October in the Maara

There really is nothing quite like this time of the year in the māra… The joys and rites of spring… Seeds are sprouting merrily on windowsills and being transferred optimistically to the māra where ngā manu are maniacal, digging out every new tipu they find. We find ourselves in the act of ongoing and creative problem solving. Parakore (zero-waste) measures for plant salvation involve cutting the bottoms off plastic bottles and using them as small slug-proof hot-houses for seedlings that will otherwise be dug up and kicked over by the nesting, maddening and many manu, or failing that, eaten by the slugs and snails who are on the chomp. A bamboo stake will help sure up bottle hot-houses against the equinox winds.

We love our ever-reliable chamomile and marigolds that self-seed and spring up in a flurry adding colour, texture and warmth around the māra, we are popping hollyhock seedlings in where we want higher flowers later in the season, and cosmos in gaps! The most exciting gardening news is we have had a digger in the paddock and have a big flat clear space to play with, where there was, for quite some time, a mountain of stones and claggy soil pulled out from under the Hub by the hard-working building team who are probably quite pleased they are almost done here!