Hello Lovely Gardeners

We are now almost a week into October!  Gosh time flies.   The doors to the Vegie Growing Challenge have been open for 5 weeks and it is so lovely to see such inspiring garden updates every single day.  I am encouraged and motivated by you all! 

And it is great to see so many fabulous examples of your kindness and generosity in the Pay It Forward Mini Challenge.  There is still heaps of time for this as it doesn’t end until the 23 October so if you think of other ways you have paid it forward, feel free to share it again as there is no limit to the number of entries for this Mini Challenge. 

October is a busy month for me in the garden and beyond.  For my family it is birthday month and there is one every week!  So today I am coming to you from the stunning Ohakune as we celebrate my brother’s birthday.  As a chef he appreciated a gift of fresh asparagus, artichoke and fennel straight from the garden moments before getting in the car and heading south. 

Before travelling, I spent a couple of days transplanting all the seedlings so they were in bigger pots.  Most needed it as their roots were showing out the bottom, but others, it may have been a little soon, but being in bigger pots meant they would be slower to dry out and would mean our lovely builder doesn’t need to water them as often while we are away and he can focus on renovating the bathroom. 

It is nice to get away, I took Briar’s advice and popped into the Japanese Garden in Te Kuiti.  It was well worth the stop and is small enough to stretch the legs but not extend the trip too much more.  Visiting gardens while travelling is a great way to get ideas and inspiration to bring home into your own garden. 

If you’re not travelling you can still find loads of inspiration and ideas here on the Yates website, they have so many great articles for almost every gardening situation it is well worth a read. >Yates gardening articles <

It is preferable not to do have too many images with the posts, but sometimes there is a lot going on so my photos for you today I have my spare seedlings – I did sow with a heavy hand because my seeds were getting old.  I put them in paper cups so I don’t have to repot them later and when I give them away I’m not giving away the pots I re-use every year.    I also have my secret project that you will be seeing here first… all will be revealed in full – all going well - in a garden mag in Dec, and the lovely Japanese garden and the beautiful Mount Ruapehu.

Now I said it last week and I’ll say it again… it may be nice today, but keep an eye on that weather forecast – spring can’t be trusted.

Happy Gardening.

Sarah the Gardener  : o)