Groundhogs/Macrocarpas

I have been "lurking" around the fringes of this list serv for some
months,
enjoying & marvelling at the exchange of knowledge & ideas which almost
daily arrive on my screen.

So here I am, tentatively making my first contribution, & it does not
yet
concern plants!!!  Opening the Wellington "Evening Post" newspaper last
night,
there on the front page is a photograph of Bill Deeley holding
Punxsutawney
Phil in front of the crowd, with the accompanying article explaining the
significance of this event.  Further, this morning's "Dominion" features
Wiarton
Willy, from  north of Toronto, who has died after 20 years of casting
his shadow!
There is even a photo of Willy lying in state, with his handler Sam
Brouwer
looking on. Both reports courtesy of Reuters.  Now it all makes sense!!!


However, enough of things furry!!!.......

I live on 2000sq.metres (1/2 acre) just south of the Wanganui River, on
the 
west coast of the North Island, about 120 miles north of NZ's capital
city,
Wellington.  Wanganui has a population of around 39,000, & enjoys a
temperate climate although is exposed to the prevailing westerly wind
which
tends to roar in off the Tasman Sea, especially from October to
December.
The first priority for one's garden is shelter, and in the autumn/winter
months 
ahead I shall be replanting a boundary line of around 75 feet.  Over the
Christmas
period I have had removed about 6 elderly Macrocarpa(Cupressus
macrocarpa) 
which were probably 50yrs+ - they were tangled, splitting, rotting, too
dense &
generally a mess.They bounded a small area of paddock which I am
gradually 
developing into a rough lawn, & I look forward to planting more
appropriate species,
mainly NZ natives, for future shelter.  The first line of defence will
be probably
be what we call Tree Lucerne or Tagasaste (Chamaecytisus palmensis), 
which grows very quickly, doesn't mind low rainfall, is loved by birds &
is
considered a good "nurse" shelter. It can be removed once the other
planting
is established & reaching a viable height of say 4-5 meters maximum.

Comments please on how soon I can use the mulch created from the parts
of
the old macrocarpas which were put through a shredder/chipper: I have
about
6 cubic metres or so as a result.  I have previously experienced plants
being
affected by fresh pinus radiata sawdust, & I wonder if the same might
happen
if  I spread the macro. mulch too soon - I'm planning to spread it
around shrub/tree
areas under development - I could put pea straw underneath it. The
remainder of
the macros wood will ultimately be used as firewood, in a woodburner.
 
My soil is clay-based, with topsoil in some areas, & hardly any in
others;
it's very heavy in winter, but slopes gently, so drainage is not a
problem.
Most of my garden areas I have established by building up on top of
 ground level, rather than digging into the exisitng soil. 
I find that I need to take all possible steps to conserve ground
moisture, as water
 for the property is supplied by what comes out of the sky, stored in
one 5000 
gal & one 600 gal tank - we recently went 4 weeks without rain, but in
the second
half of January had a total of 78 mm (3 inches) - this part of Wanganui
was 
originally part of the Wanganui County, but local body amalgamation now
includes
it in the City; rural or semi rural areas in NZ of course are more often
than not
dependent on rainwater supply, & septic tank sewerage disposal. In our
case,
(50 houses comprising an area called "Marybank")  a local sewerage
processing
plant was installed some years ago, but the District Council have yet to
grace us
with a water supply,. (not that I mind - the City's water is very hard;
electric kettles
& hot water cylinders fur up in no time, in fact the hot water heating
element lasts
maybe 2 years if you're lucky). I also recycle "grey" water if need be.
It is 
challenging  to grow plants well  - The first two summers seem to
be critical in the establishment of trees & shrubs - lavenders, rosemary
&
agapanthus thrive, as do lambs ears (Stachys), penstemon, Californian
poppies
(love the cream one), teucrium, plumbago. members of the salvia family.
Of course, many of the NZ natives are as tough as old boots - coprosma,
flax, pittosporum, akeake, olearia, carex (grasses) to name but a few,
also
our Australian friends - banksia, eucalyptus etc. I guess compared to 
many of you, my conditions are actually not too bad (Kiwi
understatement!)

Winter 1998 was very mild (the North Island skifields, one & a half
hours
north of here, had a disastrous season from snow lack) & the January
1999
temperatures overall were the second warmest since record keeping
started
in 1853 - something to do with a phenomenon called La Nina!

I feel that I know many of you very well from your contributions -it's
lovely to read such varied correspondence & to follow the threads
of discussions - Moira Ryan's column in the "New Zealand Gardener"
magazine is sorely missed by many, but at least this list is one way
of receiving the benefit of her (& Tony's) wisdom & experience.

Some time ago I had borrowed Trevor Nottle's "Gardens of the Sun" from.

the local library, & was delighted recently to purchase my own copy 
(especially at a cost of NZ$10 on special - sorry, Trevor!!) - and now
I see that you add your inimitable style to this group.
To all the other names which regularly pop up - greetings -
I really do feel that I'm amongst friends!



Frances Gibbons
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