Gardening in North Otago December 15th 2015

How blessed we Gardeners and Farmers have been in receiving fantastic heavy rain on Tuesday, it saved me such a lot of much needed non watering time.  I was out in the rain with the fertiliser for the gardens and lawns, but even without, the soaking will do so much good to growth at this time of the year when most will be leaving gardens and farms to  head off for a break. 

 This week has been another cutting back time for me, peony roses, late spring and early summer perennials and annuals that are past their best.

The plants I have cut back are already starting to bush up again with fresh new growth and will soon fill the gaps, but before they do compost can be added to hungry ground.

My delphiniums have grown so tall and strong this year they pushed over the supports, its hard to stand them up again with out damaging them. I cut them back to the point where they have bent, usually removing the strong center stem, the remainder will  put out smaller flower heads once the main bloom has been taken. Delphiniums respond well to feeding, compost containing old stable manure encourages roots to spread and increase the clumps.

Dead heading roses starts now, (hybrid tea's) once a bloom is over you need to prune the spent bloom as well as a third of the stem back to an out facing leaf/bud, by doing this the new bloom will grow to the right height. For the cluster type (floribunda) remove spent blooms one at a time then prune as above

Vegetable garden: So much is ready for picking in the veg garden right now, Christmas dinner tables will be laden with fresh produce.

Fruit: cover the black current and raspberry bushes from the birds if you are heading off, maybe someone you know could pick and use what may be other wise wasted in your garden, a gift of good health.

That's it from me for this year, I have hung up the tools, our tree is ready and waiting for the break of dawn patter of tiny feet on Christmas morning and not one of them will need to hunt for Nana in the garden. 

I wish everyone a very merry Christmas and all the very best for 2016.

Cheers Linda.

Well, last week should have been all about weeding, cutting back, cutting box hedges and planting but all came to a halt last Wednesday when I needed to be at the bedside of my little Grandson in Ch Ch Hospital. Returning home this Wednesday for a brief catch up on things before returning to Ch Ch.

The weeds are starting to mature and make seeds, get them out before they do, and most are easy to pull when they have grown a bit. I am still battling with biddy bid and convolvulus. Spray convolvulus where you can, round up will destroy so far back along roots, but not all the way so just keep zapping it as it pops up. When it grows up through plants I untangle back to the root and direct the regrowth away from the plant.

Divided clumps of violas because they have finished flowering now; I just dig up part of a large clump and pull it to bits basically. You can gently pull masses of new young plants out of the clump and plant them out separately in a cool shady part of the garden. they will soon form their own small cluster which can be planted out next year to flower where you want them.The same for pollyanthas and primulas, break up clumps; plant out only fresh new growth and throw away knotted old spent growth.

There is still time to divide agapanthus, large and dwarf varieties. they can get a bit clump bound which reduces their flowering.

Dig out the whole clump (if it is still manageable enough to do this), then pull off smaller root balls and plant out on their own using fresh compost to get the roots going again. Agapanthus are great gap fillers in new gardens, they can always be removed as you fill your garden with permanent plants.

If you have some aged compost that has finished working and is ready to put on your garden you will be able to make some economical compost tea.

Compost Tea is a nutritionally rich, well-balanced, organic plant food made by steeping aged compost in water. The water is then diluted and used as a root and/or foliar feed. It is also noted for its ability to control various plant diseases (blights, molds, wilts, etc. when used as a foliar spray), to repel and control insect pests and their damage when used on a regular basis, and to encourage the growth of beneficial soil bacteria which results in healthier, more stress-tolerant plants. The basic recipe most often recommended is as follows:

1 large container with lid (plastic rubbish bin works well) enough aged, completed compost to fill an old pillow case 1/2-3/4 full. Fill the container with water, place the compost into the pillowcase (cheese cloth bag or pantyhose also work well), tie off the top and submerge in the container of water. Cover (to prevent odor and insect problems) and let steep for a MINIMUM of 2 weeks. This steeping time is crucial to the formation of beneficial bacteria and the required fermentation process. When finished, dip out the tea and dilute it (3 parts water to 1 part tea) and use as root food for any and all plants on a weekly or as-needed basis.

To use as a foliar spray or on young seedlings dilute it a little more. The remaining tea can continue to steep until needed. The following factors will determine the quality of the finished tea: Use well-aged, finished compost - Fresh compost can burn the plants or contain harmful pathogens and compost past its best will be nutritionally deficient. The contents of the compost should be balanced. If using purchased compost it should contain a portion of aged animal manure which apparently remains active longer than compost made up only of plant matter.

(It is important to note that COMPOST TEA AND MANURE TEA ARE NOT THE SAME THING. Manure tea can be made in the same way but is not generally recommended as foliar spray and is not as nutritionally well-balanced.) Never apply as a foliar spray in the heat of the day but apply to the roots any time.

Next week I will write about companion planting in the vegetable garden.

Veg: Keep the water up and continue planting out. Mound potatoes and remember early potatoes can be dug when flowering but late session potatoes are left until all green tops have died down.

Fruit: Watering is most important now during hot weather.
Cheers, Linda.

Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago November 17th 2015

Not a bad week behind us even with the couple of late frosts here in Rockvale gardens, even though we have been blessed with some rain it is never enough so I am still dragging hoses from garden to garden unlike sensible gardeners who have installed irrigation!

