Things that make you go, yay!

One of which is new plants!!
Over the last day or so ive gotten my seeds, two seperate lots, and my new roses, The seeds are mostly for things to get planted for autumn/winter like a mini cabbage, and three different colours of cauli. I also got a patio runner bean, mainly because it sounded really interesting, so i might try a few of those. Hopefully therell be enough heat left in the summer for them. I also got some "Bright Lights" seed, for the coloured silverbeet, as my plants have had it, and need replacing. I also have some baby leek seeds. We shall see if i have any more luck with them than the last time i tried leeks, which as you may have gathered, was not a success. Pity as i love leeks and love using them in cooking, so fingers crossed.

Michaelangelo

With the roses i have got 3 new ones. Michaelangelo is a HT with a lovely light scent, but its the flowers that really sell it. One look and i was hooked, and i was delighted to find that when my plants arrived, the Michaelangelo was in full bloom! Hes every bit as lovely as his photo makes him appear. Im still not sure where im going to put him, or his fellow new arrivals but ill think of something!
Another of the newbies is the David Austin rose "Prospero". This one is another of the dusky purple roses, reminiscent of the gallicas, a colour that i love. He, too was in flower on arrival and his scent is all that it promised to be. His colour too will work well with the colours i have, though to be honest, who am i kidding? If i like it, itll work well, good taste be damned lol. His flowers are petal full and he has a little green button eye.

Prospero

The other rose i got was "Hurdy Gurdy" a McGredy rose that i had years ago. Its a miniature, and it has deep red and white striped flowers of lovely shape. This one unfortunately wasnt in flower, but hopefully next season ill have more of the little "peppermint" roses as i used to call them. Its great to have found this one, as ive been looking for it, off and on for several years.
Hopefully on Saturday ill have yet another new addition too, depending on whether or not the garden centre managed to get them in. This is another Austin, again one ive had before and fallen in love with. Its "Troilus", and i adore its perfume, and its unusual honey colour. OK, i know it has blackspot issues in Auckland weather, but to me thats a small price to pay for the blooms.

Four and a half jars of tomato relish

Ive been harvesting in the garden fairly steadily over the last week or so, mostly tomatoes, of which ive had a couple of kilos, (and the birds one too), and i was feeling very homesteady the other day and turned a kilo of mixed yellow roma, tigerella, aunt rubys green(which really WAS green but had been bird pecked) and garden peach and made a batch of four and and half jars of tomato relish. I dont know why, but making preserves always makes me feel ridiculously proud of myself, so much so that i finally cooked up those apricots which have been sitting in the fridge all week, into 3 and a half jars of apricot chutney this evening. This is ofc more relish and chutney than even i can eat on my own, but people love being given home made preserves. Just as long as i get the jars back! Thats the most expensive thing about preserving these days, is the jars! As the tomatoes are still going and the bigger slicers arent even ripe yet, i think that some tomato sauce may be on the cards yet. Or maybe some tomato and wood fired pepper relish, as i have a half dozen or so, capsicums ripening on the deck.
I finally harvested the last of the Honey Babe peaches today, and ate it out in the garden sitting in the sun, and it was lovely. I really have to get another one of those trees. The little one i have produced 8-9 ripe fruit this year, and id love to have enough to bottle, though the instinct with peaches is always just to eat them then and there.......and who am i to argue with instinct?