Crafty Gardener NZ

Hello there, I'm a Gen X small business owner and lifestyle blogger. I mostly share my crafting and gardening adventures in Dunedin, New Zealand.

I have a PhD in Plant Biochemistry, and a certificate in Horticulture.

Public Key

npub1a00w8g93uhl9ja3f8vfzw92crfryqlem8k9syt389jm87kjjynrsteueta

NIP-05 Address

craftygardennz@mastodon-nz.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqswhhhr5zc7tljewc5nky38z4vp53jq0uanmzcz9cnjednltffzf3cpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerfw36x7tnsw43qejuqfm

Publishing to

relay.ditto.pub

Author Public Key

npub1a00w8g93uhl9ja3f8vfzw92crfryqlem8k9syt389jm87kjjynrsteueta

Show more details

Last Notes

2026-10-29 06:30:46 UTC

Just spent half an hour with hubby putting out all the frost cloth and buckets again. The rain and hail is coming through in waves with clear skies and calm weather in between.
The frost risk was just too high for me to risk it tonight. The frost cloth can stay on all day tomorrow for Saturday morning.
I guess we really can't say it's safe to put plants out on Labour day anymore.

2026-10-29 03:43:19 UTC

Watch out @nprofile…unhv there's a thunderstorm headed your way 👀

2026-10-29 01:43:10 UTC

Phew, I managed to finish gardening just before the latest rain shower came through.

2026-10-29 01:02:49 UTC

My Practical Magic Tarot deck just arrived and the art work is beautiful.
https://o.mastodon.nz/media_attachments/files/117/521/496/713/674/699/original/669504c5a1dd45e3.jpeg
https://o.mastodon.nz/media_attachments/files/117/521/496/969/058/652/original/52b7ed1f49eea7eb.jpeg

2026-10-28 21:47:47 UTC

In this week's gardening blog post I share my white daffodil collection in bloom. My spring garden was filled with so many wonderful white daffodil varieties, and a number that would look great in the home as cut flowers.
#blog #blogging #gardenblog #gardeningblog #nzgarden #nzgardening #daffodil
https://www.craftygardener.co.nz/?post_id=226&title=white-daffodil-project---my-white-daffodil-collection-in-bloom

2026-10-28 19:14:29 UTC

The Felt Christmas gift guide is now out, and I have 16 different products in the guide, with tea wallets, book sleeves, and christmas bunting being the most featured.
I'm currently in the middle of making a bunch of new book sleeves, I need to get them up on the website asap.

2026-10-28 02:47:37 UTC

Today Maisie the cat has had lots of pats, stalked and nearly caught a blackbird, and spend the rest of the day sleeping on frost cloth in our glasshouse.
She's really living her best cat life today.

2026-10-28 02:44:07 UTC

I've just found the most comfy and light knee length shorts, and now I'm going to be rocking them all summer long in the garden 😎

2026-10-27 22:24:39 UTC

In bad news this morning, my credit card was used to buy a bunch of stuff we didn't order, and now my card has been cancelled and we have to wait a month to see if we get our $1000 back 😭

2026-10-27 06:23:28 UTC

I've done all the frost clothing and bucketing that I can.
The sky is clear and the air is still, my spidey senses are telling me it's going to be close to a frost 🤞

2026-10-27 01:35:20 UTC

Maisie cat is back!!! I was in the garden and she was walking along the fence line, and she meowed at the top of her little lungs at me.
Cuddles and pats ensued. The whole of her back right leg is shaved off and there's a surgery scar on her knee.

2026-10-27 00:25:22 UTC

Right I need to go out and start preparing for tonight's frost. First job is to put out firewood pieces for weights to hold down the frost protection buckets.

2026-10-26 23:14:33 UTC

Metservice has just officially put "early frosts in sheltered places" in our forecast, so yeah tonight all the frost cloth and buckets will be out in force in my garden 😬

2026-10-26 21:12:04 UTC

Our hedge trimmer is here today trimming both our hedges, and it's so satisfying to watch him turn hedge chaos into order.
I don't know how he does it, but our hedges are always perfectly flat on top 🤩

2026-10-26 04:51:53 UTC

Super duper windy here. Rain is coming up from the south soon.

