Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

We’re heading into winter down this end of the world. Our spring bulbs are starting to sprout out of the earth, the broccoli is ready for harvest and the spinach is still going strong. The carrots grew well but they’re all terribly deformed. They’ve grown into very rude shapes! This is caused because the soil isn’t fine enough. The tiny clumps and stones in the soil create havoc, making the root vegetable grow sideways in order to gain nutrients. They still taste good though.

Thankfully, the lemons are almost ripe. We use lemons a lot in our cooking, and we’ve missed not having any during the last two months.

Our cyclamen plants have started to flower. They’re a pretty flower and come in shades of pink, red and white. The other day Mr. Munro popped into the garden center to buy some lettuce plants. He came out with a new cyclamen plant for me—a two tone one in pink and white. Isn’t it pretty?

Mr. Munro planted the lettuce in a container—one we put out on the deck for easy access. I was out yesterday morning. When I arrived home I thought the lettuce looked very flat and droopy. I think Bella, our puppy used it for a sun bed again. I’ve barricaded it now, so we’re hoping the lettuce will recover.

When Mr. Munro and I first married we used to have a lot of house plants. It took ages to water them, and going on holiday was a mission because we had to work out how to keep them alive or organize someone to water them.

After we came back from our overseas jaunt we didn’t replace our indoor plants. At present I have three. Two little palms that can go for a month without water and the above cyclamen. Once the cyclamen finishes flowering we’ll find a spot for it in the garden. They die off and come back each year during the winter, so this is the perfect houseplant for us.

Do you have houseplants? Are you good at keeping them healthy and alive?

The strawberry season is drawing to an end down here in New Zealand. I’m a huge fan of strawberries. Let me count the ways….

Reasons Shelley Likes Strawberries:

1. The appearance of the first strawberries is a signal that summer is underway.

2. They’re low in calories and very tasty. Often I’ll pick and eat. They never make it inside.

3. Strawberries and chocolate are a match made in heaven. They’re the perfect treat to eat during a romantic rendezvous.

4. Strawberries also go well with champagne. It’s that romance thing again!

5. Strawberry shortcake muffins are delicious. Recipe to follow tomorrow.

Sundry Facts About Strawberries:

1. They say wild strawberries grew in Italy as early as 234 BC.

2. Settlers of Virginia discovered wild strawberries in 1588.

3. The acids in strawberries help to whiten teeth.

4. They’re full of vitamin C, contain flavonolds and help reduce cholesterol. They also contain folic acid, potassium and fibre.

5. Black pepper and strawberries go well together. Better for diets, no?

6. If you ever go to the Wimbledon tennis make sure you have some strawberries. It’s a tradition, and they go through thousands of kilos of strawberries during the tournament. Around 27,000! And I have to say it’s an enjoyable experience.

7. They’re a member of the rose family.

8. There are around 200 seeds in each strawberry.

Are you a fan of strawberries, and if so, what is your favorite way to eat them?

We took these photos at the Everglades. The vultures were hanging around on the footpath and gave me the creeps. They’re ugly and were a bit smelly. I preferred the alligators.

Would you like one of these for a pet?

I smile every time I see this photo. It reminds me of the song about the Teddy Bear’s picnic.

This photo of a group of young panda bears was taken at the Panda Research Center at Chengdu. Enjoy the song. I hope I don’t inflict you with an earwig!

Yesterday Mr. Munro and I were listening to the radio while driving down the motorway. Hubby listens to a fuddy-duddy station with lots of chat, but it turned out to be interesting when the discussion turned to bonsai trees.

The lady speaking about them made growing bonsais sound very easy. Hubby and I like projects, so this weekend we’ve done some research.

Although bonsai is a Japanese word, bonsai trees were first known in China back in 1000BC. They were grown as gifts to give to the wealthy and were called pun-sai.

Bonsai are grown in shallow pots and usually kept outside. They should be kept out of direct sunlight because there’s not much moisture in the pots. Quite a few varieties of trees are suitable to turn into bonsais, including several New Zealand natives such as the pohutukawa and kowhai. The lady on the radio mentioned Japanese maples are very pretty since their leaves turn color with the seasons. Basically you choose a seedling or small “junior-sized tree” from the plant nursery. Trim one-third of the roots off the tree and also trim the leaves so you gain a nicely shaped tree. The branches can also be wired to attain an attractive shape. Special soil is required – check at your plant nursery – and of course you need your special shallow pot. Once the bonsai are established, they require yearly root trims and shaping.

We have lots of small seedlings underneath our hedge, and we thought we’d try growing a pohutukawa bonsai.

Here’s a video on how to make your own bonsai tree

Do you like bonsai trees? Have you ever grown one?

We decided it’s never too early to start getting our new puppy used to traveling in the car and went for an outing to our local Botanical gardens. Bella had a ball exploring, despite the heat of our summer.

This is Bella exploring one of the rose gardens.

I really liked this lily. I thought it was very pretty and took a photo or two.

A wedding party turned up as we arrived. It was a Samoan wedding with a huge number of attendants. There were six bridesmaids plus groomsmen along with flower girls and little boys dressed in suits. The groomsmen wore black trousers and had lavender vests to match the bridesmaids’ dresses.

What did you do during your weekend?

I mentioned pohutukawa trees over at Berengaria Brown’s blog the other day and promised I’d post a photo.

Pohutukawa trees are known as New Zealand’s native Christmas trees since they come into flower during late November/December. They have scarlet flowers and tend to like growing near the sea on clifftops. Our street sidewalk is lined with pohutukawa trees and it looks very pretty at this time of the year. This photo is the tree outside our house.

My husband took this photo while snorkelling in Lahaina, Hawaii.

To see more photos of animals visit Camera Critters

A pukeko is a swamp hen, part of the rail family. While some of our native birds have become extinct because of introduced predators such as rats, cats and stoats, the pukeko has adapted easily and is very common. They happily live in town and city reserves where there are swamps and ponds, living on vegetation, insects and frogs.

I’ve always thought of pukekos as stupid birds. When we lived on the farm I used to watch them flying into power lines and fences. They do fly, but are not strong flyers and usually only travel short distances. They also make a high-pitch shriek – it’s not a particularly musical sound. The pukeko chicks are very weird looking and cute at the same time with big feet – watch the ad below to see for yourself. It’s an ad for an electricity wholesaler and has won heaps of ad awards. It always makes me smile.

What is the strangest bird you’ve ever seen? Do you like bird watching?

This week I have photos of two different critters taken during my recent holiday in Phuket.

I think this is a type of Kingfisher. He sat very still while we kayaked around him and took lots of photos.

We hired a tuk-tuk to go the a restaurant and watch the sunset. This was one of the elephants we saw on the way there. He’s bedded down for the night with his dinner at his feet.

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