Gardening in North Otago August 9th 2016

Snow, frozen ground and cold hands in the past week, proper winter weather at last.
Birds are hungry and beginning to nest, with the help of Poppy and Maggie (Grandies) I melted dripping and stirred in bird seed, while it was firming we pressed into three balls. The Girls climbed trees and pushed them into v branches for the birds to enjoy instead of stripping my veg.
Morning frozen ground makes it impossible to work in soil so Garden design is what I can concentrate on with never being short of clients. But usually with frosts come brilliant blue sky and sun, well worth cold fingers and here on the coast the afternoon thaw allows me to get out and do what needs to be done.
 I am full on thinking about spring and what I would like happening in our garden, now is the the time to hatch plans for planting, dividing and shifting. I planted a standard weeping mulberry two years ago which had an under planting of acanthus mollis (oyster plant) which had taken over. After many weeks of digging it out ( with help) I think we have finally got rid. I visualized a mass planting of Russell lupin in its place so set about digging up random lupin plants growing here and there and have now filled the space which should be very colourful come spring, and once finished flowering will cut back and plant cosmos amongst to take that garden right through until winter.
If something does well in a garden bed why not fill with the same plant to make a colourful impact, I have done this with hydrangeas, ranunculus, nandina, same shade roses, hellebore's and same shade dahlias. A planting as this fills a space and if mulched allows no room for weeds. Spring bulbs planted this way always give the best show rather than different varieties planted together.

A few more hydrangeas have been pruned as nice fat buds are swelling on the stems and cuttings taken and bedded in from the hardened stems that had flowered.  A shaded moist area is best for bedding these down and hopefully roots will grow to feed the buds. Some times I get good results by covering the cuttings with a box keeping the light out to hold the buds back to encourage roots.
Old wood can be cut out of  wigelias and spirea bushes, you can tell which branches they are because the wood looks old and spent compared to the new fresh wood.

Almost finished pruning roses here, only the flower carpet and fairy roses to go, both these varieties bush up with small non hard wood branching and if large, bushes can be trimmed with a hedge trimmer. If newly planted and small prune back to hard wood at an outward facing bud. Feeding and spraying my roses is next, copper oxychloride and winter oil, they can be mixed and applied together as the oil helps the copper to stick and copper helps protect new growth from frosts that occur in late spring. Best not to be applied to fresh new growth when burning may occur,
Vegetables and fruit
Fruit Trees are still available in Garden Centres. If you think your garden is too small for fruit trees, I mentioned dwarf peach and nectarine trees last week and will mention Ballerina apples this week. A very slim non branching variety of apple with Medium to large, red skin on areas exposed to the sun. Crisp and juicy, nice eating and cooking, similar in flavour to ‘Jonathan, growing to 3-4m tall by 30cm wide perfect for adding height to a small garden.
Still time to get grapes pruned before sap rises, 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.
 Vegetable gardens are enjoying frosts breaking down the soil, I am still digging carrots, the parsnips are still growing regardless of such cold conditions. I have had to cover leaf veg from the birds with shade cloth. Time for sowing seeds to germinate in a warm place to be ready for planting out in a warm spring garden.
Cheers, Linda.