I have been weeding and cutting back heaps of plants finished flowering, alyssum, ground cover phlox, aubrietia, aquilegias and forgetmenot. if you cut them back now they will green up again and look good over summer, same goes for Erica's, cut all the brown spent flower stems back and they will green up again in no time.

After spreading compost, I started filling every gap with flower seedlings like cosmos, petunias, static, blue salvia, natushims, and lobelia not leaving any room for weeds to grow, hence the need to water often.

All trees have leafed up now, don't be afraid to cut out over crowding branches to let light in to plantings underneath. If there are two branches filling the same spot take the lower one out. Maples and Oak trees tend to grow thick canopies so I have been thinning mine out. I remove heaps but when I stand back and look it is not noticeable and now there is dappled light coming through.

This year my dahlias are slower to leaf up than past years, but they will still get tall so put stakes in now before they get up too far.

If your daffodils did not flower so well this spring, It's a good time to break up large clumps while you can still see where they have been, flowering can be restricted when the clumps get over crowded. Plant out in small groups in about 20cm of compost...plant, feed with blood and bone and mulch so they don't dry out over summer.

Autumn flowering bulbs are now in garden centers, belladonnas, crocuses, nerines, plant in full sun where they will not be disturbed.

I see the spittle bug is about again, they don't do plants too much harm but when numbers settle into lavender and other plants they spoils the look of plants. I force them off with the hose each time I water.

My pond is full of baby gold fish, the water lillies / oxygen weed having been slow to move this year until now. If your pond is stagnating it means that it is not working ...as mentioned  in past notes old un -sprayed barley straw weighed down with a rock so it does not float around will help clear pond water. At first water will look a bit murky but will clear and stay clear once things start working naturally. The bottom of the pond should be a little muddy, but the top should be clear.

Add some oxygen weed from a pond already filled with fish, the fish blow their eggs into the weed at this time of the year. I am happy to supply weed for new ponds. 

Lawns:  mowers need to be lifted a notch now and fed each time we get a decent rain. I sprayed the daisies and weeds two weeks ago and now have bare patches where they died off, these patches need roughed up for grass seed to be sown then covered with fine compost or sifted soil and watered often. Dry soil makes it almost impossible for grass seed to germinate. If you miss getting a new lawn sown before the heat of summer another sowing in autumn will not have to compete with annual weeds as in a spring sowing..

Fruit: Check your fruit trees now for over crowded bunches, thin bunches out by snipping small fruits off with sharp scissors. Give each fruiting tree and bush a good root soak now and then in dry weather and they will reward you well.

Vegetables:

Everything should be romping away, main crop potatoes can be planted now, allow plenty of space for growing and mounding 

Varieties:  

Agria  long oval shaped with yellow flesh it is a great all rounder.

Heather distinctive purple skin, it is oval shaped with white flesh and like Agria is versatile in its range of uses.

Red Rascal takes 100 days to mature. It has red skin and white flesh and is a good floury potato.
Moonlight takes 95 days to mature. It is a high yielding variety white skin and flesh that is a good all purpose potato.
Rua takes 100 days to mature. White skin and flesh. Good all rounder. High yielder and a good keeper. Many flowers.
Desiree takes 90-100 days to maturity. Pink skin and cream flesh. Good all rounder. Many flowers.

Harvesting / Storing 

Harvest early varieties when flowers fully open (3 months after planting)

Main crop and late varieties ready when foliage dies off

Dry thoroughly, place in shallow boxes in cool, dark position

Cover with dry sacks to keep out light, I place cut herbs on top of mine to slow sprouting.

Cheers, Linda.

email: linda.lsw@gmail.com  Blog: nzstyleforever.blogspot.co.nz

Gardening in North Otago November 10th 2015

A lovely mild week shaping up after the bonus of soft rain in the weekend. What a difference rain makes to warm ground and to new spring growth, seeds I planted a couple of weeks back are up and romping away, as are the weeds. Once again I am pulling sticky, biddy-bid and chick weed before it makes seed to stop it spreading and every year there seems to be just as much as the year before! 

That hard frost here last week wiped out a number of the annuals I had just planted, should have covered them!

After a late August pruning our roses have not started flowering yet but are looking healthy with fat buds. If greenfly or fungus are a problem on yours spray every 10 days with a spray that deals to both,( folia feed at the same time).

French and Italian lavenders have finished their first flowering now so cut off the spent flowers to encourage new buds and feed with liquid fertiliser or liquid manure. The French and the Italian lavenders are the ones with flowers like a bumble bee. English lavenders are not ready to flower just yet, all lavenders like lime.

Peony roses are stunning right now in bud and flower, it pays to put supports under them to hold up the heavy flowers and because they are growing so fast, I have tall wire supports shaped like a u that are pushed into the ground with the rounded top in place to let them flop over and stay in place. They need the water kept up. I have heaps of lovely fat buds ready to open on my larger bushes. I also have some crowns that were planted last season so have let only one flower develop to see what it is like and removed any others. I will cut the one blooming flower off before it makes seed pods. The clump will form much faster if you do not let it flower for the first two years.

Peony roses need full sun and do not like to be smothered by other plants.

Some hybrid clematis are looking beautiful right now, you have to be quick to train them where you want them to go because they grow so fast from now on. Direct them while the trailers are still soft, they too like a lot of feeding to take them to great heights, manure is great for them. Don't worry if you have one with no buds just yet they all have different flowering times, If you have just put one in this year, let it flower then cut it to the ground this will make it put up more shoots and you will have a much bushier and stronger climber and if you have one that looks dead with the ends wilting I am afraid it has the wilt and should be cut off at the ground. Don't remove it because I have known some to shoot away again the following year, climatic also like lime.

