Our flax

A plant used as a symbol of New Zealand, almost as often as the silver fern, is the NZ flax or Phormium.  It has long sword-shaped leaves and upright flowering spikes and when not battered by the elements can have an imposing "architectural" presence.  Many garden cultivars have been bred with different leaf colouration and currently it is in fashion in Northern Hemisphere horticulture, particularly in England it seems.  There are swathes of flax plants along the steep hillsides bordering Wellington's south coast, and it also grows right down on the rocky shore. 

Around the Cook Strait the plants are generally Phormium colensoi, or wharariki.  It is tough and resilient, and now in flower.  It is not related to the flax of the Northern Hemisphere, although it is also a source of fibre.  In fact it is a member of the lily family.  What the flowers lack in size, they make up for in number - flowers cluster along branchlets up tall flowering spikes.  They provide nectar, particularly enjoyed by the tui.  Alas, the one I saw feeding on the flax today was not interested in having its portrait taken, so I made a flower portrait instead...a rather more cooperative subject.

Shy flowers bold leaves

Pingao, the NZ golden sand sedge (Ficinia spiralis) is a coastal plant which grows on active sand dunes and has the effect of stabilising them.  It is lovely and tough - able to grow closer to the water's edge than any other such sand binding plant.  It was apparently widespread, but became endangered following the arrival of European colonists.  In the last decade or so, conservation efforts and replanting mean that it is increasingly in evidence, adorning the dunes along Wellington's south coast.  The tough leaves hold their bright golden colour well and are used in traditional Maori weaving to great effect. 

This is a very simple kete  - a Maori woven kit, made of pingao and showing the unfading natural colour of the leaves despite it being over thirty years old:

The flowers, on the other hand, are inconspicuous and rather odd (to me) in appearance. 

A close-up reveals the densely packed small flowers which spiral around the upright flowering spike, or culm.  They are followed by shiny dark brown seeds in early summer. 

I have to admit that it is only in the last few years that I have even noticed the flowers - my eyes focused instead on the golden colour of the leaves. 

The plants on the dunes of the south coast - in this case, Lyall Bay, are blasted by the wind, and the leaves form a dense tangle about the flower spikes. The young leaves are a fresh green with just a touch of gold.  As they mature they tend to become the rich gold that is so special for beach-goers and weavers alike.                                     

I am so grateful that such conservation work is being done!

After the storm

(Or more accurately, in between the storm fronts.).  A lovely sunny day, clear sky, just a light wind (now northerly) and, as expected, the southerly swell with attached surfers.  To be a Wellington surfer I think you need to be patient, optimistic, and cold-hardy.  Having moved from a place which had much more reliable surf beaches, I was bemused at first to see the wet-suited surfers of Lyall Bay waiting, waiting...

Looking southwards where the waves will come from - near the seawall at Lyall Bay.

Not a great wave, but two surfers catch it while the others will wait some more...

Riding a wave - it looks so smooth when the skill is there!

As the waves get closer to the beach the wind catches them, creating "horses' manes" of spray.

The foaming waves meet the beach in a dramatic veil of spray - the northerly is picking up, I think!

Wheeeee

It's been really stormy around the country, and here in Wellington we have had northerly then southerly gales.  Looking southwest from the rocky shore by Princess Bay on Wellington's south coast, with the South Island barely visible in the distance, we can see storm clouds approaching...

The seagull seems to be surfing the wind - just as keen and hardy surfers will be enjoying the waves of the southerly swell in the days that follow the storm.

Luminous leaves

The young leaflets of the honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos 'Sunburst') are a gorgeous golden yellow, contrasting with the blue sky of a sunny spring day.

The backlit trees on a hillside show the contrasting greens and textures of their spring growth - in the front is a golden elm (Ulmus procera 'Louis van Houtte"), behind it an array of deciduous and evergreen trees in bright contrast.  

The finely cut bright red young leaves of a Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) are ruffled by spring winds.

A striking spring display

The idea of flowers in spring tends to conjure up images of rather softly pretty and colourful displays.  But there are other plants in bloom celebrating the arrival of more sunshine and warmth with drama and style...

In the foreground an Aciphylla, or speargrass, a New Zealand native plant whose name says it all - spiny leaves in a grass-like clump.  It has golden flowers which make a colourful display as a group.  In the background is a Xeronema callistemon, with its red brush-like flowers beginning to open.  Around them are the golds, reds and greens of groundcovers including coprosmas and fluffy grasses.  Seen here in a municipal planting in Wellington city - I find it a pleasing sight.

There is a curiously attractive don't-mess-with-me quality in the Aciphylla and I have even seen suggestions that they be planted strategically in the home garden to deter burglars! 

