Montbretia

Flowers of my childhood

As a child, growing up, plants and flowers were a big part of my surroundings. As far back as I can remember, there was someone gently pointing out something to me in the garden, "this is the rhubarb, and those are courgettes", or on a walk in the woods, "this is an acorn, and this is a horse chestnut". 

My grandfather maintained two gardens, one at his house and one at our family holiday home. We enjoyed banana passionfruit (back before it was illegal) in Christchurch, and harvested all our veges for Christmas meals from the garden at the Rakaia river mouth. My childhood is filled with memories of forsythias, gerberas, fruit blossoms, wheat fields, and general greenery - which is why it never ceases to amuse me how terrible I am at gardening! 
​Even the name of my business, Copper Catkin, comes from my love of the furry pussy willow catkins that I first encountered in our Geneva garden, down by the stream, before I was even 5 years old. 

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