I have been filling the gaps in the flower garden with old fashioned cottage flowers like cosmos, love in the mist, salvia blue bidder and clary sage. These are all taller flowering annuals and put in close together they will hold each other up. The more plants I put in the less weeds will grow is the plan and all the plants I mentioned will be flowering at Christmas, and then for weeks after that.

Soft hedge growth is almost at an end, trimming to soon will result in having to trim again as new growth keeps growing. Soft hedge clippings a great on the compost.

Vegetables.

Veg is growing fast now, my board beans are all coming ready at once. I will need to pick them all to freeze so non are wasted then buildup the soil and plant peas where they were. Keep planting veg seeds and plants, a few at a time so you have the continuous thing happening,veg tends to bolt before used in warmer weather.

All berries are growing fast, benefiting from deep watering while plumping up.

An update on Scruff the dog, he bolted out the cat flap ( collarless) when the fireworks started here at Weston last Friday night, The word went out on Facebook resulting in many animal lovers looking out for him and thankfully was found late the next day hiding under a sheep dog kennel some distance away. It didn't take him long to get back into stride of pulling the hose in the opposite direction than me! 

Our garden is open each day for visitors, some bring a picnic and some just like to wander, tables, seating and toilet available donation box on entry.

Cheers, Linda

email: linda.lsw@gmail.com

Lovely dark purple wisteria along side lavender English abutilon. 

Gardening in North Otago 3rd November 2015

November already, spring almost over and weather still unsettled with a chilling cold snap and much needed rain on Tuesday arriving after the heat of the day before.

This is proving a great spring for rhododendrons, azalea's, dogwoods and lilac after coming through such a dry harsh winter and peony roses are putting out fat buds in readiness for their grand display. The dry winter has not done my roses a favor, I pruned them hard in August instead of July so they have been slow to leaf and bud up, those having had less deep watering than others have attracted greenfly and rust. The green fly have established on the new tip growth making it easy to remove with finger and thumb and rust effected leaves have been removed and bagged to stop spread. Once leaves have firmed up I will spray with fish emulsion and an organic fungicide. Always best to spray on a dull day when there are less bees around and never spray or wet leaves at dusk, rose leaves should be dry going into warm nights to prevent mildew growing.  

Spring is the best time for transplanting seedlings that have popped up from existing plants in the garden, like hellebore seedlings. ( Winter rose) last years hellebore seedlings should be strong, small plants now, I have been potting some up in root trainer pots, then once the little pots are full of roots I will plant out seedlings in groups under deciduous trees, and around rhododendrons, camellias, hydrangeas and fuchsias, they all like the same shady conditions.  

Spring bulbs and tulips have finished and look messy at this stage but don't be tempted to cut them back because the bulbs need green tops to die back naturally. twist them and push them out off site under shrubbery if you can until they have lost vigor before pulling them from the bulb.

Box hedge: I am waiting for the new growth to firm up a little before trimming the buxus hedging, If trimmed too soon it will be a wasted effort because while foliage is very soft they are still putting out growth. When you feel spring new growth is done choose an overcast day to trim, this allowing the under growth a little time to recover before being subjected to our harsh NZ sun, however sunburn on new buxus growth is unavoidable and thankfully hedges will soon grow through the burning. However this week I have had the hedge trimmer on the go! some hedges like viburnum and lonicera have almost finished putting out spring growth so if a hedge has reached the height and width required trim back to the last cut, all soft trimmings can go on the garden or into the compost.

Planting on a slope: Spring is probably the best time to plant out a slope or bank, the ground is moist and plant roots are growing fast which means they will get a good hold before the heat of summer and while small the dreaded winds should not get a hold of them and whip them out of the ground. Prepare the bank  first by spraying out all weeds and grass, they will compete with moisture that your plants need. If it is possible terracing a steep slope with rocks or sleepers would be beneficial to hold moisture around plant roots. If this cannot be done try not to disturbed soil / clay in areas that are not being planted. If the soil is disturbed and broken up it will wash away with rain and watering. 

Planting: Dig a hole that is deep into the bank and shallow at the front, (an angle hole) this will create a hollow reserve for water. Use stones around each plant, this will help to prevent wind blowing soil away from the roots. Choose plants that grow in dry conditions, like South African plants; Greviller, leucodendron, Proteas, ask the Garden center assistant which plants survive well in a pot without a lot of watering, the plants they can leave for a while and they still look good when dried out. I mass plant lupines to fill the gaps on a bank until all the other plants get bigger, they give a spectacular show in the second year of planting and have the added advantage of fixing nitrogen into the soil.
Grass, Grass. Grass...So much mowing! If you have not sprayed lawn weeds out yet you can sprinkle your clippings around the garden, it is wonderful humus, but don't leave thick piles, spread it out so it can break down fast. Now the ground is warm your garden can take as much fresh green growth that you can throw at it. Leave the catcher off from time to time and rake cuttings evenly over the lawn. I am waiting for results from all the grass seed sown in bare patches left after moss removal to germinate. Moss grows  because off pour drainage or mowing grass too short either results in soil compacting. Keeping the ground firm (don't dig) just rough the top soil up before raking the seed in, covering well so the birds don't notice then keep the moisture up until seed germinates.