2026-10-24 00:21:13 UTC

It’s a good thing we had a spare key hidden. Hubby went out and locked the whole house and I couldn’t get back inside.

2026-10-23 22:43:54 UTC

The severe weather wind watch for Monday looks bad. I'll need to tie up all my flowering sugar beet plants before then. They're taller than me and will snap off in the wind.

2026-10-23 20:21:49 UTC

It is officially New Zealand's Gardening weekend of the year. I can't wait to get out there and plant stuff. 💐
Yeah lets ignore the possibility of two frosts next week for now 😂

2026-10-23 06:33:47 UTC

Hubby and I got tickets to Wicker as part of the British Film Festival next week in Dunedin. I've been looking forward to this movie for such a long time.

2026-10-23 02:16:17 UTC

Dunedin friends, have you seen that they are showing the Love Actually film in concert with the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra on the 5th of December?
I'm trying to persuade hubby to go with me 🤣
The last one we went to was Star Wars A New Hope in Wellington and it was amazing.

2026-10-22 23:06:16 UTC

I now have 36 dahlias above ground.

2026-10-22 22:44:36 UTC

I'm currently writing up my blog post comparing two different dahlia storing methods. It's a text and photo heavy blog post, but there's so much interesting info to glean from it.

2026-10-22 21:30:41 UTC

I've been looking at the extended Metservice weather forecast for next week, and Dunedin moves into a cooler period with south westerlies and with lows of 4˚C overnight for us. It's far out, but I'm watching the trend right now.
I may need to go out and purchase more frost prediction buckets and frost cloth after the weekend if the trend gets worse.

2026-10-22 00:28:54 UTC

My Easivote card arrived by post. I must've forgotten to give them my email address.

2026-10-21 23:23:17 UTC

This afternoon I'm doing a work photoshoot with the most amazing botanical fabric for book sleeves.
I want to keep them all to myself but I can't.

2026-10-21 21:21:37 UTC

In this week's gardening blog post I share all the new dahlia varieties I bought this winter. I can't wait to see them in flower this summer 💐
#blog #blogging #garden #gardening #gardenblog #gardeningblog #gardeningnz #nzgarden #nzgardenblog
https://www.craftygardener.co.nz/?post_id=227&title=new-dahlia-varieties-for-2026

2026-10-21 03:56:40 UTC

Don't judge me, but I'm listening to Sia's Christmas album 🎄

2026-10-20 03:28:40 UTC

Waiting impatiently for my Easy Vote card to arrive so I can vote on the first day of advanced voting. Then I can go back to ignoring the election as much as possible.
Hubby is voting at the same time as me, because on election day he's going to be super busy, working for the Electoral Commission that day. He signed up when he was made redundant and has done all the training, and is really looking forward to being part of democracy.

2026-10-18 22:53:36 UTC

My new iron is so awesome. It heats up super fast, and the 3 metre long cord is so handy to have.

2026-10-18 10:30:15 UTC

I'm up late as I can't sleep, so I'm using the time to buy hubby's Christmas presents 🤫

2026-10-17 23:08:00 UTC

FYI now is a good time to check the use by date on your sunscreen for this summer.
Ours ran out halfway through last summer...

2026-10-17 06:46:39 UTC

What am I doing on a Saturday night? Looking at iron review videos on Youtube...

2026-10-17 03:30:30 UTC

Good news, Maisie cat is okay!
I finally was outside the same time her owner was, and he says she had an operation two weeks ago, and has to stay inside. He's not sure when she'll be allowed back outside to come and see me.

2026-10-15 19:05:32 UTC

It's hailing 🤔

2026-10-15 03:03:03 UTC

I have just upgraded my spring dahlia bucket protection system for tomorrow morning and Saturday.
No longer do I have to lug pieces of fire wood around the garden to sit on top of the buckets. I drilled holes into the buckets and can now hold them down with weed mat pins.

2026-10-15 01:56:26 UTC

I see blue sky!

2026-10-15 00:24:49 UTC

Ooh the wind just kicked in, the southerly must've arrived.

