More from the garden of earthy delights.

At the end of last week's very exciting episode, we left Jeanne strolling down a hill in search of some further horticultural adventures. We'll catch up to her in a minute, but in the meantime, I have been doing some research of my own.

You'll no doubt recall, if you're a regular reader of mine, that I mentioned H. Bosch's painting entitled, The Garden of Earthly Delights in last week's post. I said at one point that it was very different than this 'garden of earthy delights,' aka Auckland Botanic Garden. That's true, but with a notable exception.   

The one similarity between the two gardens I think is obvious and it tickles me pink, as my mother used to say when we were kids.  

Look first at this detail from Hieronymus's painting. And then compare it to my photograph of a tree I took at the botanical garden.  I'd say they're a match. I love it. (I think it's a dragon tree.)    

The Garden of Earthly Delights, painted between 1490 and 1510, has been housed at the Museo del Prado, Prado Museum, in Madrid since 1939 and Jeanne and I have seen it each time we visited there.  If you didn't click on the link at the end of my last post and see that painting, here's your chance to do it again. It's an amazing work, and be sure when you go to the article I've linked, that you scroll down far enough to see what the front of the triptych looks like when the wings are folded shut. That's not something we got to see when we were at the museum.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights

Now, let's catch up to Jeanne. Another thing we liked about this garden is that it had plenty of benches and water fountains.  We always sought out those benches positioned in the shade. We carry a thermos which we refilled several times during the course of our almost 4 hour stay at the gardens.  

Although our sun is still a spring sun, it's power is growing by the day.  The saying, Made in the shade, no doubt originated somewhere hot.  

This is one of the fountains/water dispensers.  

It was at about this point that Jeanne suggested we head back and have some lunch. It was a little early, but we'd beat the crowd. That was so smart of her. When we got into line there were three people ahead of us. By the time we had finished eating, the line had grown to at least a dozen, maybe more.  

(At cafes in NZ, a waiter/-tress does not take your order at your table. You read a menu and and order and pay for your meal at the counter. You are then given a number which you place on the table you select and the meal is delivered when it's ready. Generally, and especially when it's busy, one of us gets in line to order and the other goes immediately to claim a table.  And remember, no tipping.) 

We had passed this group of volunteers working on a bed as we approached the café.

I had loaded wedges and Jeanne had couscous salad, but we shared. A chocolate soda and an iced coffee cooled us down.  

 
Fueled and cooled, we headed back out to explore new territories.  

We started with a desert area.

I call those tall ones, Dr. Seuss trees.  

We came across this plant that appears to be nothing but an assemblage of branches.  The sign said it was from India. 

We continued on and in the Children's Garden, we came upon the Ficus dammaropsis that I promised to show you last week.  

It's a big fig!  The largest of those leaves measures 20 by 30 inches.

See?  Jeanne's hand proves it on a smaller one that she could reach.  

And this is an immature fruit that I found lying on the ground. Wikipedia said this tree comes from Papua New Guinea and that it's fruits are eaten 'only in emergencies.'  Not as tasty as some other figs, I guess. There is a much larger one of these on the tree I noticed.  

I think we're approaching the end of another post. A couple more shots though, to close it out. 

The statuesque lady we met last week at the start of our wander, has apparently found her partner.  

Still more of the 'best of botanica' next time.  See you then, I hope.    -djf

Let's get botanical.

It was Olivia Newton-John who sang, Let's get physical, back in 1981. Well, this past Thursday, we enjoyed another of the excellent bus trips that Gary and Ruth organize for us residents of Waitakere Gardens. On it, we got botanical.  

We visited the Auckland Botanic Gardens, and after passing through the Huakaiwaka Visitor Center, stepped out into an amazing assemblage of botanic microcosms.  It is 158 acres of wide footpaths, manicured lawns, and astounding displays of plants from all over.  

It helped that the weather was perfect. Let me show you around this garden of earthy delights.  You won't actually see scenes as weird as you would in the triptych with a very similar name by Hieronymus Bosch, but you'll enjoy it I think. Kathie and Dianne, this is a place you will very likely get to know personally. I hope so anyway.   

