Have arrived having a brilliant time will post more asap. We are busy today celebrating Joe's 50th he is off to do some fly fishing and I am touring private gardens. Later......
Today I visited the gardens of Max (81yrs) and Mage (75 yrs) Snow who retired many years ago in Wanaka after spending most of their lives on a sheep farm in the Lindis area. Max had a herd of twenty thousand sheep that he, his two sons, and a hired man tended to. When he first began farming he tended to the sheep by walking and as time went on four wheel drive now his son who tends the farm uses a helicopter and manages the herd by himself. The sheep because of the arid alpine climate were Merino. Max mentioned that at this time of year farmers are shearing the sheep’s under bellies as a general maintenance to help keep burr’s ect from troubling the sheep. They are always watching the herd for any illness that may strike but because of the hot humid weather they have had more cases of fly rot recently. Fly rot can effect any variety of sheep but the Merino are particularly prone due to wrinkles or folds in the skin around their fore heads and buttocks. In the folds the wool begins to rot in hot humid weather and the stench attracts a type of fly that lays live maggots not eggs. If left untreated the maggots bore into the skin and quickly kill the sheep. The treatment is a dip but often has to be repeated and applied early on. When they retired from farming Max joked that he went into training as an undertaker as he dug sooo many holes in the garden for Mage. The Snows are like most New Zealanders very well traveled and have been around the world. Mage said to me “I love to travel so much you can just put me in a paper bag and throw me into a Nor Wester” . Through all of their travels they liked Africa the most and returned many times. When I first arrived to their home I was struck by the beauty of her roses so healthy and strong and commented immediately to her how impressed I was she like most gardeners down played her talent but did say her roses were far from perfect specimens as she is an organic gardener. Their beautiful home overlooking the mountains and lake Wanaka sits on 1 hecter (2.7 acres) All but a small area out back where Max still tends the chickens has be landscaped over a period of twenty years. When Mage gardened in Lindis she was limited to what would grow under the dry alpine conditions and found Iris was very successful she became such a passionate Iris grower that she even visited Boston to meet with the Iris society. But typical to what happens with most gardeners a passion for any one type of plant will often change their focus to another type of plant. When they retired twenty years ago and Moved to Wanaka her gardening interests shifted again to the plants that would successfully grow under different conditions. It took her six years to get the bones in and then of course the layering began. I would say that I did not see a single plant that was was not an excellent representation of the best of the species. She loves Japanese Maples and has more varieties than I can remember but she of course could recall every name. Some of the maples were so stunning and I have now discovered a new passion. Her Heath and Heathers were more stunning than I have seen anywhere. Companioned with the maples were pockets in the garden filled with rhododendron. The only pest she mentioned was rabbits and she protects young plants with a tin can. She has no insects that are pests ….something we in New England can only dream about. Sedums of course abound as well as Hosta, dog wood, and her passion of late are spring bulbs that of course can not be brought into New Zealand as bulbs but must all be started from seed. Her favorite being Fritillaria’s that she has planted in older sinks hanging off the side of her home like window boxes. The bottom two inches is gravel and other than that just the typical volcanic garden soil. Well before it is time to go meet Joe at the dock and see how lucky he was fly fishing I thought I would mention how fortunate I feel that I was able to meet Mage and Max as they have stopped for the last 6 years doing garden tours they are such perfectionists they didn’t want me or anyone else to see their garden in a less than perfect state . Of course my eye saw only perfection, talent, and the eye of an artist everywhere I looked but they were worried about the how tall the grass was in the rear yard. Robert our buddy, driver and guide who is originally from the Netherlands and looks like he is a distant relative of Nan’s but has lived with here with his wife Joan an American for twenty one years, mentioned that NZer’s tend to care for themselves with the aid of friends and family as they age rather than going into nursing homes. Well Joes boat has yet to return so I am certain that is a lucky sign and he will be coming back with a big smile and new passion for fly fishing. Miss you all love kt Later Again......Joe had a wonderful time fishing from boat and shore around Lake Wanaka his guide was a great guy and worked hard trying to find where the fish were hiding on this very hot day. At the begining of his trip he did catch a rainbow trout but released it thinking certainly there would be more after that...sadly it wasn't ment to be but there will be more fishing excursions so he still has high hopes.
