We could all do with a gin
I think that every night this week I’ve come home and wanted a gin. I have definitely looked at the gin. But until tonight, Friday night, the night of a full moon and the solstice, I am going to finally have one. I hope you are all rugged up tight, I hope you all howl at the moon, and tell your whanau you appreciate them. Because a combination of the shortest night of the year and a full moon makes me a bit concerned that someone could cast a spell that would actually work (or at least ruin a good pot by being used over a fire).
What I'm obsessing over this week
I have been absolutely snowed under doing consultations, where I turn up to someone’s house and tell them what to do with their garden. In one sense it is a nice change from just turning up and mucking in, but in another it is a lot more work to try and predict what tasks are obvious and what require significant guidance. Turns out most tasks need significant guidance.
I have also been working pretty hard on trying to predict the coming summer, because most of our clients and consults involve people who won’t water their gardens (and I don’t believe gardens should be so reliant on humans watering anyway), so there is a lot of working out the last time they can plant, and have roots establish, before it gets very dry and newly planted plants need more attention than they would get. Some climate change related questions, given how unpredictable the rains are nowadays-
Where will the water collect in a downpour?
Can we both keep the soil as moist as possible, but retain good drainage? (reduces fungal issues)
If it gets extremely hot and dry for a fortnight, will this plant survive? Does it need more shade?
When the plants grow, what happens? Will they be happier or less happy? How will their environment change?
Has the timing of growth and flowering changed for these plants? How do we know when to prune, when they will flower, when they need a bit of patience? (Answer: going off frost dates, sun levels and wind chill seems to work)
Good fun, really.
Every sheet another garden bed…
What staff learnt about this week
Our weekly focus was still on fruit tree pruning. It has been really wet so we have talked about NOT pruning when it is too wet, and where there are exceptions.
Highlights: You seem to always be able to prune a feijoa wherever you like. Wet, dry, halfway down a branch.. Also, Alex grew up in Hawkes Bay, where she pruned apple trees on orchards as a teen, so she is fast and good, she ended up teaching all of us a few things.
Lowlights: Plum trees are very stressful, because the branches like growing straight up, are hard, covered in little spikes and grow very quickly.
I ended the week by pruning the apple tree of a seasoned gardener, and it was an absolute pleasure. The perfect vase shape! (well, more like a goblet, because she kept it the height she can pick apples from.)
Here is a tiny crabapple tree that has existed for, gawd, must be over a decade, which I don’t think has ever been pruned and is perfectly happy. Right plant in the right place and all that.
An interview with a gardening legend
I’ve started interviewing one Famous To Me person a week, someone who either informs my gardening practice directly, or parasocially! If you know someone who you would like to see interviewed, get in touch by popping a comment in this post, or email wellington.gardener@gmail.com.
This week: Jo Davy. Jo is, in this order- one of my old neighbours, who gave me rosemary sprigs one time; the neighbour of one of my long term clients; someone who has collaborated with one of my other clients (so I ran into her at a party); someone who has taken on Coca Cola, and will win, and, most importantly, it turns out she is probably contributing to the downfall of society by brewing gin, which I was blissfully unaware of until she helped me put 2 and 2 together.
I greatly appreciate that her gin company is both called Mothers Ruined, and she and her cofounder were determined to create a gin which gave them less of a hangover (I don’t know how it works, but it does actually noticeably not give me a hangover). Does this make us less ruined, or more ruined? I don’t know.
What are you known for?
Being one of the two co-founders of Mothers Ruined Gin, Wellington’s newest gin distillery and the first in Australasia to use a recycled paperboard bottle instead of glass. Both of us are scientists by trade and we are particularly keen on showcasing the best of New Zealand’s produce in our range of gins. Our ingredient list also includes one secret herb flower that grows extensively around Wellington!
What are you working on/moving towards? We’re starting work on some new gin recipes that will showcase an even broader range of NZ botanicals, with some particularly tailored towards certain export markets. So for those we will forage or grow ourselves, we need to get planning, to account for seasonality. We recently released a special edition gin (Boom Gin) that we developed with Wellington ethical clothing company House of Boom, using makrut lime leaf from HoB owner Joanna’s garden - it was great fun to develop that recipe in collaboration with her and $5 from the sale of every bottle goes towards a scholarship for a solo parent to attend Camp Boom later in 2024. You can order this delicious and fun colour changing gin (with the colour change relying on a key botanical) from our website.
What gardening thing is occupying your mind lately?
My gardening time is quite limited these days, due to trying to find a day job to supplement the gin business, having a family and a puppy, but as we grow one key ingredient ourselves, I give those particular plants a lot of care and attention!
(Zoe’s disclaimer: I literally do not know what this ingredient is, but I do know a fence I can peek over…)
What are you waiting for?
Alongside the puppy and cat, we have two rabbits and I’m waiting for a couple of less frenetic weekends so that I can clear the small veggie patch that is currently overgrown with weeds and get some rabbit-friendly plants in the ground - it’ll save us money and give my daughter something to look after in the garden.
Thanks Jo! I do not know how some people make the time to get it all done. And thanks everyone for another fantastic week in the capital!