Reflecting my memories about whether to do the garden or not, when I was a very young deaf girl lived in Hillcrest, Hamilton. My mother – Joan, was a solo mother with four children, and she does all the works around the house and in the garden. We spent our time with our grandparents over the school holidays for many years.
Joan said to me, whether I help her to do the weeding in the garden and my reply was no, but I helped her from time to time with the housework and less gardening. Joan said when I am older enough to move out and do the garden one day. I said that I am definitely doing the weeding, planting shrubs, growing vegetables and other jobs around the garden. Let wait and see what happened when I move out in the future!
Fast forward to my first home in Barrie Cres, a first-timer own a two-bedroom house with the blackberries and gorse shrubs gully down to the creek run through from the State Highway 26 1992. My home was tucked away at the end of the street just like a private home with a gully I never thought to own this part of the gully section. I drew up the plan to attacked blackberries and gorse shrubs as to extracted and replaced with native shrubs and trees. I remember getting a sizeable old goat, and his name was Jeremiah. It was a friendly goat and often got loose when I was working afternoon-evening job at the BNZ as a data entry/Bank Officer. My Dutch neighbour got a fright to see Jeremiah eating the grass off my lawn, and she managed to tie him to the clothesline until I get home. Jeremiah lived another two years until one morning I woke up to check on him, sadly he passed away. I spoke to my two neighbours – one worked at the Ruakura Research Institute Centre and the second one was a University student for I know his future wife and the family through church. Their response was left to them when I go to work, and Jeremiah won’t be there when I get home. When I got home and found a collar left on the doorstep for me as a memory of Jeremiah.
The first garden project in Barrie Cres, was a long term and formidable challenge to make it successful in 1994.
There was a landscaping layout from the top to the bottom where to meet the stream. It was laid out with ponga logs, topdecking platform with a stairway and weeding mats. I bought fast-growing trees and slow-growing trees, flaxes, bottlebrush trees, low growing native shrubs and hebes bushes.
Oh, I remember one moment four days before Christmas Eve, I was doing planting trees then I climbed back to the top. I lost my footing, somehow I rolled myself down approximately 30 metres before the totara tree stopping me. I received bruised from the neck area to feet, even arms and wrists, and there were no bones broken. I managed to climb back and rest for a bit before driving to my GP, which was not far from my home. Unfortunately, I have 2 weeks leave from work, and the manager was desperate to have me because of my high skill in data entry and the ability to target the deadline frames.
The ‘mother nature’ weather disaster struck with a violent wild wet weather. It happened overnight for I did not hear the slip or rumbling down in the gully. I checked in the early hours of the morning to find the landslip on the right side where I planted freshly new shrubs and trees recently (a couple months ago). I faxed the Environment Waikato and The Earthquake Commission for the advice, and they told me to contact Hamilton City Council for we pay our rates to them. The year was 1996 during May as it was an autumn season. I was lucky to have more shrubs and trees free from the Hamilton City Council and the task team – Force 2000 team did the planting for me. Thank you Hamilton CityCouncil.
The learning key is to plan wisely and to prevent the damage by mother nature weather. Do not start a big plan than a small plan; otherwise, you will lose the high cost of financial on garden projects. I was lucky to have several family members and a couple neighbours who have long experience with plants, landscaping and plant cuttings. I took their advice on growing seeds, plants and vegetables throughout the years. I learnt how to do plant cuttings even failed several times, but I keep trying until I have succeeded in growing.
Today (2020), I am living with my hearing partner and three dogs in the large property, and it is four times bigger than the first home. Yes, back in 2014, I first starting refresh plan on landscaping to match our lifestyle and my physical injury, which allow me to maintain less weeding, pruning, trimming and growing seedlings in the green house.
Not everyone even family members have not been to our property for years, just to look at the photos or video over Facebook. Our dogs are OK for now. The tradesmen and neighbours visited here and walk pass to their homes down at the end of the road. .
We love living here and enjoying regularly doing garden and landscaping from year to year. I am hopeful of completing the final push of the garden project next year.
Life in Eureka 