Vegetables/fruit

My no dig veg garden was turned into a strawberry patch last spring and this year the year old strawberry plants are doing well having been feed with pig manure and blood n bone then mulched with fresh grass clippings to keep the weeds out until I find the time to gather pine needles. All berry fruit need consistent watering to produce plump fruit.
A little potash around the drip line watered in will help with fruiting, with grapes advice given in the past was to bury road kill under a grapevine, I have made my grapes a burial ground for any of my bantams that come to a sad end. 

Making a no dig garden: Find a sunny spot on bare ground,( not concrete) surround with sleepers, logs, Oamaru stone or boards high enough to hold layers of manure, soil /compost and straw. Soak the ground before you start to get dampness deep down if working on bare dirt, spread a layer of manure straight on the damp ground, (this will bring the worms up). Then spread a thick layer of compost, old leaf mulch and dried grass clippings, (wet down.) add a layer of soil, clay soil is fine, water well after each layer leaving no dry spots. Next add a layer of straw, (wet down) then add more layers of compost and old leaf mulch and dried grass clippings, (wet down) then top more soil, (wet down), a little lime and an all purpose fertiliser can be added as you build the layers. Lastly add a top layer of straw which suppresses the weeds and is a great deterrent to slugs. When you think the garden is high enough start planting and you should be eating your own produce with in six weeks at this time of the year.

Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago October 27th 2015

Unpredictable Spring weather in North Otago after a lovely  Labour week end. but the blossom is still holding on despite the winds. dollop of rain we got starting in the early hours of Tuesday morning made all the difference to gardens and lawns. I was out with the fertiliser before it stopped.
Roses are budding up, keep the deep root watering up to them , foliar feeding on fresh new leaves works well now along with slow release fertilisers too keep roses healthy. 
Cut back Erica's and callunas that have finished flowering, this stops them from going woody, removing all the spent flowers will encourage them to produce fresh new green growth for summer. If you don't cut the old flowering growth off they will make their new growth out from the old growth which means they become woody at the bottom.
Cut back aubrietia rockery plant and you will get another flowering, also cut spent flowers off hellebore's to stop seeds ripening, if you want to build up hellebore numbers leave a few to drop seed.
My bantams are sitting, with one lot of chickens arriving last week to the delight of our Grandies. Bantams and hens make great pets, they are docile, easy to keep and happily consume all your kitchen scraps, converting them into delicious eggs and rich manure. They are also excellent workers with their natural scratching and pecking put to use they weed, clean up fallen fruit and eat bugs. Mine have the run of our garden because it is so large but the trick for a town section would be to devise a system where they work for you, not against you, as they can be extremely destructive in the garden when left to their own devises. A bottomless chicken wire pen with wheels on one end (a mobile pen) would allow the bantams / hens to work where needed. Don’t weed or pull out anything gone to seed as this provides food for the hens, all kitchen scraps, grass clippings, coffee grounds, dust from vacuum cleaner bags, ash from the fire, hedge trimmings, weeds and any other organic material. The chickens will eat what they like and scratch and mulch everything else whilst adding rich manure to it all and with a laying box added there will be eggs for tea. Scruff our dog had the bantams running for cover when he first arrived but with a lot of SCRUFF NO! and being shut in each time he even looked at them he soon got the message.

Lawns:
keep feeding lawns when rain is about, to wash fertilisers in, a spring sowing is a thick sowing to choke out annual weeds. Spray flat perennial weeds in established lawns, annual weeds that grow up with new grass will eventually be mowed out. 
Vegetables: PLANT, PLANT, PLANT plants and seeds, I have planted out pumpkin and squash plants grown from seed, with a lot of compost and old stable manure dug in, they need a large prepared area for them to ramble.
If you have a glass house or tunnel house why not plant some peppers, with stakes attached from the roof for support as they grow up. Berry kane's and strawberries are doing a lot of growing now as well, They both flower and fruit up really quickly as long as they get all day sun they will ripen fast. Berries and new seasons peas are perfect for encouraging Children into the garden they soon get to eat the results of planting.
Keep manure enriched compost up to rhubarb, if the soil gets hard and dry around rhubarb it will grow stringy dry uneatable steams.

Elder flower is blooming which for me means making elder flower cordial, this is the summer drink in the UK , so refreshing with iced water. Elder berry here is considered a weed because the birds drop the seed and it grows any where and everywhere, when it pops up here in our garden I pull it out because I pick elder flowers from a bushes growing wild. I thought I would share the very easy recipe with you all. 
Elder flower cordial: 30 large elder flowers, shake to remove any insects ( Do not wash) 
Ingredients: 1k /2 ¼ lbs sugar 1.5 litres / 6 cups boiling water 4 medium lemons, washed 30 large Elder flower heads, 2 oz citric acid.
Preparation: Place the sugar into a large saucepan/stockpot or a large Pyrex bowl. (I use my croc pot) pour the boiling water over and stir until all the sugar has dissolved and leave to cool. Grate the rind of the lemons with a fine grater, add to the sugar water. Slice the lemons into thick slices and add, then the citric acid and stir, finally add the flower heads and stir again. Cover and leave to steep for 48 hours. Strain through clean fine muslin cloth into a clean bowl, then using a funnel, fill sterilized bottles. Seal and store in a cool, dark place (not the refrigerator) for a few weeks or freeze in plastic bottles to keep for longer. The cordial is delicious diluted with still or fizzy water. Once a bottle is opened store in the refrigerator. 
Cheers, Linda.
http://nzstyleforever.blogspot.co.nz/

Gardening in North Otago October 20th 2015

Rain,wind then more lovely rain to dampen gardens off after being blown to bits! but that is October and expected, so far growing conditions are ok but more rain needed to keep it that way.

