- Author: Sheri Pueblo
New Zealand is known to be a gorgeous destination to experience uncrowded beautiful coastlines and rugged mountains which bring various climate zones and all 4 seasonal changes. Hamilton is 1½ hours south of Auckland, in a temperate area of warm summers, cool wet winters and occasional frosts, Zone 9 hardiness -4°C (30°F) - 29°C (85°F). The mighty Waikato River flows next to Hamilton Gardens with walking and bike paths that meander along the area. These beautiful, free public gardens are definitely worth a stop-over for at least a couple hours to explore. It includes many separate themed garden areas, a visitor center, café, performance areas and clean restrooms. The optional self-guided tour pamphlet costs $2 NZ which goes to support the gardens that are funded by the community and thousands of volunteer hours.
Historically the gardens were a city dump back in the 1960's, a sand quarry, go-cart track and long before European settlement, this was the home to a Maori chief Haanui and the indigenous people of the region. The site has been beautifully shaped into award-winning gardens and into the most popular attraction of the North Island's Waikato district, seeing over a million visitors per year. “Our collection of gardens don't just address the context, meaning and history of gardens, they also reflect the evolution of civilization”.
The Paradise Garden collection represents structured enclosed garden design traditions such as a Chinese Scholars' Garden, Japanese Garden of Contemplation, Modernist Garden, and my favorites were the English Flower, Indian Char Bagh, and Italian Renaissance Gardens.
The Productive Garden Collection highlights relationships of people and plants. It honors local Maori culture with Te Parapara Garden that features plantings of their staple food Kumara (sweet potato) and traditional elevated food and tool storage houses (Pataka). Kumara rot in wet soils so the mounds improve drainage, the riverbank sandy soil is ideal. I've grown sweet potatoes in Hammil Valley, placing starts in shallow trenches and drip irrigation. My challenges are critters eating the end of the vines and getting plants shipped to California. The Maori stored tubers in underground pits for the next year's planting.
I loved the large Herb garden, featuring Medicinal, Pot Pourri, and Culinary sections full of different plants. I felt inspired by all the useful means nature and herbs have to offer and couldn't keep myself from rubbing and smelling various plant leaves and flowers.
The Fantasy Garden Collection represents “different genres of garden fantasy each with a direct relationship to one of the arts”. A recently opened Surrealist garden featured moving parts of topiary pieces and distortions of scale. The (Katherine) Mansfield Garden honors this N.Z.'s writer who is credited with inventing modern New Zealand literature and has features from her book “The Garden Party”.
There are also outer Tropical, Rose, and Victorian Gardens and new theme gardens in development.
My recent visit was the end of summer for the Southern Hemisphere during an unusually hot and dry summer drought for the North Island, but the Gardens were still beautiful and worthwhile. I certainly plan to return in a Spring season to experience the different blooms and plant vigor.
- Author: Jan Hambleton
Jardin Majorelle is located in Marrakech, Morocco. It was originally created by Jacque Majorelle (1886-1962), a French Orientalist painter and son of the famous Art Nouveau furniture designer Louis Majorelle. He was invited to Morocco in 1917 by a friend. In 1923 Majorelle moved there, purchasing a large palm grove from which he created the Jardin Majorelle.
- Address: Rue Yves Saint Laurent, Gueliz, 400090, Marrakech, Morocco
- Website: https://jardinmajorelle.com/ang/
- Open Daily, hours posted on website
- Author: Sarah Sheehan
The Cananga odorata is valued for the perfume extracted from its flowers, called ylang-ylang (a name also sometimes used for the tree itself), which is an essential oil used in aromatherapy. The oil from ylang-ylang is widely used in perfumery for oriental or floral themed perfumes (such as Chanel No 5).
Cardamom is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the family Zingiberaceae. They are recognised by their small seed pods: triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds; Elettaria pods are light green and smaller, while Amomum pods are larger and dark brown. Cardamom is the world's third-most expensive spice, surpassed in price per weight only by vanilla and saffron. It is said to calm a crying baby as it makes them sleepy.
Nutmeg is one of the two spices – the other being mace – derived from several species of tree in the genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree. Nutmeg is the seed of the tree, roughly egg-shaped and about 0.8 to 1.2 in long 0.6 to 0.7 in wide, and weighing between 0.2 and 0.4 oz dried, while mace is the dried "lacy" reddish covering. The first harvest of nutmeg trees takes place 7–9 years after planting, and the trees reach full production after twenty years. Nutmeg is usually used in powdered form. Nutmeg and mace have similar sensory qualities, with nutmeg having a slightly sweeter and mace a more delicate flavor. Mace is often preferred in light dishes for the bright orange, saffron-like hue it imparts. Nutmeg is used for flavoring many dishes, usually in ground or grated form, and is best grated fresh in a nutmeg grater. For me, I use it in my Christmas gingerbread cookies and as a topping on eggnog.
Wrapping up our journey through the plantation was the skittering up a very tall coconut tree by another local boy was the last of our exploration. He was amazing taking less two minutes to climb the tree. The coconut tree (Cocos nucifera) is a member of the family Arecaceae (palm family) and was at least 50 to 60' high. He was back in a flash with coconuts for us all. With his broad knife wracked at each coconut enabling us to have a refreshing drink and a taste of the meat.
Coconuts are known for their great versatility, as evidenced by many traditional uses, ranging from food to cosmetics. They form a regular part of the diets of many people in the tropics and subtropics. Coconuts are distinct from other fruits for their large quantity of "water", and when immature, they are known as tender-nuts or jelly-nuts and may be harvested for their potable coconut water. When mature, they still contain some water and can be used as seed nuts or processed to give oil from the kernel.
We concluded our tour with a tasting of many very fresh, very ripe fruits and teas. It was an amazing experience to see the spices growing, learn the production process and the many uses they have. Now when I next visit a Spice Market, be in Turkey, Hungary, Tunisia, Austria or anywhere in the world, I will be awed by the work that went into bring those spices into our lives.