Catching the Magic

Travels in New Zealand and beyond, going back to 2003!

Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Blasts from the past
  • Country Kids
  • Motherhood
  • Poetry
    • 2011 Poetry
    • 2012 Poetry
    • 2013 Poetry
    • 2014 Poetry
    • 2015 Poetry
    • 2016 Poetry
    • 2017-2018 Poetry
  • Travel
    • Auckland
    • Fiordland
    • Kapiti Coast
    • Nelson, Tasman, Marlborough & Canterbury
    • Otago, Queenstown, Wanaka & Southern Lakes
    • Taupo, Rotorua & Tongariro National Park
    • Wairarapa
    • Byron Bay and the Gold Coast (2005 and 2016)
    • Californian Adventures, 2013-14
    • Canada, Dec. 2018
    • Cook Islands
    • Copenhagen, July & August 2014
    • Japan
    • Singapore
    • Sydney
    • UK Visits from 2014 to 2022
    • England via Santa Barbara & San Francisco, 2012
    • England via San Francisco – July 2007
    • NZ to UK, with our 9 month old, 2004
  • Running
  • Special Days
Menu

Category: Garden

Finding the Hidden Gardens of Wellington

Posted on March 5, 2018 by BritMumInNZ

We followed the riddles all across Wellington, from sea level in Kilbirnie and Central Park in Brooklyn to a couple of hidden gardens in Wellington city and Mount Victoria. We visited the Botanical Gardens and the dizzy heights of Te Ahumairangi Hill, on a mission of discovery. The apprentice gardeners of Wellington City Council have been busy…

Spring days and home education in Wellington

Posted on November 23, 2016November 27, 2016 by BritMumInNZ

One day we are tucked up indoors playing LEGO, reading, baking and making toy boats to float on the bath tub, the next we are walking in the sunshine, picking sweat-peas, and paddling our toes in the sea. We are definitely ‘going with the flow’ this spring in Wellington (not to mention keeping sane with…

Rainbows, winter and cuddles on a Martinborough weekend

Posted on August 18, 2015August 18, 2015 by BritMumInNZ

We nipped away to Martinborough this Saturday and Sunday. The winter weather wasn’t too harsh, milder than it has been, but there were still plenty of showers between the sunny moments. The lambs in the fields and rainbows in the sky definitely hinted a change in the seasons. Spring is coming… (just hurry up already!)….

The Photo Gallery | My Back Garden

Posted on April 30, 2015 by BritMumInNZ

This is the garden of our home in Martinborough, where we escape to as often as time allows. It’s our weekend retreat in the countryside, where the climate is frequently several degrees warmer than our place in Wellington – on the beautiful, but often wild and rugged south coast of the North Island of New…

The Photo Gallery | Green

Posted on June 26, 2013June 26, 2013 by BritMumInNZ

I used to think blue was my favourite colour, like the ocean and a perfect summer’s sky, but more and more it is green that really rocks me. I love all the contrasting shades of green in nature, and the vibrancy of trees after a heavy rain. I love the inviting canopy of a lush,…

B.M.W.B. – Growing nature lovers

Posted on March 4, 2013March 4, 2013 by BritMumInNZ

The biggest gift my parents bestowed to me was a love of nature. No matter where I am, what my life’s circumstances are, there is always nature to marvel and amaze. As a young girl the mantra, ‘No matter the weather, we’ll have a good time,’ was drummed into my subconscious. We would wrap up…

Walk through the tulips with us…

Posted on September 19, 2012September 19, 2012 by BritMumInNZ

It’s nearly Spring Festival time in Wellington’s Botanical Garden and the tulips are as glorious as ever. It’s impossible not to smile when faced with all this joyful colour – from bright sunshine gold… To carpets of pinks… They always surprise me with their resilience against the seasonal spring battering of Wellington wind and intermittent heavy…

The stirring of the past in the autumn leaves of the Botanical Garden

Posted on May 23, 2012May 28, 2012 by BritMumInNZ

I love gardens and the Botanical Garden in Wellington is very dear to my heart. I’ve walked through the gardens frequently in the fourteen years or so I’ve lived here. I lived across the road from them for a year and was fortunate to work in an office in the heart of the gardens for…