Everyday something new and beautiful greats me in our garden, this week fragrant lilac, peony rose's, sweet-peas, English abutilon and Kōwhai to please the birds.

If you need to shift rhododendrons, azalea's or camellia's do it immediately after flowering, before they put on their new season growth, and if your spring flowering shrubs are in need of a trim prune them back once they have finished flowering. I large they will need a third of the top removed.

Geraniums and pelargoniums are available now and should be planted in sunny positions. 

Fuchsias are also on offer, they benefit from afternoon shade to thrive.

If you are concerned about the predicted hot dry Summer having a disastrous effect on your garden? Plenty of Mulch breaking down into your soil will help retain moisture as well as improve the soil structure  while suppressing weed growth. Mulch like straw, grass clippings, soft hedge clippings or weed free compost are excellent cover to keep exposed soil from baking while plants are establishing. Continual mulching plus gypsum breaking down into clay or poor draining soil will eventually convert this poor soil into good growing soil.

Roses should now have new growth, this is the month to feed them with slow release Fertiliser which will add nutrients to roots when ever water is applied.

Potted plants also need slow release fertiliser, re-pot any plants that have been in the same container for more than three or four years. As long as they are not too root-bound they can go back into the same pot, once most of the old potting mix is removed and fresh mix and water crystals are packed around the roots. I have just taken ornamental buxus out of the pots, removed half the roots with a sharp spade before replanting them again with new food. Buxus make more roots than they need. They will soon start taking up water and food again then send out healthy new growth.

cymbidium orchids can be divided and re-potted now if crowded.

Water lilies are available this month and need to be planted in a basket lined with sphagnum moss or a double layer of chux dish cloths will do it, then add garden soil, slow release fertiliser or manure, more soil then the lily and lastly a thick layer of shingle placed on top to help weigh the basket down in the water and stop the fertiliser / manure leaching out which will create green slime growth in the pond..

Fruit and veg:

I have been digging in fabulous pig manure, moulding potatoes, planting beans and salad greens, peas, corn and beetroot and I am determined to keep the water up to ensure that my time planting was not wasted .....I have been known to get busy and return to a limp display past restoring and have to start all over again, NOT THIS YEAR I plan green, crunchy and plentiful.! 

Watch your fruit trees and Grapes for fungal diseases, if affected spray with an organic fungicide while growth is new.

If you have had trouble in the past with codling moth, get traps in place now before fruit forms.

CODLING MOTH – Codling moths attack apples, pears, walnuts, quinces, crab apples and stone fruit such as plums and peaches. The females lay their eggs on the foliage near a young fruit and when the grub hatches it crawls to the fruit and eats its way inside. Once inside it is very hard to control. After a period of time of feeding it emerges and forms a cocoon in the loose bark or under the tree, where it will winter over to emerge as a moth in the spring/summer and start the cycle again. A female moth can lay up to 300 eggs during her short life. Some trees never attract the moth, but if one dose you can be sure others will be chosen close by.

Eradication of codling moth, quarter fill a tin or plastic milk container with treacle and hang in the tree to attract male grubs, the treacle is said to smell like the female codling moths pheromone which will attract the male grub into the container to reach a sticky end. A double bonus is that the treacle will attract grub eating birds.

Pop out to Weston soon and walk about our pretty spring garden, "Rockvale Gardens"Bring a picnic seating is plenty, toilet available / donation entry.

Cheers, Linda

http://nzstyleforever.blogspot.com

Gardening in North Otago October 13th 2015

The town of Oamaru is looking especially pretty even after all that drying wind, growth soon freshened up after the rain we were lucky enough to get on Monday night.Tulips are taking center stage now along with the beautiful bright pink blossom of prunus Kanzan. Tulips are best left after flowering until all green has been absorbed by the bulb, if like me you have a main display of them and need to get other plants in once flowered, dig them up with all still attached to the bulb and bed them, bundled into a spot in the garden where not noticed until the die back is finished. Then store them away in a box where rats can not get at them. Dead head all spring bulbs as they finish flowering, leaving them to make seed will weaken bulbs but leaves are left on to die back into bulbs, with the exception of blue bells, they spread faster if allowed to drop seed.

This is the time of the year that I am busy getting my garden presentable for Spring tours starting this week, the ground is damp and warm and just right for planting the abundance of plants on offer and planting seeds to be ready for summer flowering and eating. The seeds I planted in late winter are ready to be planted out or potted on, I see them out the corner of my eye beginning to climb out off trays as I rush past, I have even been known comment SOON to them while keeping the water up when I really should be potting up!! 

Compost is heating up and working well with the addition of new grass clippings, mine are open heaps layered with soft hedge clippings, grass clippings, manure, soil,and seedless weeds. The sprinkler is needed on them from time to time to get warm moisture working right through the middle to create the heat needed.

