Gardening in North Otago 10th August 2011

So much is beginning to awaken in the garden, I feel spring in the air with the fragrance from winter sweet, witch hazel and Daphne wafting to the music of Chopin around our garden. The birds are beginning to nest and my first jonquils have opened. I do love the beginning of a new growing season as you can surely to tell!

After months of hard stuff going on in this garden it is now time to create and dress the garden by planting out, feeding and watering. I have been liquid feeding with worm juice from my worm farm, which I add at black tea strength to a full watering can then apply generously to all new leaf and budding plants like pollyantha's, forget-me-nots, dianthus, sweet peas, pansy, viola and winter roses. Helping them along with feeding now will get their roots going and keep them green and strong through the cold snaps yet to come.
Slow release fertiliser is a great idea now as well, sprinkle around established ornamental and newly planted trees and shrubs to be there ready when the plants needs food.

This week the chain-saw was on the go again removing shrubs that had become woody and trees too close to each other, I look forward to filling all the gaps and creating a new look.
While on the go I set to cutting back my wigelias and spirea, removing all the old branches that have flowed long enough, you can tell which branches they are because the wood looks really old and spent compared to the new fresh wood there ready and waiting to take their place.

A few more hydrangeas have been prunned as nice fat buds are swelling on the stems. Cut only those stems that have flowered at the second bud from the bottom, leave all other stems because these are the flowers for this year.
Grow some cuttings from the hardened hydrangea, flowered steams which have been removed. A shaded moist area is best for planting these and hopefully roots will grow to feed the buds on the cuttings. Some times I get good results by covering the cuttings with a box keeping the light out which holds the buds back to encourage roots.

I have also been taking cuttings from the hardened off geranium steams, fresh grown geraniums give amazing colour to a warm sunny garden for all of the growing season and even into the winter, they are so easy to grow from cuttings. Take short cuttings with semi hard wood, (not a new green steam) and let them dry out a little before planting them, which means you don't have to deal with them straight away. plant them into a soil and river sand mix and firm down, Potting mix is too light to get a tight seal around the cutting. I am forever taking cuttings from geraniums I like when I come across them in friends gardens, and giving cuttings from mine.

Trim dentata lavender now, (that's the tall growing hedging lavender with bumblebee flowers) as they are budding up now ready to burst into flower, but leave trimming other lavenders a little longer. All lavenders like sweetening up with a little lime,

Cut back bush lavatera now also, they get very woody if left.

Dahlias, gladioli, and peonies are still available in the Garden centers this month, they can be planted from now until September.

Apply a dressing of Rose Food to establish Rose's and Water in well.

Vegetables & fruit

Fruit Trees are still available in most Garden Centres. If you think your garden is too small for fruit trees, I have seen dwarf Peach and Nectarine Trees on offer. What better if you need a little tree to add height in an area of your garden, why not have one that blossoms beautifully and then gives you fruit.They are perfect for the smaller garden as they only grow to a width and height of 1.5 metres. They can also be grown in a tub and require very little pruning.

The vegetable garden is still enjoying a frost or two, although my raised gardens are in such a sunny location I would have liked a few harder frosts to break up the soil. I am still digging carrots and using silver beet and broccoli, and the leeks are growing well, it is so good not to have to worry about the bugs during these colder months. If your veg garden is still cold and frosty there is not much for you to do apart from adding some compost and a little lime in readiness for when you plant out later this month.

I have finished pruning my wine grapes - this year I have had to remove some old leaders, replacing them with new growth leaders along wires. The result of this will be vertical budding and fruiting next year. To prune a fruiting leader remove all new long growth on the vine other than the fruiting leader, on the leaders prune each new growth back to the second bud. These fruiting buds should be around a hand space apart to ensure adequate sized fruit, this means removing some of the new bud growth along the top of the leader and all of the new bud growth growing underneath. Some of these new budding top growths will throw two lots of bud branch, remove the least stronger one leaving only one lot of double buds to produce fruit.

I see the bees at work already which is a good sign for the soon to be happening fruit blossom pollination .

Cheers, Linda.