Jeanne is sitting in front of the inside of the visitor's center. This is actually one of my last pictures of the day.  We're beat. We'll head out through those glass doors in a few minutes and hop on our bus for home.  

We had a nice lunch there in the café. 

This sculpture is at the very start of the walks. I think she seems to be saying, "Lets go, already!"

My job now is to keep sight of Jeanne as she heads up and down the paths.  

A giant artichoke

Here's one that I was delighted to see. It's taro. I used to read about it in travel books but never imagined that I'd see it growing.

A couple of impressive Bromeliads. 

This next one is a really special plant. I first encountered this plant when I saw it growing at Summerland Primary and asked the gardener what it was. What a story he told me.    

This vine (here it's all wound up around itself) was discovered on Three Kings Island during a scientific survey in 1945.  No other specimens have ever been found in the wild.  Goats which had been introduced years before to Three Kings had eaten every other vine on the island and researchers discovered just one plant, growing on a cliff that was inaccessible, even to the goats. They used ropes to reach it and took cuttings from it. The original plant, according to Wikipedia, is still there. It has sent out numerous other vines.  The goats have all been removed from the island.  

Happily, the cuttings they took led to it's being planted all over the place. They very likely saved it from extinction that day. 

Here is a link should you want to read more about this plant.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecomanthe_speciosa

Jeanne spotted another treasure.  This is a very weird tree.  Had Hieronymus heard about this one, he would have undoubtedly included it his 'Garden' painting. A young tree would fit right in. 

This tree is already nearing maturity. (In the foreground) They grow slowly. It's leaves have become rounded and green and look almost normal.  They don't start out that way though. 

This below is a young tree. I have picked up fallen leaves in the wild and they remind me most of sections of bandsaw blades. Those narrow leaves you see are stiff and the spines along each side of it are slightly offset from one another and easily sharp enough to cut skin if it were drawn along it with only moderate pressure.  

The name fits so perfectly. Fierce lancewood.  That has got to be my favorite tree here, due to it's oddness.  

As you can see from this shot, this place is huge. And did I mention (I know I did not) that it is free?  It doesn't get any better than that.  

Jeanne is heading down the hill for more, but I think it's time to call it a day for this post.  I'll be back next week.  I can't wait to show you a really big Ficus dammaropsis.     -djf  

Just in case you're interested, below you'll find the link to the Wikipedia article on Bosch's painting. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights

We're making progress, but it's two steps forward, one back.

Our friend Nancy, who lives in our village, rapped lightly on our apartment door yesterday around noon.  

"Have you been over to the Vine's lately? Have you seen the weeping flowering cherry tree in the garden?  It's gorgeous," she said, as I opened up and greeted her. "You might want to take your camera."  

Well, I hadn't accomplished either of the things she inquired about, and I believed her description of the tree would be accurate.  I vowed to correct my oversight immediately. It was the work of moments to prepare. While I took out my camera, Jeanne, who was listening to our exchange from the sofa, found her shoes, and we hustled toward the Sky Bridge passage to the Vines. 

We spent the next 15 minutes or so admiring the object of our search. I think that it's a Prunus subhirtella Pendula. It was definitely in full bloom and well worth the walk.

I took several shots and now present the one I like the best here, to you.  

A couple of weeks ago, I published a post about our 'first day' of spring.  This post is sort of a follow up to it, as today's title implies.  Nancy's visit to us assured that you have seen a very obvious example that spring is indeed upon us, although I'm an impatient sort when it comes to weather and wish it would warm up and dry out now, right now.    

As I snapped, my camera that is, I was my usual friendly self to Jeanne and those folks we met during our walk, I discovered that our village bees were also out and about.  The object of their attention at that moment was not the cherry tree however.  Here are several of the macro shots I took of them.  

Definitely a sign of spring, wouldn't you agree? 

Notice the bee's left hind leg. It has its honey basket, or corbicula, only partially filled.  

Another sign of seasonal progress I saw a few days ago was a giant oak in Tui Glen.  I was hoping to get a shot of it with just a green blush in its branches, but I didn't time it correctly.  