Pansies and polyanthus will keep flowering if dead headed, pansies and violas can be cut right back and fed with liquid fertiliser to come into bud again and flower on  a little longer, flowering will not be as strong as it has been but as long as there is a chill in the air they will keep on flowering until it gets too warm for them. Polyanthus soon let you know when it is too hot for them, if you feel they have done all they are going to do dig them out, cut back and plant in a cool shady place where they can be left and planted out again next year.

Coastal gardens will be ahead of gardens further inland, late frosts new rose growth can be a problem but don' t be too concerned because rose leaves recover very fast and will have new buds to open in six weeks time. To avoid mildew problems don't let rose foliage go into the night wet in mild weather, also keep the food up to your roses while they are making their buds, it's hungry roses that get diseased. Fortnightly folia feeding and slow release fertiliser is good right now on any flowering plants and shrubs. I have been spot spraying convolvulus, couch and clover as it pops through the ground, and pulling out biddy bid and chick weed before it runs to seed. I do this every year but it still seems to run rampant. 

If roses get even a sniff of hormone spray it will deform the foliage into wispy yellow leaves and the rose bush will eventually die so don't risk spraying on a windy day. 

I have noticed some of my front shrub plantings are too big now, hiding smaller plants behind, It takes only a few years for gardens to close in with out us really noticing and what a difference can be made by opening up and creating distance for a new and interesting planting. One area opened in my garden is deep enough to allow me to mass plant with blue bells and include a new maple tree, it was two scrappy over grown shrubs blocking the planting space behind. 

I planted sun flower seeds into trays only a week ago which are now up and large enough to plant out, they do best being planted straight into the ground but I have little bantams who scratch out the seed and eat hence pre growing them. Sun flowers are a quick result for Children to plant and watch grow taller than them. Also up and almost ready to plant out are cosmos, larkspur, nasturtium and marigolds, delphiniums, and alyssum. I would love to attract monarch butterflies to the garden but can never get the swan plants to stay alive through the winter, planting them now will allow them to get bushy by summer in the hope of attracting or introducing them into the garden.

Vegetables

Potatoes are loving the warm ground, mine are up and ready for mounding.....hopefully this weekend! 

Seeds are popping up in no time as well, Pumpkin, squash, corn and courgette seeds can go in now, if you prefer to buy plants be sure to harden them off outside in a protected place for a while before planting them out. If your vegetable garden has been disappointing in the past with plants not growing as well as you would like you could do a Ph test and if the PH of your soil needs to be raised you can then add lime. I sprinkle lime on my compost heaps in spring and Autumn which then goes on the garden with the added bonus of lime loving worms. If you have done a test and you need to raise the PH Sprinkle the lime over the soil surface and rake it into the top couple of inches, letting it naturally work down to the root zone. Do not dig it deeply into the soil, it will leach down soon enough. Dolomite lime is less likely to drastically change the PH but if your soil is in need of sweetening our local lime (calcium carbonate) will do the trick. Usually application rates are 2 to 3 pounds per 100 square feet of garden area, every second year to raise the pH from 5.5 to 6.5. There are some veg that like a more acid soil so don't go adding lime unless your soil needs sweetening.

Cheers, Linda

Blog: http://nzstyleforever.blogspot.co.nz/

Gardening in North Otago October 6th 2015

Is it Spring or Autumn?? with those damaging winds North Otago has been experiencing I have spent day after day raking up leaves and branches and watering. Drying winds are the last thing fresh Spring growth needs but they have arrived so we need to deal with it. Soak hoses are the way to get moisture down into  the ground, wind and evaporation is zapping the ground and gardeners as well I am sure. I have been leaving the majority of the watering until late in the day in the hope that the wind will die down but no it kept up it's destructive blowing through most nights. Keep an eye on the shallow rooted shrubs like rhododendron, camellia and azaleas, newly planted tall tree's will be moving about if they are not secured to stakes, stopping roots from establishing. A couple of large rocks around the base will add weight if bare rooted trees have just been planted. Hydrangeas and roses are just making leaf so need watered daily while the winds are happening. I am pleased now that some of the cherry blossoms are late this spring, the few that had blossom here in our garden have been stripped. 

Bedding plants: All bedding plants, once planted need attention, water and folia feeding. I have been sifting soil for resowing patches in the lawn and decided to use the sifted soil as a top layer to soil before planting annuals and seeds. Sifted soil packs round new roots firmly so they don't dry enabling roots to grow quickly. Soil, is after all nature given for growing and here long before we had so many other growing medium choices! BUT planting comes to a stand still on windy days, don't be tempted to plant out anything until the ground can hold moisture. Plants will last in pots and punnets until the time is right. 

Plants for the right place starting with dry areas of the garden, under hungry trees or areas that drain too readily. You will be wasting your time and money planting shallow rooted plants like rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, hydrangeas, roses or hellebore's in these areas. It's best to group with plants that will work their roots down to look for moisture like: 

Euphorbias in all their varieties, colours and sizes 

Agapanthus: large and small varieties they are great on a slope.

Buddleias: To fill gaps at the back of a border, lovely sliver blue foliage and blue to cerise/ purple flowers, must be cut back well after flowering to keep bushy and at the height you require them to be. 

Grass's always look good grouped together as they are in nature, they do well in the dry and add movement to the garden wafting in the wind. 

Geraniums also require little attention in a dry spot once established but do need water until established. 

Lupins: Are wonderful in big groups, they also need water until they become established, after the first flowering they will self seed to make their groups larger. 

All these plants once established will cope with dry conditions. 

