NOTEBOOK GARDENING

Heather Ellis, Horowhenua 80-plus years

Heather hides her age well. The fact that she moved house when heading into her 80s from a huge property in Raglan to a large property in the Horowhenua, speaks volumes for the energy and passion she still has for her garden.

When Heather bought her Raglan property, she discovered the best way to keep herself in the know about where and what she had planted was to write it all in a notebook.

“I won the notebook in a gardening raffle and would copy the details off the back of the plant labels into it, along with the date and where I had planted it on my extensive property. If the labels faded, which they often did, I could refer to my notebook and, best of all, I knew where to find the plant in the first place.”

A retired teacher, Heather has always gardened to relax. At her new home, she continued to use a notebook to record all her plantings as she says it makes gardening the large area so much easier.

“I love large gardens, so my garden notebook helps me to maintain all the plants in it. Who knew when I first started creating gardens all those decades ago that writing in my notebook could see me still enjoying big gardening spaces at my age?”