern or panako. I'm not sure whether this particular specimen was a vine or an epiphyte but I was fascinated to find out that about half of New Zealand's native plant species are capable of growing epiphytically.



I haven't worked out what type of fern this is but I did learn that the unfurling end is known as a fiddlehead. And that it's edible.



This was the easiest of all the plants to identify and name - the five finger. The Maori name is a bit more difficult to master though - whauwhaupaku.

Bush Walk & Talk 2

Another plant that I learned to identify is the kiekie. In the photo above, it's climbing up a cabbage tree or ti kouka, an iconic kiwi plant. I had always assumed that the kiekie was related to the ti kouka because of the similar leaf shape but apparently not.

The kiekie will grow as a climber or as a vine along the ground if it can't find a tree nearby. It's the second most valuable plant for weaving, after harakeke (flax). This wall-mounted weaving, a tukutuku panel, seen on the inside of a marae, is often created using kiekie.

Bush Walk & Talk 1

I recently took a guided walk in one of Auckland's reserves. This reserve had lots of native bush and I took the time to learn the names of a few of the plants. Here's a mix of colonial pine trees and rough tree ferns - the most common fern http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifin NZ.



Last week was Maori Language Week - Te Wiki o Te Reo - so I thought I ought to look up the Maori name for the rough tree fern too - wheki.

Simplicity

...but despite all the showy flowers that I've posted over the last few days, I think this has to be my favourite shot from our trip to the Winter Gardens...

Exotics

More colourful shots from the hothouse at the Winter Gardens...

No Ordinary Orchids

The Winter Gardens had a wide range of fancy orchids in all sorts of bright colours.



But my favourites by far were much simpler - like this skeletal white flower...



...and this neutrally coloured winged version...

Succulents and Shadows

The temperate house at the Winter Gardens.

Hothouse

Chillies in the hot house at the Winter Gardens in the Domain.

Winter Gardens 4

Winter Gardens 3

Winter Gardens 2

Winter Gardens 1

White Rabbits!