A Kowhai Rain

“Is the Spring coming? He said. ‘What is it like?’…’It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine…” -

The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

Spring is definitely around the corner, in a few weeks in fact, and I think that makes all of us gardeners pretty excited. Longer warmer days mean more time in the garden and who doesn’t love that?

This past week, ‘the sun has been shining on the rain, and the rain falling on the sunshine.’ September in New Zealand is the month of transition and preparation in the garden getting ready for Spring despite of the rains. The days are growing longer, and I’m starting to draw myself more towards the sunlight, just like the nature and green sanctuary around me. The days are warming, but there’s still a wee chill in the air. It’s a time when flowers with a warm glow to them are especially welcome.

There is a native Kowhai in the woodland area of the garden, and when it’s in bloom, which won’t be long, its golden-yellow flowers are beautiful against the blue sky. The Tui love it. They sip and devour the rich nectar, and when full, they hang upside down drunk, and gradually drop to the ground. They’re quite comical to watch. The Maori meaning for Kowhai is ‘yellow’ and it is New Zealand’s iconic and well known, golden-yellow Spring flowering native. Due to its graceful foliage and cascades of golden-yellow flowers, they bring birds into the garden. We have Tui, a pair of native Kereru (Wood Pigeon) that feed on the Kowhai flowers. Other birds such as the delightful Fan Tail and Wax Eye also enjoy the feasting. It is a striking tree, with a multiple of branches and trunks, ornamental, bold, upright and actually quite compact. The leaves are long, large and rounded on opposite stems which look like a lacy form, which makes me think that the variety I have in the garden is the traditional Large Leaf Kowhai. It’s an important food source for native birds and insects and is a popular choice in many gardens throughout New Zealand. The Kowhai in the garden is quite tall and mature, and thrives in the slightly sunny shaded woodland area.

I was reading the other day that Maori hold Kowhai in high esteem, symbolising strength and courage, valuing the durability of its strong dense hardwood, and many medicinal properties. The wood, due to its elasticity and toughness, can be used for fences and fishing tools, and the bark when boiled, can be used to treat colds, bruising, cuts and a number of skin conditions. Watching the Kowhai bloom as it bursts into a cascade of golden-yellow flowers, is a sight of natural splendour, which brings to mind the classic New Zealand folk song “The Tui in the Kowhai” by A.G. Hill:

When the Tui sits in the Kowhai tree

And the sun tips the mountain tops with gold

When the Rata blooms in the forest glade,

And the hills glow with sunny tints untold.

I love to roam through bush and fern

And hear the Bellbird sing

And feel the touch of the wind on my face

While the joy in my heart does ring.

The beautiful words of the folk song capture the quintessential arrival of a New Zealand Spring, evoking deep feelings of belonging to the landscape, connecting with the season, relishing time in the garden and being in tune with the moods and nuances of nature and her palette. It will soon be a season full of cheer, promise and delight.

I’ve also noticed that the earliest leaves are beginning to bud, raising the spirits of my family who are keen to see the Spring green from all angles of each and every window in the house. Whilst fresh and vibrant greens, and newly uncovered whites, creams and flushes of pastel pinks, the sweetly perfumed scent of blossom blooms which the Tui also love, carry a burgeoning promise of hopeful times ahead in the garden. Whether magnolia, quince, apple or citrus, they offer poignant reminders of the seasons’ shifting hands.