The Winter Garden - a potentially dangerous state of affairs ...

This morning in Pukerua Bay we are enjoying a 'refreshing' southerly blast. This wee breeze is coming from the Antarctic via the fresh snow which fell in the South Island yesterday - all 75cm of it. Brrrrr. Hence today's decision to stay inside and write about my garden rather than work in it.

I've been home from India for 8 weeks and have leaped head first back into my garden with unbridled glee. On the days when it has been too wet or cold, my Fibro or Geri's masto has prevented me from working outside I have planted myself in my window seat and tried to organise a brain which is overflowing with ideas. I have ideas sprouting left, right and centre which is exciting but at the same time a little daunting and very dangerous as I have decided to redesign many areas of the garden and am in scheming and plotting overload!

But before I show you what I'm up to let's take a moment to ponder just how gorgeous a winter garden can be. Even in the depths of winter; when one expects there to be little to admire or find joy in, there are gems to be found.

Tecomanthe speciosa

When I arrived home my Tecomanthe vines were flowering. They have hinted that they might flower over the last fews years, but I've never been home to witness it. These vines flower in mid winter and as I've made quite an effort to avoid visiting home during Wellington's winter whilst living overseas, it is little wonder that I haven't managed to catch them at it.

The Tecomanthe is a rare beastie indeed so it is an extra treat to have it flowering in my garden. This vine was found on Great King Island in the Three King Island group (some of NZ's off shore islands) in the 1940s. The specimen; discovered by Prof. Bayliss of Otago University, was the sole  remaining plant in the world. Luckliy it propogates fairly readily and is now growing with great vigour in many NZ gardens. It loves my garden because it is pretty close to the plants original home in regard to growing conditions. In fact it is so happy here that it can be a trifle too triffid-like at times! Anyway, as you can see the flowers are really quite beautiful and are a welcome addition to the local Tui population as a source of winter nectar.

Clianthus puniceus

Another native plant that flowers from mid winter through to late spring is the Kaka Beak. This showey customer is also endangered in the wild but is grown in many gardens these days so is safe from extinction. These guys can be pretty picky about their growing conditions but seem happy enough where I have them located for now. However their apple cart is about to be upset as the bed they are occupying is soon going to be redeveloped and the Kaka Beaks won't fit with the new colour scheme. Not to worry tho, they'll be moving upstairs to the top garden where I have a few gaps to fill. Hopefully they won't decide to sulk... or worse!

Fuchsia triphylla

Although not a native, this fuchsia is doing pretty well in the garden even though I've not been home to keep an eye on it. It is about to be relocated upstairs to the top garden as well, however I don't think it will be as upset about moving as the Kaka Beak might (will) be. I'll just give it a good haircut and let it get on with it.

Last but not least, we have another precious NZ native plant. This one originates from the Chatham Islands and is simply magnificent. It won't be in flower for another month or so yet, but even so its form is so striking that I think it rates a mention. This plant can be difficult to grow but if you get the spot right and it decides it likes its location it just thrives. This group is in one of the beds that I am redeveloping but lucky for them they work in with the new colour scheme so they can stay put. In fact, I love them so much that I have designed the colour scheme around them!

Lunch awaits ... as do the seed and nursery catalogues.

On the Needles ... a sneak peek ...

Now that the felted clogs debacle has settled for the time being, I am focused solely on this project. It is a gift so I'm not going to disclose anything about it other than the yarn I'm using:

Blue Skys Alpaca 50% Alpaca 50% Silk

and this photo of it taken prior to blocking. I am hoping to get it finished and posted off within the next few weeks, then it'll be full steam ahead to get the TMS shawl finished in time for the October conference.

If the Clog Fits, Wear it .... but if it doesn't fit, then what?

The knitting of the Shrek slippers was duly completed. Check.

Photo of said slippers; prefelting, was taken. Check.

Preparations for the felting sequence were initiated with great anticipation. Check.

However ... Pat and I were dubious about the size of the things ... they were simply massive! Some seeds of doubt wormed their way under my skin but I chose to ignore them ... for the time being.

We then prepared to have fun felting the clogs in the washing machine and the process of timing, agitating and checking repeatedly ensued. As it transpired, this proved to be a trifle challenging because it was so cold that night that the heat pump hot water cylinder struggled to make the water hot enough to do the job. Subsequently, after half an hour the expected felting process hadn't even been initiated and the clogs didn't seem at all keen to transform themselves into anything resembling potential feet warmer uppers!

Not one to be beaten by something as simple as a lack of hot water, Pat's 'Make it Work' gene kicked into action and a continuous round of kettle boiling and transferring said boiling water to the washing machine began.  Another half an hour elapsed. Some felting was becoming evident but not enough for our liking - those clogs were still mighty huge!  Admitting defeat we moved on to Plan B and shifted the entire operation to the kitchen. The stock pot was unearthed and filled with water and whilst we waited for it to boil we prepared a bucket of super cold water.

Pat attacked the clogs with some soap and then we plunged them alternatively into the boiling water then the cold water, before repeating the process quite a few more times. Felting magic finally became apparent and the clogs got smaller and more dense but it was hard going to say the least. Once the clogs had shrunk as much as it seemed they were going to we reassessed the situation, came to a consensus. The seeds of doubt had sprouted, grown and bloomed.  We agreed the problem was two fold. I had over estimated both the length and width of Pat's feet so those clogs were never going to shrink enough to fit. GAAAARG! It seemed as if it was time to go back to the drawing board... and also to try to find someone who had feet of truly monumental proportions!

I cast on for my second attempt; this time in a smaller size, and got knitting. Once they were ready to felt we decided not to bother with the machine and went straight to the kitchen to begin the boiling / cold water treatment. With baited breath and much anticipation we did a great job of imitating the witches from Shakespeare's Macbeth - Double, double toil and trouble ... We slaved over the boiling cauldron .... oh yeah - pot, muttering and with; in my case anyway,  the occasional manic cackle erupting in what seemed to me to be an entirely appropriate manner.

Hmm, ok .... no felting action!! What the heck ???

Pat asked if the wool had been preshrunk and I assured him that this yarn is sold specifically as being excellent for felting - but I had to admit I was beginning to wonder. We finally got them to shrink a bit but they were still way too big and Pat threw in the towel - or perhaps that should be the clog ... and resigned himself to having cold feet.

I took a few days to ponder and ruminate and then decided that there was no way I was going to let  something as simple as a pair of knitted clogs defeat me. I was going to make those bastards shrink if it was the last thing I did.

I had a load of towels waiting to wash so I decided I'd chuck the slippers in with them on a hot wash and simply keep repeating the wash cycle until I got the results I required.  SCORE! Finally I got the clogs close to what looked like the right size - after 1.5 hours of hot washing. Leaving them to cool so that Pat could try them on I finished the wash and discovered the towels were really, really clean hehe. After a fitting session we decided the clogs were almost right and I waited until I had another load of towels to wash before I started what I hoped would be the last felting session. One more 1.5 hour session of washing did the job and the clogs finally fit. Oh JOY success at LAST!

Now, I have a question .... Riddle me this ...
How come when one accidentally puts a woolen jersey in with the normal wash it comes out looking like an elf's jersey after one wash yet after hours, nay days of abuse, these clogs only very grudgingly decided to felt ????