Some Things (of the year)

Every year American company Pantone, which started as a printing business but is now famous for its colours, names a ‘colour of the year’ – a good way to keep the company name in the public eye – and for 2024 it’s Peach Fuzz, described as ‘a nurturing peach tone that inspires us to instinctively want to reach out and touch’. Click on the link to see it.

The colour code is 13-203, and I mention that because Tiffany’s has copyrighted its turquoise blue, Pantone 1837C (aka Tiffany Blue), the code number a nod to the year the jewellery company was founded.

Wikipedia reveals that twice a year the company hosts, in a European capital, a meeting of representatives from various nations’ colour standards groups. After two days of presentations and debate, they choose a ‘colour of the year’ for the following year with the colour supposedly reflecting the zeitgeist.

We all see colour differently, of course, but this ‘Peach Fuzz’ isn’t what I’d call peach at all. Then again, the peaches I know and love are Golden Queen, which have a rosy blush on their golden skin when ripe so maybe I need to meet a few more peaches!

On February 10, according to Chinese astrology, we will begin the Year of the Dragon, the wood cycle. The South China Morning Post offers this prediction: We are entering into possibly the most exciting time in 20 years, so hold your breath, buckle up and be prepared for major change. It’s time to reflect, revive, renew and reboot. Click on the link to read more, including horoscopes.

Selenicereus undatus (previously Hylocereus undatus) is the white-fleshed variety. Photo: Wikipedia

Dragonfruit, so named for their ‘scaly’ exterior are the fruit of several cacti native to Mexico and Central America and are cultivated in the US, large parts of Asia and Australia. The cacti, which can grow up to 7m tall, need a climbing support for their aerial roots to take hold of and keep them stable. The plant opens its showy flowers at night (so bat and moth pollinated) and in tropical climates can fruit and flower about 5 times a year.

A dragonfruit tree in flower. Photo: Wikipedia

This NZ Herald story from September 2023 notes that dragonfruit cultivar work is being done in New Zealand.

Yarrow is the Herb of the Year, as selected by the International Herb Association (and will be promoted in New Zealand in March during Herb Awareness Month). A member of the Asteraceae (daisy or aster) family, yarrow has more than 100 species with Achillea millefolium (right) one of the most widely used medicinal plants in the world.

The botanical name comes from Trojan War hero Achilles, who used yarrow to staunch the wounds of his soldiers.

The United Nations, meanwhile, has declared 2024 the International Year of Camelids to highlight how camelids (including dromedaries and llamas) are vital to millions of households in more than 90 countries.

State symbols

Every state in the USA has a plethora of symbols – besides flowers, animals and birds,  some even go as far as having state dances, state drinks and state amphibians! As a visitor it’s a fun thing to discover. Here are a few from the places I’ve been in the US.

A pair of bald eagles in Alaska. Photo: Sandra Simpson

The bald eagle has been the national emblem for the USA since 1789, and what an impressive creature it is (Benjamin Franklin wanted a turkey as the national emblem). We saw dozens of them in the same area on the outskirts of Juneau in Alaska and asked our local friends who hadn’t commented as we passed. “Oh yeah,” said Gary. “That’s the best place to see bald eagles in Juneau – the city landfill.” Bit of a local joke, apparently. The eagle was only protected from hunting in 1940.

The ‘bald’ is derived from an old English meaning of the word that means ‘white headed’. Haliaeetus leucocephalus are sea eagles and classed as raptors because they catch and carry their prey with their talons. Female bald eagles are larger than males and young bald eagles are entirely brown, their plumage changing to the distinctive white head at about 5 years of age.

The official tree of Alaska is the Sitka spruce, which I’ve blogged about previously.

Not an Olympic marmot, but a hoary marmot at Mt Rainier National Park. Photo: Sandra Simpson

In 2009, the Olympic marmot, the only endemic mammal in Washington state, was made the state endemic mammal following a proposal from youngsters at a Seattle school. The Olympic marmot inhabits the Olympic Peninsula in the western section of Washington state. Like other marmots they are live in groups and hibernate from September to May. During the morning and afternoon on summer days, they feed and spend time sunbathing on rocks. 

Mahonia aquifolium, or the Oregon grape, has bunches of bright-yellow flowers. Photo: Sandra Simpson

At their annual convention in 1892, members of the Oregon Horticultural Society nominated the yellow-flowered Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium) as the state flower and this was officially adopted in 1899. Also known as holly-leaved barberry, the Oregon grape is a small broadleaf evergreen shrub with sharp leaves, native to the Pacific states. The edible, but bitter, berries can be used to make jellies and jams, and are also used in alternative medicine. The inner bark of the larger stems and roots can be used to make a yellow dye.

A potato mover seen on the highway heading into eastern Washington state. Photo: Sandra Simpson

We didn’t visit Idaho, but just for fun I thought I’d include that the state vegetable of Idaho. designated in 2002, is the potato! Blackfoot, in the state’s southeast, is home to the Idaho Potato Museum.

See all the state symbols of the USA on this website.

Food for thought

A gift from her grandmother, a determination to learn from nature and the embracing of ancient knowledge all help Monique Macfarlane maximise her market garden – and she’s happy to share what she knows.

“I have my Nana’s lunar calendar wheel from the 1970s, and from my grandfather I understood that even a quarter-acre urban section could feed a family and their neighbourhood.” After being introduced to biodynamics in 2016 by her stepfather Paul Symons, Monique says “it all made sense”.

Monique Mcfarlane with her moon wheel. Photo: Sandra Simpson

A former council member for Biodynamics NZ, Monique has become adept at plotting garden work referring to her lunar calendar wheel, the biodynamic calendar, and the maramataka, an almanac of traditional Māori knowledge.

“They can all say different things for the same day so you have to learn to trust your intuition, but every so often I hit the trifecta and know it will be spot on. There’s no one particular method that holds all the answers, you need to have a conversation with your own garden, observe and explore.”

Her mother Vicki and Paul bought 25 acres near Waihi in 2014. The property, certified organic in 2020, contains a grazing farm and a market garden. Monique moved home to Waihi Beach in 2022 after 3 years working in organics in the South Island and quickly joined Paul in his endeavours.

“It’s taken a bit of time to become self-sufficient, but we have an incredible microclimate here,” she says. “We feed ourselves off this land, supply a restaurant in Waihi Beach and have an honesty box stall – and we can’t keep up with demand.”

There’s alsways something on the go in the covered growing area. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Monique was working as an editorial assistant and photographer for a food magazine in Auckland, when she decided to make a change. “Food is my life but I could see how broken the system is and that led me to the land.”

Planting by the moon, she says, fosters a relationship with ourselves and it’s one she treasures. “It’s an invitation to sit down, observe and tune in to what we’ve forgotten. We have to get out of nature’s way, she can teach us lots if we look and learn.”

Her own revelatory moment came when she was working part-time as well as market gardening. “Monday was seed-sowing day because that was seed-sowing day. I was standing in the greenhouses one day and realised that even though the seeds had all been sown on the same day, growth was different. That led me to start planting by the moon and I could immediately see its positive effect.”

Noting that lunar influences will be slightly different depending on where you are in Aotearoa, Monique says broad points are the same. For instance, going into a new moon should be a barren period, or a couple of days before a full moon is the time to spray and feed, and plant crops, except for root crops.

Monique teaches workshops on planting by the moon but says that although she finds it beneficial, it also isn’t critical. “Life happens, so sometimes the best day to do something is the only day it can be done.”

Dahlias are among the plants grown to support pollinators. Photo: Sandra Simpson

Her market garden is also no-dig and without fixed beds, which allows fertility to be adjusted and crops easily rotated.

“Weeds are letters from the soil – Mother Nature doesn’t like to be naked – and every time we pull a weed, we’re disturbing the seed bank in the soil. No-dig means cutting plants down, instead of pulling them out, and laying them on the soil to create a mulch. The plants you favour, your food plants, will be able to out-compete the others.”

To break in new areas, Monique plants potatoes, kumara and pumpkin, and lets them do the digging for her.

“It’s a labour of love,” she says of the garden that includes ornamental flowers for bees and butterflies. “We sit down to a meal most nights that has all come from the property. The food is nutritious and flavoursome and the satisfaction is immense.”

Visit Monique’s website to see upcoming workshops or for more information about biodynamics.

Make your own moon wheel using this NZ Gardener guide.

This story was first published in NZ Gardener and appears here with permission.