Tui in the garden
Tui have almost-black heads, underparts, wings and tails that have an iridescent blue and green sheen, especially on the head and wings. The upper back and flanks are dark reddish brown with a bronze sheen, the nape and sides of the neck have filamentous white feathers, and there are two unusual curled white feather tufts on the throat (poi). Small white shoulder patches on the upperwing show prominently in flight, but are usually concealed when perched.
Their preferred diet is nectar and honeydew, and they will often shift to, or commute daily or more frequently to, good nectar sources, such as stands of puriri, kowhai, fuchsia, rewarewa, flax, rata, pohutukawa, gums and banksias.
Tui are beautiful in your garden and you can easily bring them "home" to your place by setting up feeding stands. We feed "our" Tui with sugared water and every day we get to enjoy how beautiful they are.
What birds do you have in your garden?
Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.
This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.
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85.5% Yes
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13.3% No
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1.1% Other - I'll share below
Cleaning a heat pump
Hi everyone. Can anyone recommend a reliable and reasonable company to clean our heat pump. We used it on cold for a couple of days and when turning it back to warm it has a smell. We get it serviced yearly but the firm we use is expensive.
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
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