Gardening in Waitaki September 7th 2021

The hum of bees is back with the flowering cherries and fruit trees in blossom and what a magnificent display magnolias are making around North Otago. It is a joy to be planting out bedding plants and putting the finishing touches to spring gardens when the sun is shining.  Soil is warmer and days are longer, perfect for planting seed, annuals and perennial plants. I think every gardener enjoys trying new plants and colour combinations, but keep an eye on germinated seeds with late frosts. Some seeds I planted a couple of weeks ago and have been protecting are up and already need transplanting.  Pansy, viola alyssum, with shallow roots can be three or four to a pot until ready to plant out but those with longer deeper roots like lupin, hellebore and Oriental poppy have been  planted into their own individual small pots. It is best to have well developed roots attached before planting out. Weeds are taking off again, I have the hoe on the go while they are small because I do not like spraying, once hoed in a covering of compost will keep weeds smothered in both the flower and veg garden.  Birds will be scratching about in gardens looking for worms and grubs to feed their young, They usually concentrate on the front edge of a garden making a mess on paths and lawns,  if you have a problem with this, growing a mat forming boarder will deter them. Some boarder plants to consider are catmint, lambs ear, alyssum, alchenilla mollis, dwarf agapantha, armeria maritim (thrift), mondo grass, any low growing perennial plant that mats over soil. Lavenders: are always popular, English lavenders will eventually get leggy and past it, if you have any like this don't nurse them thinking they will come back because they will probably not. Dig them out and replace with new plants. munstead lavender is the small edging variety which will not spill over a path as other English lavenders tend to. There are so many different varieties on the market now and none of them are very long lived if they do not like where they are growing. I have noticed the lovely tall English Hidcote does well growing down a solid fence line for support and keeps on keeping on if trimmed often, English lavenders are grown for oil and are a good drying variety. The bumble bee type, lavender major, are more manageable in borders and the French lavender dentata is a tall hedging lavender that flowers all year round. Lavender likes full sun, manure / compost enriched soil with a dressing of lime from time to time. They like it dry but need to get roots down deep to tap in to moisture, a good soak once a month over a hot summer will keep them on the dry side, don't give brief waterings as roots tend to stay high looking for moistCleaning out  ponds will be needing attention, leaves and old growth from pond plants needs to be removed then overflowing the pond will freshen it. Water Lilies, oxygen weed and water irises are starting to make a move. A couple of years ago a helper and I removed all the yellow bog iris from my then  big pond, this was a much needed job because this common yellow iris was spreading so fast and took up a quarter of the pond with it's mat forming roots ( lesson learned, don't plant yellow bog iris in a domestic pond) The place for this iris is along the banks of a creek, the fibrous roots are fantastic at holding the sides back from erosion. Don't be tempted to add bull rushes to a domestic pond either, they also spread too quickly. While water lilies are not fully in leaf sections can be cut and re potted. If you do not have a mesh pot specifically for aquatic plants, make holes in the sides of a plastic pot and use that. Line the pot with sacking or woven fabric and 3/4 fill with garden soil and a small amount of slow release fertiliser in the center. Plant a water lily section then add a good amount of stones or gravel to the top of the pot and submerge to the bottom of the pond.  Lawns: New lawns sown on the coast should result in a strike now that the ground is warmer, as I have mentioned before seed must be sown thickly in spring to beat the annual weeds. Keep the mower blades up when cutting spring grass to allow it to thicken and feed lawns just before or during rain and they will stay lush. Herbs: perennial herbs are making growth so can be divided and annual herb seeds sown, basil will need to be protected well until the threat of frost is over. Vegetables:  Here on the coast plant all leafy greens on offer, carrots,  lettuce plants at two week intervals and any spare ground could be planted out in seed potatoes. Plant corn and pumpkin seeds and protect until frosts have past, both of these need a long ripening season so it is best to have them well up early for planting when the time is right. I have sown tomato seeds of different varieties which I will be nursing in a warm well lit place.  Fruit: Strawberries and rhubarb are on the move, they need to be fed to get the best from them, manure enriched compost then mulched with straw, pine needles or un sprayed grass clippings to keep weeds down. Volunteers with the Garden corner at the Resource Recovery Park hope to be open this month with  a good selection of plants ready for planting. Gardners please drop in any unwanted plants for Volunteers to pot up and re-home. Cheers, Linda.  

Garden corner at Resorce Recovery Park