THE GLORIOUS DAYS OF SPRING

Spring seems to have been a long time coming this year. Now that it has, the warm days and blossoms are a welcome sight.

Second-year Braeburn apple and pretty well covered. Apart from spraying the apple trees for codling moth and copper spray to control curly-leaf on the nectarine, everything else is organic. Having an ongoing supply off compost is the answer to a healthy productive crop.

The Banksia rose is galloping around the front garden, climbing up and over everything in its way. Fortunately, it is thornless. With bees swarming around it, it's both noisy as well as colourful. Monarch Butterflies settle for a while before fluttering off.

This Clivia has done very well ... probably due to so much rain. They are very pretty and divided up from time to time provide more colour in other areas. I'm tempted to get the cream one next time I go to the garden centre. Good for picking and pretty in the vase.

Dianthus is happy in these pockets and flower for a long time. I think they had been eyeing their new home from the garden below, but the strawberries are now content in tubs and other places here and there. They are covered in fruit and yet to ripen.

This beautiful flowering cherry visits us from next door each year and welcomes many birds calling by for nectar. Waxeyes and fantails flutter back and forth; Tuis as well. This year, little Grey Warblers are daily visitors; it's lovely to hear them and often difficult to see them high up in the Agonis tree. They're such little birds, brown in colour and easily concealed among the branches. Foraging for insects crawling on the bark they warble away happily.

The self-seeding Aquilegia pops up everywhere. It will continue to flower throughout summer and fill up spaces. I like to pick a few for the vase and usually add little blue flowers like Grape Hyacinths, Violas or Cineraria.

This Viola is called Denim Jump Up. I bought four punnets of them a few months ago.  It's such a pretty vibrant colour. As they self-seed there will be plenty of spaces to fill.

This pear is in its second year and has two varieties. Doyenne du comice and seckel. Necessary to have more than one as they do not self-pollinate. It's well covered in blossom, so a better crop is expected this season.

Few empty spaces left, but there always seems to be enough room for other things.