A belated documentation of work carried out on Sunday 8th July.  I was spoilt with a range of new plants for the garden from my favorite garden centre Wairere in Gordonton as a mid-winter birthday gift.  So, finally after a two week wait in their pots - on a glorious sunny winters day I spent an afternoon planting my new additions to the garden.  Two roses to frame an archway which will lead up into an extended area of garden in the current paddock (yes, the time has finally come when I can no longer restrain myself from digging up the grass and planting more trees)!  I wanted something of a similar nature to my all time favorite rose Madame Alfred Carriere.  She is such a gentle creature, with very few thorns and flowers profusely - even in the middle of winter!   So, I have chosen Crepuscule - a soft apricot yellow which will complement the soft blue of the archway posts.  Crepuscule is a noisette climber which is supposed to be very long flowering and (most importantly) fragrant, and by all accounts with few thorns.  I can only dream of one day having an archway swathed in green and gold (like this photo below).

 - and just so I remember the magic of plant growth - here's a photo of the two plants on day 1 - for future comparison. 

Other activities on the day included planting three new fig trees (we are totally in love with figs at Violet Hill Farm).  Fig Brunoro Black, Fig Omapere (both red fleshed - cause figs just look all the more delectable with the succulent red flesh beneath either the black or green skin), and Fig 'Panache' - which is an amazing striped fig (again with strawberry red flesh) - I just couldn't resist its melon-like disguise.  They are also known as 'tiger figs' - how fabulous is that - tigers in the garden!

And then a final pergola extravaganza - two seedless table grapes, one red and one green either side of the burnt crimson pergola - I have visions of plucking grapes while walking under the pergola to the glasshouse.