Damp, Shade loving plants to consider:

Hydrangea, such a lovely bush in so many modern shades now. 

Hostas with their interesting leaves 

Heuchera: Not all shade loving plants have to be green. Heuchera plants come in a delightful variety of colors. Plant these as borders around the base of trees or even along the edge of walkways!

Acanthus mollis: Large bold, dark green shinny leaves, I have it planted in so many problem spots and area's where a statement plant is required but it needs to grow in a big space on its own because it has a massive root system.

Aluminum plant: (Ground cover) would be too invasive for a small area but in an area that drives you potty because what you have planted just sits long enough to be taken over by weeds this plant is fantastic with it's variegated leaves lighting up the darkest of area's, it covers the ground in no time. 

Hellobores: (Winter rose) A must for every shade garden. 

Ponds: I know wrote about ponds not long ago but with the warmer weather quickening up pond growth it's time to watch for slime developing which is harmful to fish if caught in their gills. A good way of clearing a pond after Winter is to flood it and most of the rubbish will float off, don't stir up the bottom as long as the water is clear on top the pond is working. If a pond fills with green slime it means that there is too much nitrogen in the water, maybe fertiliser drifted in when lawns or gardens were being feed. Or if you feed water lilies with Manure some may have leached out into the water. I have mentioned barley straw being used to clear a pond however this will be hard to come by for most people, there is a product called Barley straw extract if not able to get it locally go on line www.fishpond.co.nz/ I have heard this is a good natural product to clear ponds. Oxygen weed and pond snails help to keep ponds clear as well and fish blow eggs into the weed. When I first wanted fish in my ponds I just put in some oxygen weed from a pond full of fish and the baby fish eggs all hatched, with no older fish in the pond to eat the eggs or hatching's they had no predators so all survived. Fish start chasing each other around the pond and laying eggs when the water warms up enough for water lillies and water iris to put on growth.

Vegetable garden: Keep molding up potatoes as they show leaf, this keeps them cooler allowing more time for them to grow a bigger crop. 

I have sown mixed lettuce seeds in a tray and plan to transplant them into the garden as I need them, lettuce seedlings will hold in a tray for a long time in a shady spot and only really start growing when they are fed and watered in a sunny spot. The broad beans took a hammering in the winds this week and needed a couple of good soakings, flowers are turning into small pods so the bees eventually found and pollinated them. Beans can go in now, the soil is a perfect temperature for veg growing, every seed planted will germinate and do well.

Cheers Linda.

Gardening in North Otago September 29th 2015

October

This month is where chasing weeds becomes a full time job - Hoeing and hand pulling weeds is still the best option in planted areas.

If you are clearing a garden to plant out for a summer show I suggest clear all annual weeds, pull out, or dig well under. Couch grass and Convolvulus need to be taken right out, get each long runner under the ground and any little pieces that may have been chopped with the spade, they grow and spread very fast if left, I spot spray them with round up while they are just coming through the ground  in badly effected areas. Once all obvious weeds are gone cover the area with weed free compost, thick enough to keep the light from allowing any weed seeds left behind to germinate. If you do not have your own compost try the compost produced at Pukeuri meat works, mulch from the Recourse recovery park or mushroom compost, any medium that has been heated to the point of destroying any seeds that it once contained. NOW plant,plant, plant! as many annuals and perennials as you can into the prepared area. They will grow really fast from now on and beat any weed seeds blown in or dropped by birds.

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A healthy garden starts with feeding plants now at the beginning of the new growing season is the answer. Powered plant food should always be watered in, if you have home made compost ready add to it eight parts (by weight) blood and bone and one part sulphate of pot ash this will to add food and a flowering and fruiting component. I often mention using old stable manure around roses which will keep them going over their long flowering period but don't dig the manure in as this can cause root damage, watering will take it to the roots as required. Also keep it away from the trunks and steams, extend out just beyond the drip line enabling the food to be on the outer third of of this circle where the most active feeding roots are.

If like me you have areas in your garden that you have trouble establishing lawn or an area that has been garden but is now vacant from the felling of trees and you need time to decide how to plant it out, why not turn it into a wild flower garden for this growing season? The beginning of spring is the perfect time to prepare and plant a wild flower garden. I have an area at the top of my hill garden that is exposed to wind and has become to dry and firm for growing grass, I plan to soak the ground then break it up enough to work in some compost and keep soaking until moisture is well down, then sow the area in wild flowers and hopefully in the autumn the ground will be improved enough to achieve an autumn grass sowing. Wild flower meadows require maximum light, full sun however I came across a seed merchant that offers a wild flower selection for the shade so will be trying that mix in shade areas as well. 

Most gardeners save sun flower seed from year to year, I adore seeing theses big happy flower faces en masse following the sun, planted out in groups where they can stand high behind existing shrubs and any sunny bare areas that need brightening up.

This being a late spring most camellias are still flowering beautifully, once finished flowering they can be trimmed and shaped, remove branches from the middle if a bush is dense and bushy to let light in, there should be enough gaps for a bird to fly through to allow future bud forming, 

Hosta's are starting to leaf now, give them a dressing of compost and blood and bone while leaves are still small. Slugs are sitting in wait to munch on those beautiful leaves and how disappointing it is to one day find leaves full of holes, for those who can't use slug bait try a collar of gorse prickles, pine needles, coffee grounds, or coarse grit.

