Gardening in North Otago October 28th 2016

And now it is November and this spring is proving to be as spring should be, warmth with moisture and much growth. Still lovely blossom dripping from trees here with prunus kanzan and shimidsu sakura taking center stage. My roses were pruned late so are only just budding, ready to take over from all the camellias, rhododendrons, viburnums, lilacs and so much more. Iris's are pushing through fat buds, I have needed to remove mulch from iris rhizomes, they push themselves out of the ground now to be exposed to the sun. As the mass's of forget -me-not growing here start to make seed plants now need to be sorted from home grown stocks to fill gaps as they are cut back. Some gardeners pull forget-me-not out after flowering, I cut it back hard and it clumps up with fresh green leaf through summer to flower again next spring. In my stocks are cosmos, marigolds, , petunias, bedding dahlia's and blue salvia will go where the red tulips were for a summer show. Cat-mint edging is starting to show colour, while it is happening sections with roots can be pulled from the main clump and potted up to grow a root ball, then planted out as edging in another part of the garden, cat-mint is such a pretty edging which can be cut back after the first flowering to flower again. Trim spent blooms from flowering perennials and daisy bushes often to keep them bushy and continuously in flower, if you let flower heads go to seed the bush or plants will become woody. Cut chrysanthemums and perennial asters back now so they will grow up a second time but hopefully not so tall and fall all over the place, their flowering time is not until the end of Summer. Chrysanthemum tips can be put into river sand to make roots for new plants. Planting on a slope: Spring is a good 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 dreaded winds arrive. Spray out all weeds, they will compete with moisture that your plants will need. If it is possible terracing a steep slope with rocks or sleepers would be beneficial to hold moisture around the 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. Make sure it dips down at the back for water to pool. Use stones around each plant, this will help in preventing wind blowing soil away from the roots. Choose plants that grow in dry conditions, like South African plants; grevillea, leucadendron, Proteas, ask the Garden center assistant what survives 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 have massed lupins to fill the gaps on my bank until all the other plants get bigger. Soft growth off some of my hedges can be trimmed this month, if a hedge has reached the height required best to take the soft growth off before the foliage beneath gets too much protection from top growth, Winter hardened the under growth and it should still be strong enough not to get sunburned when exposed to sun. Leave box hedging until the end of the month, if trimmed too soon new growth keeps pushing out, all soft trimmings can go in the compost or on the garden as mulch. Grass, Grass. Grass...So much mowing! If like us you have not had to spray lawn weeds out yet you can sprinkle your clippings around the garden as humus but not in thick piles, spread it out so it can break down fast. Your garden can take as much fresh green growth as you throw at it now the warmth is here. Resown patches left from grass grub and moss removal damage will repair fast now if water is kept up and birds kept off, try covering with shade cloth until seed has germinated, works for me. Veg Garden Growth is amazing this spring with the warmth and moisture we are receiving, potatoes are up for mounding, root veg ready for thinning, leaf veg is heartening up and no white butterflies here to annoy them yet, I am picking young broad beans that keep producing heaps of flowers, no rust nor an aphid to be seen! runner beans have popped through so the ground is warm enough for all beans now and corn plus all from the pumpkin family. Fruit Fruit bushes and trees are responding to spring as they should, the bees have done a wonderful pollinating job and we should all get bumper crops with the right amount of sun and moisture. Mulch around the drip line of all fruiting trees and shrubs to keep moisture from evaporating while fruit is forming.....it's all on now for growing our own food. Cheers Linda.