Grass | LOVE | Photo a Day May *Monday & Tuesday*

Posted on May 15, 2012May 15, 2012 by BritMumInNZ

Couldn’t resist combining these two, as I LOVE the varied GRASSES of New Zealand. So many colours and such varied textures – from coarse and spiky, to fine and wispy. In my back garden we have a steep bank, where nothing much else would grow successfully, and the native grasses that carpet the surface of the…

The Gallery: Extreme Close Up

Posted on March 29, 2012March 29, 2012 by BritMumInNZ

When nature reveals its beauty in such a way, my mind cannot possibly comprehend what my eyes see. It is miraculous, beautiful, incredible, literally breathtaking. A child cannot help but want to reach out and touch – as if to convince their mind that what they see is in-fact real. I almost have to pinch…

A fitting end to daylight saving

Posted on March 26, 2012March 26, 2012 by BritMumInNZ

Sunday 1 April signals the end of daylight saving in New Zealand. Clocks wind back one hour and night will fall around 6.30pm. So, one week before the nights draw in, we went to the Botanical Garden in Wellington for some music and grooving as dusk drew in. Eagles tribute music from ‘Life In The…

Things I’m Loving: Nature abound

Posted on February 10, 2012February 10, 2012 by BritMumInNZ

It has been a week of celebrating the beauty of nature. ♥ Loved learning of New Zealand’s native trees and the amazing variety of different trees the world over. ♥ Loved identifying different tree species in our garden at home and in Wellington’s Botanical Garden with Sophie and Alice. Sophie worked so enthusiastically and wrote…

Flying into February

Posted on February 1, 2012 by BritMumInNZ

A visitor to my garden on Monday marked the start of a new school year and the end of the summer holidays. I have a special affection for Monarch butterflies. To me they are spiritual guardians, carrying messages from loved ones. After Charlotte set off happily to school on Monday the butterfly soared into the…

Engineering in the garden on a Sunday afternoon

Posted on November 7, 2011November 7, 2011 by BritMumInNZ

Sometimes it’s so nice not to have to be anyway or even want to go anywhere. It’s great to have a home and garden that we enjoy ambling around in. This Sunday was just one of those that called for some home-time chilling. My view from the sofa… Though Dan did need to take our…

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • Next
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Archives

Recent Posts

  • A holiday in paradise – ten blissful days in Rarotonga, in the beautiful Cook Islands. August 8, 2023
  • Marlborough Food & Wine Festival Birthday Celebration August 7, 2023
  • A few running events to kick off the year & a sub-4 PB at the Rotorua Marathon! May 10, 2023
  • Auckland mid-week break away for Harry Styles! April 4, 2023
  • Celebrating a Birthday with a Meerkat Encounter! March 30, 2023
  • Summer holiday in Rotorua & Taupo March 29, 2023
  • Christmas and a Birthday in Wellington January 12, 2023
  • Summer highlights from the Wairarapa January 8, 2023
  • A long weekend with friends near Goat Island Marine Reserve January 6, 2023
  • It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – southern hemisphere style! December 23, 2022
  • Wellington Lantern Festival – in the spring rain December 18, 2022
  • Toast Martinborough – Wine and Food Festival December 16, 2022

Things I Write About

Art (100) autumn (42) Baking (37) beach (67) Birthday (51) birthday party (31) breastfeeding (29) cafes (46) christmas (70) Country Kids (59) family (115) family time (57) featured (34) friends (38) Garden (43) holiday (36) Holidays (131) Lyall Bay (47) Lyrical Sunday (68) milestones (62) motherhood (37) New Zealand (38) parenting (36) photography (39) poem (69) poetry (92) running (57) Santa Barbara (32) school (75) school holidays (49) seasons (45) Silent Sunday (51) sisters (29) sleep (35) spring (38) summer (60) swimming (28) the gallery (62) Things I'm Loving (118) UK (30) Walks (47) weather (34) Wellington (137) winter (42) writing (50)

Poetry

Follow Sarah's board Poetry by Sarah Lee on Pinterest.
20 Of The Best Expat Blogs To Follow In 2017
© 2023 Catching the Magic | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme