I had never seen New Zealand Flax until my first husband and I bought a house in Huntington Beach - about 1964. When we planted it we had no idea it would grow to great heights or so big around. Naturally, as new homeowners with no landscaping experience, we planted the small one- gallon plants too close together and before another year came around we were digging out every other plant and giving them to neighbors. In another year we remove every other plant again, but these were too large to transplant. It was a lesson a lot of new gardeners must learn - attested to by the trees and bushes that are planted so close to structures that they almost push them over! I have wondered if the 'hedge' of New Zealand Flax still stands, but I haven't been to Huntington Beach in years.
This is one of three specimens that grow in a clump in the shopping center where Sammy's (the one with the wildlife) is found.
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/homeandgarden/ci_11472441
2 comments:
The Maori used flax for so many things. The skirts they wore were made from dried flax. It is still used for weaving baskets to cook food in the Hangi, which is the underground hot rocks way of cooking meat & vegetables. You probably know this! You do seem to research things very well.
We always tried to make the neat baskets as children, but they never seemed to work for us!
My Dad used to live in Huntington Beach. He moved to the desert about 20 years ago. It's a small world isn't it?
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