If you have a blossom tree and notice some blossom looks different then most likely it will be a branch growing from below the graft, cut it right out because it will become stronger and in time will become the tree.

Lawns are really going for it now and need fed often during the growing season, have some lawn fertiliser on hand for the next decent rain, this is the very best time to apply lawn fertiliser to established lawns. If applied in dry sunny weather it is likely to burn grass off. I am busy raking out and resowing the damage caused by grass grubs, Grrrrrrrrr I get so sick of doing this each year.

Vegetable garden

The shops are full of veg, herb plants, seeds, tomatoes plants and seed potatoes, from now on it is so easy to grow your own food. All Tomato plants apart from Russian red and sweet 100's need to be growing in a warm glass or tunnel house to do well.

Once again I will encourage those who do not have an existing vegetable garden but do have a patch of vacant ground, to clear it and edge with what ever you have on hand, lime stone blocks, tree branches or sleepers and build up with top soil and compost. Spray the weeds around the outside of your edging so they will not encroach on your planting space then go for it, get planting at this time of the year everything will grow fast and grow well as long as you keep the water up and hoe the weeds away.

Corn and pumpkins need to be planted now to assure the long ripening season they need but protection for both at night may still be needed. I have made a mound of soil and horse manure in a sunny vacant area near my raised vegetable gardens for pumpkin plants to grow and spread down the mound and over the ground.

Herbs are growing fast, Pretty painted pots planted out in herbs now will be full and ready to give as Christmas gifts, everyone, I am sure would appreciate this useful living gift.

Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago September 25th 2015

Still experiencing hard frosts here in North Otago which means cold morning starts but it soon warms up and becomes pleasant working conditions. However the cold nights and mornings are holding spring back and because of this I have had time to give trees and plants a ride in the wheel barrow to be settled in a more suitable spot and after Wednesday's soft rain everything in the garden will be happy. 

I have spent a good few hours over the past two weeks digging out acanthus mollis, (bears breeches, oyster plant) from a garden that always looked ok with the dramatic leaves of acanthus but having removed the three mop top's it was under planting this garden needed to change. Acanthus mollis has invasive thick roots which filled my wheel barrow many times and I am sure the evidence of roots I missed will still be popping up.This garden now features a tall standard weeping white mulberry in the center, an edge of hellebore's for early winter interest and lupins filling the rest of the space for a spring display before the mulberry puts out leaf.  

Also during the week I potted on lavender and hedge cuttings taken at the end of last summer. Hedges are not for everyone because of the trimming, I love a nice hedge separating areas in a garden and because a lot of plants are required to grow a hedge I like to put in cuttings. Also in early spring I pot up fast growing gap fillers to use in my long perennial boarders once spring and early summer flowering plants have finished. I plant them now so good roots establish, then cut them back and let them regrow to take them right through until the beginning of next winter. Plants I use for this are mignoette, geranium, fuschia, geranium, cineraria silver dust and anthriscus sylvestris ,I call it bronze Queen Anns lace, spreads from seed profusely but pulls out easily and is a wonderful gap filler with its large feathery bronze leaves and clusters of small white flowers.

I absolutely love sweet peas, I have had groups sitting over winter for an early flowering and today have planted more to scramble up behind lower plantings in the boarders. Sweet peas are gross feeders so a trench filled with well rotted animal manure below the soil they are sown in is beneficial.

This is usually the time to take tubular begonias out of dry storage, as they begin to sprout but with it still being so cold there is time enough to do this. The showy edging flamboyant begonias become nice big tubas in time and by cutting sections off them each year you will achieve a boarder in no time. It's best to lift them at the end of their growing season each year because like dahlias they can rot in wet ground during winter, All begonias love any fertiliser with a seaweed of fish content.

All of this month is the time to layer any shrubs that lay their branches close to the ground like azaleas and rhododendrons and low growing magnolias. Pin low growing slim branch's down into the soil and firm in with compost and soil a section of bent wire is good for pinning. Hopefully by the end of this growing season these branch's will have developed strong roots, leave growing like this on the Mother plant for another year then cut free and pot up to grow on as a new bush.

Ponds will be warming up now, mine started to grow green slim on sunny days, the addition of un sprayed straw weighted down with rocks will help in keeping water clear, barley straw is said to be the most efficient, It takes a couple of weeks after the straw is introduced to get the pond water working as it should. My pond is still not warm enough for the oxygen weed to put on new growth but I see the water lillies are starting to move. Keep fertiliser from drifting into ponds, slime growth is encouraged by added nitrogen. 

Lawns,

New lawns sown now on the coast will strike as soon as we have a few nice sunny days in a row to warm the ground up, as I have mentioned before seed must be sown thickly in spring and kept moist to beat annual weeds. 

Keep the mower blades up when cutting spring grass to allow it to thicken up and feed a little each time it rains and they will stay lush..

Fruit: 

Blue berries are a popular fruit and a health benifit, Blue berry bushes need to be growing in an acid soil with consistent moisture. I have watered my bush well and mulched with pine needles which will gently make the soil beneath acid.

Vegetables:

Still no white butterfly's about (in my garden) keep planting out green and root veg.Get the sprouted seed potatoes in and mounded if already in and up.

Too early and cold for beans right now.

All the veg seeds I planted at the same time are up and doing well lettuce, carrot, corn (protected from frost) and silverbeet that I grow year round for my chooks and birds.

Cheers, Linda.