Spring Daffodils

There are many things that signify spring is in the air but nothing more so than the appearance of daffodils.  They are undoubtedly the most popular of spring bulbs and are extremely easy to grow.  The added bonus is they don't need a lot of care once they are planted and as long as the soil is moist in the winter and dry in the summer they don't need to be lifted after every season.  (Unlike Tulips .. but that's another story).

I love daffodils and I've always wanted to have a mass planting of these beautiful flowers. Well ...... back in February I decided to make it a reality.  I ordered 400 bulbs from Canterbury and went to work planting them over a two week period during May.  

I started on one side of the driveway being careful not to plant either too close to the drive or an area that I knew my husband was planning to dig up to make way for his new garage/shed/workshop/man cave.

The experience was interesting with both my daughters and husband helping me in different occasions, but I was determined to get it finished.

Daffodils are also a symbol of cancer awareness through the NZ cancer society.  The daffodils bright yellow bloom reminds us of the joys the new spring season will bring therefore represents the hope there is for the 1 in 3 New Zealanders affected by cancer.

One thing I am extremely proud of is the fact that this is my contribution to raising awareness of cancer.  I have many whanau (family) who have suffered by this hideous disease and many who have beaten it and won.  My daffodils is a remembrance of their strength and love.


The results look amazing, but fair to say I have a few more bulbs to plant in order to get the absolute mass planting I am really looking for, so this is a definite work in progress.

Our driveway in the autumn season (May)

The 400 bulbs ready to be planted

And the finished product in late winter (August)

I don't think the pictures do the daffodils justice, but I'm so pleased with the results of the first season.

The cancer society hold an event every year to fundraise for the awareness.  This event is called "daffodil day".  If you'd like to contribute financially go to www.daffodilday.org.nz

Another way you can raise awareness is by planting some daffodils next season if you are able.  If not in mass like this, then try them in a pot on your porch, or on your kitchen table.  The results will look great!!!

Happy living people

Winter Has Come & Nearly Gone

Representative netball takes up my winter months which means four days a weeks from June through to August is taken up by either planning, managing, mentoring, organising, supporting, fixing, meeting, travelling, and everything in between for the Eastern Waikato Netball Centre.  Two of the four days is generally Saturday and Sunday which means I haven't spent alot of my weekends at home living the life of the Ponderosa.  I don't complain though, because netball provides me with an opportunity to help the community, particularly youth through the sport and work with some of the most amazing and caring people I have met.

In saying this, there has been much achieved over the winter months and with the fresh frosty mornings we experienced earlier in the season provided me a good opportunity to pot some tulips and plant daffodils on one side of the driveway.  

The tulips are just starting to show and the colour is absolutely spectacular.  Next season I hope to pot more tulips so that we can enjoy these elegant flowers throughout the entire spring months.

I managed to bake another birthday cake for my dear friend Dora.  This one being for her daughter Jaydes 18th birthday.  She is such a free spirit with a caring and loving nature and I was more than happy to oblige for her.  I experimented with the frosting to get the textured look and although the photo doesn't give the cake justice, it was eye catching.

The Sheilas aka One Direction, are having a ball frolicking in the paddocks and showing off to the neighbours cattle with all their feed.  Although it hasn't been all roses for them as the continuous rain we experienced later in the season meant the land became ALOT soggier than we would have liked.

On top of this they received a small surprise in winter.  Three more additions arrived to join the herd and although one has migrated well, the younger two are still finding their way.

All eight of them are growing well and I have found myself standing at the home gate gazing out into the paddock admiring just how beautiful they are.  

Oh yes, my husband named the new additions - roast, sirloin and scotchie.

The Sheilas ... one missing from the photo

The winter months hasn't seen alot of egg action from "the gals" aka chooks and on a sad note, we lost one of the gals.  Precious (the black one) wondered into one of the paddocks one day and it took us a week to find her.  We haven't quite figured out exactly what happened to her, but the local hawke found her quite appetising and once we found her there wasn't much left at all.  

At first we thought a stoat had gotten her and was very worried it would come back to clean up the rest, however that's not the case.  We also wondered whether the local magpies got to her as well.  We have between 4-6 magpies that hang around in the pine tress along the road and I've witnessed them chasing or attacking other birds around the property.  

I suppose we will never know, and although we are down to 8 chooks now and as the end of the season is winding up and the weather is getting warmer, they are starting to produce more eggs daily which is great.

The gals enjoying left over chocolate cake :-)

This is only some of the happenings on the Ponderosa during the winter months with alot more still to come.