2026-10-14 21:13:16 UTC

From the looks of the weather I'll be frost protecting all my dahlias, potatoes, citrus, and linen plants the next two nights.
And I'll probably be frost clothing in the rain tonight for tomorrow morning 😬

2026-10-14 21:03:21 UTC

In this week's gardening blog post it was finally time to sow my linen seed as part of Papahoa Fibreworks linen grow along. I've spent the past few weeks preparing the soil before seed sowing day.
#blog #blogging #garden #gardening #gardenblog #gardeningblog
https://www.craftygardener.co.nz/?post_id=223&title=papahoa-fibreworks-linen-grow-along---preparing-the-ground-and-seed-sowing

2026-10-14 05:47:33 UTC

It's a really busy time of the year work wise and gardening wise, and right now I'm plagued by indecision because there's so much to do...

2026-10-14 03:27:04 UTC

The bad weather must be coming soonish, the wind has shifted from the south west to the east. The heavy rain is supposed to come from the east tonight.

2026-10-13 02:06:04 UTC

Wow, it's bucketing down right now.

2026-10-13 01:24:46 UTC

I'm currently going through all the white daffodil photos I've taken for a blog post, and there's about 300 to go through 😬

2026-10-13 00:43:07 UTC

It's currently a toasty 27˚C outside with a north wester, but I've decided to postpone planting any more dahlia tubers until after the heavy rain the next couple of days.

2026-10-12 23:21:51 UTC

Dunedin is now on a heavy rain watch from Wednesday 6 pm to Thursday 6 pm. Moderate chance to being upgraded to a warning.
It's the classic NE set up which leads to flooding in South Dunedin and the Leith and Silverstream running high 😬

2026-10-12 23:07:24 UTC

I have this really bad feeling that something has happened to Maisie cat. I haven't seen her in two weeks now, and I've seen her cat parent from afar for the last week 😭

2026-10-11 18:23:47 UTC

I love learning new things, and especially old crafts and techniques that may not be around much longer unless someone takes the time to be a master at it.
This video on Henri Roché pastel making is fascinating.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu6po8_sPco

2026-10-10 22:44:09 UTC

16 dahlia varieties are above ground now, and it looks like there will be snow to 400 metres on Thursday. We won't get snow, but will likely get a couple of frosts afterward.
I need to go and count my dahlia frost cover buckets to see how many I have 🤔

2026-10-10 04:36:30 UTC

I only planted 6 dahlias today. I was basically weeding the area they were to go in, then planted the dahlia, and then moved onto the next.
Hopefully I can get much more done tomorrow 🤞

2026-10-10 04:03:38 UTC

I got an email through my Crafty Gardener email, and it makes no sense at all to me.
The contents could mean a number of different things, and I don't know what they want.

2026-10-10 00:25:51 UTC

It's time to break out the sunscreen and get out into the garden. It's dahlia planting time.

2026-10-08 20:58:09 UTC

Another 4 dahlias are up today :partyparrot:

2026-10-07 21:47:37 UTC

Heat pump on cool one day, heat pump on heat the next day.
Spring 🤷‍♀️

2026-10-07 21:27:51 UTC

In this week's gardening blog post, I finally get to share with you the large garden project I tackled this winter and spring.
And yes, I figured out a way to fit more dahlias in my backyard.
#garden #gardening #gardenblog #gardeningblog #nzgarden #nzgardening
https://www.craftygardener.co.nz/?post_id=222&title=from-a-lilac-tree-to-more-dahlias-in-the-backyard

2026-10-06 22:30:13 UTC

I just figured out I ordered 29 new dahlias over winter, and I really hope I have space for them in the new dahlia area I made this winter 😬

2026-10-06 21:55:05 UTC

The house has gotten a lot quieter since hubby started his new job 😂

2026-10-05 22:20:22 UTC

In this week's crafting blog post I finished cross stitching Nathnolu's Cozy Nest pattern.
What could be cuter than a cross stitch project showing a little raven sitting on a cozy chair and knitting a sock, while wearing a knitted hat?
#blog #blogging #crafting #craftingblog #crossstitch #crossstitching
https://www.craftygardener.co.nz/?post_id=221&title=cozy-nest-cross-stitch-finish

2026-10-05 21:54:56 UTC

I do have a crafting blog post for you today, but the day has gotten away from me, and also I need to go out to my niece's birthday lunch soon.
It might not get posted until later this afternoon.

