Intrepid Plant-mad

Intrepid Plant-mad Sharing the highs and lows of my gardening journey in NZ. I garden as an alternative therapy for past traumas.

07/10/2026

Seven tough flowering plants that are resistant to slugs and snails attacks and provide non-stop colour in the garden during winter and early spring. And they need no looking after at all!





05/10/2026

I considered growing vegies hydroponically because it saves a lot of time and space. But I remembered a Christian Physician who once reminded me that God has provided everything we need and that includes food. He said, eat only what comes from nature because only food grown from nature is what God has intended for us to nourish our bodies with.

"If a fruit does not come straight from the tree; if a meal you are about to cook or eat does not have the shape and form of that food as when it comes direct from nature; that food is not good for you.

Although I know hydroponically grown vegies are just as nutrient-densed as one grown organically; I stoll prefer to consume food that's grown the natural way.

Real soil makes real /natural food that provides real sustenance for the body. The soil biology, the interaction between living organisms in the soil and the plant is not present in hydroponically grown food. Hydroponics is a closed loop system, controlled and artificial.

Just like humans exposed to stressful conditions develop skills, strength and abilities to cope better in life; plants are very much the same. Organically grown food goes through the stresses from the weather, from pests and many other factors that affect their growth process. These exposures to stress turn plants to be more resilient. Often it increases their ability to produce higher levels of secondary defense compounds in the forms of polyphenols and antioxidants. It may well be the reason why many chefs are known to say that organically grown food have deeper flavour, colour and texture compared to artificially grown food.

So I still grow vegies the way my mother and grandmother grew them, and I'm sure, the way their grandmother's did.🌱🌿🌳

When you think you've lost something or someone you like or love and then out of the blue you found it in a place you ne...
30/09/2026

When you think you've lost something or someone you like or love and then out of the blue you found it in a place you never expected. And not only is it growing, it is thriving better too!

This Arisaema ringens, commonly called the Japenese Cobra lily, was brought home by me last year. Over autumn and winter, it died (the leaves usually dies off during winter but grows back in spring) and I threw it away because the tuber or corm was soft and black. I really thought it was a gonner. I realize, I suffocated it in it's enclosure. It became a prisoner in my world.

Yesterday, I started clearing my mess in our middle garden and found something growing in the middle of a mound of soil I removed from an earlier garden bed, saving it to use the soil again once I can get my garden bed back up.

If it did not have a flower when I saw it yesterday, I definitely would have tossed it away.

I reckon now that maybe there was a small portion of the tuber that did not rot. This only proves that plants and trees are more resilient than humans. They are created to grow well in favorable conditions and survive in places not so favorable.

Today I repotted it in the same soil it has chosen to survive and grow well from on it's own. Fingers-crossed I can nurse it back to its best form.

Last year I kept it inside an enclosed cabinet, scared that it won't survive outside and becomes a meal to the slugs and snails that strips and kxll every plant I have during winter and spring.

Finding it here, has unintentionally shown me that it is resistant to slugs and snails attacks. I know I can leave it outside all the time now.

Plants are like humans. We thrive in places that are good and that meet our needs and we won't give up easily in conditions that are sub-standard until we be home too depleted, succumb and let go.

Forcing a plant in artificial surroundings do not only stunt its growth, it also makes them dependent on our care. I feel the same way with birds in cages. Plants are created to exist just the way they were created. To do what they are made for, they must have their needs met and that includes a place where they can grow to their full potential.






16/09/2026

When you care...you walk your way up; not the other way around!


16/09/2026

I have not noticed this plant before, until we went for a walk.💜🌴




16/09/2026

It is time for us to favour our local organic food supplies and avoid buying imported and ultra processed food.

We all try to be butterflies, but we don't need to! It's okay to be a bee, a honey bee or even a bumble bee. Just do wha...
14/09/2026

We all try to be butterflies, but we don't need to! It's okay to be a bee, a honey bee or even a bumble bee.

Just do what's right, be a busy bee, fill your life with gladness! Keep buzzing about, collecting nectar; sweetening life for everyone!🐝




Spring kept its promise. The heavy frost we had at the end of winter burnt all the leave of some of our plants like thi...
14/09/2026

Spring kept its promise. The heavy frost we had at the end of winter burnt all the leave of some of our plants like this native NZ fuschia and every banana we have in the yard. Even a very cherished Hoya did not make it. To be honest, I thought it was the least that would be affected, I was very wrong. Every other Hoya plant survived the few nights of below zero temperature we had.

Anyway, I'm glad spring is finally here and I look forward to having these plants all fully covered again.

12/09/2026

I build pathways or walkways last winter to make our steep backyard easier to manage and help correct and realign my back and hips.






11/09/2026

I wish you rest and peace of mind in everything and everyday!

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