The Aciphyllas are on the whole alpine plants, living in tough conditions.  They vary in size and ferocity and some of them are very tall and very spiny and very intimidating.  Fashions come and go even in plant choices for gardens.  I have rarely seen them in garden settings, but Aciphyllas would fulfil the vogue for so-called architectural plants very well indeed. 

This spring display certainly contrasts greatly with the rather soft and dewy new growth on non-native deciduous trees which have been in blossom and leaf recently.  I enjoy them all!

Dynamic weather

Living in Wellington means learning more about the weather, and caring more about it, than in any other place I have lived.  Wind is the issue.  The Roaring Forties are strong westerly winds which occur in the Southern Hemisphere, where there are few land masses to act as windbreaks to slow these winds down.  Wellington sits by the Cook Strait, which lies between the North and South Islands.  It is quite narrow - about 24 kilometres at its narrowest point, and it acts as a funnel, deflecting these very strong westerly winds.  In addition, from the south we get cold fronts that seem to come straight from Antarctica - brrrr - instant winter.  And from the north, there are moist and warmer fronts, with a hint of the tropical - actually that is fanciful, they are usually drying and unpleasant.  This weekend we had a short sharp shock from the southwest - a lovely sunny morning, but clouds were on their way...

From the rocky shore by Island Bay, looking southwest towards the South Island, a front approaches.  The rainclouds are beginning to let loose over Taputeranga, even though the sun is still lighting up the rocks, the coprosmas in the foreground, and the sandy shore of the beach in the distance.

A froth of flowers

Happy Valley Road travels inland from Owhiro Bay along a valley, as the name suggests.  Beside the road there are quite steep hillsides covered by shrubs and a few trees - a fresh green now, although at times of low light quite sombre. 

This spring I have been delighted and surprised by a NZ native shrub, one of the tree daisies, Rangiora (Brachyglottis rependa).  In flower it is revealing itself to be much more widespread than I had realised.. there seems to be a froth of the creamy white flowers everywhere I look.  The individual flowers are actually tiny - about 5mm across, and the opposite of the image of large daises that is conjured up by the description "tree daisy".  

It is the plant that can get big, not the flowers.  Rangiora can grow to be small trees, although they are generally more shrubby and spreading. 

The leaves are large and leathery with soft felted white hairs on their undersides, and they have had rather different uses.  Their antiseptic properties and strength meant they were were used as bandages by Maori, and they have also been called "bushmen's toilet paper"!  There is a purple leafed form, and the contrast of the pale stems and the dark leaves is very attractive - this form is the one most often seen in gardens.  But it is one of those plants that seems to be taken for granted, and not deliberately planted very often.

Well, it might be something to do with the milder wetter winter, but the Rangiora seem to be making more of a statement than usual.  And what a lovely one!

The profusion of tiny flowers, quite fragrant, contrasting with the large leathery leaves.

Swirling birds

Daylight saving has arrived.  A happy benefit is the fact that it is still light when I get home from work.  When I was coming along the coast I saw cloud formations of the kind that colour up at sunset.  Knowing how much I would benefit from a good dose of nature's beauty, I returned to inhale the fresh air and watch the evening light intensify.  At first it was bright and golden, glowing on the lower hills of the Orongorongos which face the direction of the sunset.  Taputeranga was lit up, then quickly fell into the shade of a headland, and around it there were crowds of seagulls swirling together - probably riding the thermals, the warm air rising from the mass of the island...

This is, I think, the evening roosting flight, before they settle in the relative safety of the island's shore.  I could get into flights of fancy too, about the social function of this swirling swooping get together, as I haven't found much information about it.  They seem to be playing and I enjoy believing that! 

A closer view:

And from the other direction, the reason the light was such a golden colour - a pretty fiery sunset, and a great energiser for my rather tired self...

Sunset over the South Island - seen in silhouette, from the rocky coast road between Island Bay and Owhiro Bay

Atmospherics

Yesterday the light northerly wind brought moisture and warmth and we had a sunny day with mists that flowed over the hills then dissipated, only to return and completely obscure the view, then finally to dissolve away later in the day to reveal blue skies and sunshine...

Today the wind was less kind - northerly gales rocking the house and making it unpleasant to be outside.  But as if to compensate, there were the everchanging cloud patterns in the sky.  Looking across Island Bay towards Baring Head past Taputeranga...

The water is stirred up, dotted with white caps, and the clouds make a dynamic display. 

And looking across to the south coast hills in the other direction...

The sun is low in the sky and lights up a rapidly changing churning spectacle of cloud forms which I cannot yet identify.  Time to study my cloud-spotters guide!