2026-10-05 21:51:41 UTC

With hubby back at work, poor Rosie cat is a bit lost. Over the past three months she's gotten used to him being around, and pampering to her every whim during the day.
Apparently I'm a poor replacement 😂

2026-10-05 05:09:52 UTC

5 dahlias are now above ground. I have deployed more frost protection buckets...

2026-10-04 04:10:29 UTC

Hubby just set up local send on my iphone and imac and it's so much easier transferring stuff to my iphone.

2026-10-03 22:18:51 UTC

We had a frost this morning, and apparently we're getting another one tomorrow morning.
It's a good thing I left my frost buckets in place when I took them off this morning.

2026-10-03 01:03:12 UTC

I'm going to have to get out all the frost cloth, we're getting a frost tomorrow morning apparently 😬

2026-10-02 23:10:53 UTC

For anyone interested, here's hubby's blog post about his job search in IT over the past 3.5 months.
There's job percentages, his thoughts and reckons about the process, and the IT area in general. He used to do technical interviews in his previous role, so he know's both sides of the coin when it comes to interviews.
https://www.stroppykitten.com/random/job-hunt-2026/

2026-10-02 19:22:14 UTC

I can finally share the good news with you. Hubby starts work at his new job on Monday 🎉
It’s at a US based company working remote in the APAC time zone as a principal SRE with the same role and responsibilities as his previous role.

2026-10-01 22:42:53 UTC

I just bought the most beautiful cat celestial core fabric, and I bought it for myself, and now I wish I had got some for my small business.

2026-10-01 06:57:05 UTC

Hubby and I just spent the past hour having a lot of geeky fun playing around with the website NZ Elevation Tools. It's powered by LINZ Lidar data and you can look up heaps of things like terrain (slope, aspect, contour lines) and water sheds etc.
https://nzelevationtools.com/

2026-09-30 22:36:08 UTC

In this week's gardening blog post I planted out my specialty cut flower pansy varieties. I can't wait to see them flowering soon, and compare the varieties.
#blog #blogging #garden #gardening #gardenblog #gardeningblog
https://www.craftygardener.co.nz/?post_id=224&title=planting-out-my-specialty-cut-flower-pansies

2026-09-28 18:32:44 UTC

After the last week and a half I swear to dog that the universe is just out to get me.

2026-09-27 22:57:37 UTC

Sitting at nurses office at our GP. Hubby sliced skin off his thumb and it wouldn’t stop bleeding. They kicked me out of the treatment room because I wasn’t couldnt deal with the blood.
Not coping well right now. Hubby is fine but sore. 👀

2026-09-27 19:08:45 UTC

Ugh, stupid daylight savings.

2026-09-27 06:45:32 UTC

I saved up all my pocket money and just fought off other people online to buy a dahlia that was at the top of my wish list :partyparrot:

2026-09-25 03:29:36 UTC

Spent my gardening time today going through all my dahlias in storage, and 8 had sprouted and were trying to escape their confines. They're now happily potted up in the glasshouse.

2026-09-25 01:29:33 UTC

I'm not a very patient person normally, but this week has been testing my limits to the max. And I can't tell anyone anything until it's sorted so I'm having to bite my tongue constantly 😩

2026-09-25 01:26:37 UTC

I had a dentist appointment this morning, and hubby tagged along so he could go browsing in Paper Plus.
Afterward we went to my favorite second hand store, and I came home with a copy of my purse, except in pink. My current purse is majorly shedding parts and is in really poor condition.
Hubby came home with a pair of work boots in excellent condition for $16. He checked on the internet and they're worth $250.

2026-09-24 22:23:13 UTC

FYI Daylight Savings is this weekend 👀

2026-09-23 22:15:01 UTC

In this week's gardening blog post it's all about taking part in Paphoa Fibreworks 2026 linen grow along.
#garden #gardening #blog #gardenblog #gardeningblog #linen
https://www.craftygardener.co.nz/?post_id=219&title=papahoa-fibreworks-2026-linen-grow-along

2026-09-23 19:59:56 UTC

Another frost this morning, thank goodness for frost cloth.
Oh and snow is in the forecast for Sunday 👀

2026-09-22 20:01:08 UTC

Happy Spring Equinox Southern Hemisphere friends 💐
We had a frost this morning, so that was fun. Thank goodness we were out in the garden at 10 pm laying down frost cloth once the wind had died down 👀

2026-09-22 03:24:53 UTC

Ooh thunder and lightning and hail!