I also saw this more upright species of cherry tree that grows in a long row with others in the carpark at West Wave, our local swimming center. 

Let's look at a few more signs of progress around our village. 

Orchids are coming on strong, but look at that line of clouds rolling in.  Here comes another squall.

And look at this lavender, they'll soon be blowing and dripping.  The squalls we get are brief, but the unleash a lot of water.  And since 'brisk' winds accompany them, the rain usually arrives somewhat sideways.  

Jeanne's personal garden is doing nicely. Those are very young cabbages. (Two are purple.)

I'll end my post with a look at the condition of the swallow nest that has been in use for the past couple of years. It at least, is perfectly protected from the weather.  

I was hoping as I made my way down to the potting shed just now, that the birds would use it again this year.  It appears from what I saw that they intend to. 

This first picture is an action shot I took last year, in December of 2022.  I'd like you to notice especially, the height of the nest, after you're done admiring my skill at catching the parent 'just so,' that is.  

For reference, there is a ring of darker material that runs across the nest about halfway up. 

Now, look at this next picture. It's the same nest, which I photographed today, October 10, 2023.  Notice where the dark line is on this current structure, and notice what looks like new construction at the top.  If it gets much higher, I think the babies, after they hatch and as they grow, might find themselves with restricted head room. I think the batch this year will be alright though.  

I'll be down here, as I have in the past two years, to record the antics of the young ones.  

I'm more used to thinking of the first robin of the year as the harbinger of spring, back in Michigan, but these swallow's nest building activities will do nicely since I'm here. (They stay here year-round.)

My friend Lee, in the Copper Country of Michigan, has been telling me lately about his adventures with fall fishing, and his plans for hunting ruffed grouse. I'm reminded of my years of hearing the geese calling as they flew overhead on their way south for the year and my preparations for the November white-tail deer hunt.  Good time certainly, but the memories come with a just a twinge of heartache.   

But, I find that I'm looking forward to our upcoming summer with great anticipation. This new life of ours in the Southern Hemisphere continues to be wondrous in so many respects. I look forward to continuing to share it with you all.     -djf

From K' Road to Britomart

I went into the city today; Auckland, NZ., that is of course, and wandered along streets and through parks that are old friends. I just wanted a nice walk and I've been neglecting Auckland of late. The pictures I've taken and propose to share with you today, if you decide to continue reading, are not really new ones. Those of you who regularly read my posts might recognize some of them, but realize that they were taken this time from different angles. And separated in time too, by a couple of years.   

Yipes!  Have I startled you with my first picture? I turned off from K' Road, and walked through St. Kevin's Arcade. I descended the stairs and found this interesting, albeit somewhat disconcerting mural at the base of them. 

I have a lot more steps to go.  I've arrived at a time of my life that I consciously have to use caution while navigating flights of stars. I'm almost 72 after all, and there are four flights of them here below me, one after the other, each between 11 and 17 steps in length and all of them concrete, with no handrails.  A fall would be ill-advised.  

I'm in Myer's Park now. It's about 10 a.m. and the sky is bright.  I tried to lighten up the shadows in this picture with editing on the computer, but was not very successful.  I've been telling myself that I wanted the palms that way.  

How many geometric shapes do you see in this picture?  

They're working in front of the New Zealand Mint.  One day, some years back, Jeanne, the boys and I each held a solid kilogram (2.2 lbs.) of gold in this building.  

Here's another shot of the same building. 

This is my favorite 'back of old brick buildings' shots.  (Mt. Albert has some dandies too.) 

I came across this place about half way down Queen Street, but it would fit in perfectly on K' Road as well. 

I like walking past this building. Not only is the architecture interesting, but the reflections in the windows change depending on your position on the sidewalk opposite.  But wait, are those really reflections, or something weird inside the building?  

I soon found myself on a bench in Britomart, listening to this talented student 'tickling the ivories.'  (You can tell I'm old, right?)  

It was good to walk again through Auckland. I plan to repeat this adventure several more times and vary my route with each visit.  You'll be invited along of course.   -djf