2026-09-22 03:24:21 UTC

Ooh thunder and lightning and hail!

2026-09-21 02:50:04 UTC

I've just set my craft room heat pump to cool for the first time this spring 🥵
Our solar panel battery is at 100% and we're sending excess power to the grid so I'm not feeling guilty at all.

2026-09-21 01:39:54 UTC

Right I need to slip on some sunscreen and then head out to the garden to get some fresh air and do some weeding.

2026-09-20 23:38:07 UTC

The North Wester just kicked in and the whole house is shaking. No high wind watch on Metservice though 🤔

2026-09-20 23:14:16 UTC

Hubby just came into my craft room, went through all my old Apple cords and connectors etc, asked if he could borrow a bunch, and then scurried off with them. He's working on a project...

2026-09-20 22:14:20 UTC

Congratulations to karure black robin for winning bird of the year :partyparrot:

2026-09-20 07:43:28 UTC

Spent the afternoon in the glasshouse out of the wind sowing all my zinnia seeds and also 50 dahlias seeds.
I have heaps of Floret zinnia seeds left over, if anyone wants to buy some. I can sell to friends and family but can't sell officially as part of my business. I class you guys as friends and family 🤣

2026-09-12 05:00:31 UTC

Just got an email saying two of my dahlias from an order aren't available because they've run out of stock. I'm gutted because they were two rareish collarette dahlia varieties I wanted for my breeding program.

2026-09-08 01:31:45 UTC

I joined the new NZ dahlia craze and tracked down the dahlia Sharnis Surprise at my local garden centre.
This is the first year it has been released, and there is no information on it anywhere on the internet. The current guesses is that it might be a sport of the dahlia Milena Fleur, or maybe it's a seedling dahlia that grew up in a dahlia field and someone called Sharnis found it.
https://www.fiestabulbs.co.nz/view/summer-bulbs01/dahlias/decorative/sharnis-surprise.php

2026-09-07 22:44:42 UTC

Just having a little panic attack. Felt has put up their Christmas Gift Guide Applications up early, and I'm not ready with my new products 😬

2026-09-07 21:49:33 UTC

One of my sugar beet plants is bolting, it's going to flower soon 🤩

2026-09-07 07:59:40 UTC

So apparently after seeing the dentist today I need a night guard to stop grinding my teeth in my sleep.
Has anyone bought the ones available online? We really can't afford the $550 custom one the dentist wants me to buy from them, right now.

2026-09-07 07:34:48 UTC

Any NZ gardeners interested in a second hand copy of the book Managing Pests and Diseases by Rob Lucas?
This book is the best one in NZ in my opinion, and it's super rare as it's not in print anymore. It took me years to track down my copy, and I came across another one today.

2026-09-06 22:38:10 UTC

Day 2 of waiting for the plumber to arrive. They didn't show up on Friday, we had to call the company we had to go out for my allergen immunotherapy treatment and couldn't wait any longer.
Today they're half an hour late so far with no contact...

2026-09-06 03:10:42 UTC

We temporarily have two glasshouses 👀
Today in the rain hubby and our neighbour and I moved her old glasshouse from her property to ours.

2026-09-04 04:48:28 UTC

The Dunedin University Bookshop has been saved from closure :partyparrot: :partyparrot: :partyparrot:

2026-09-03 22:00:21 UTC

There's a dahlia for sale that I want, but the cost of the dahlia is $20, and the cost of shipping is $18...
No way I'm paying that much for shipping 👀

2026-09-03 21:13:06 UTC

In other news dad is getting a birthday present from the government, a knee replacement on his actual birthday!
And they're shelling out for him to get it done at the private Mercy Hospital.

2026-09-03 20:52:45 UTC

It's a super busy day with hubby having two job interviews, and my allergen immunotherapy appointment for the month, and the plumber is already 20 minutes late to fix something...

2026-09-03 20:14:05 UTC

It may be silly, but I'm unbelievable excited that Reduced To Clear is finally coming to Dunedin 😂
When hubby and I lived in Wellington, we would go to our local one all the time, and got so many good bargains. Our favorite was their export grade frozen beef mince for ridiculously cheap prices.