Gardening in North Otago December 14th 2022

Christmas Eve in my past Garden

Here we are at the end of another year with Christmas looming, gardens will be full to bursting with colour and produce just as many of us will be setting off for a break. With so many overcast days some plants have been slow to move which can be an advantage when it comes to produce not bolting to seed. Things will rectify once the hot summer we have been promised starts. I have almost finished planting out our new town, low maintenance garden having spent three or four years growing plants from cuttings taken from the large formal garden we left behind. I selected plants that brought me the most pleasure so I can still enjoy them. I designed most of our new garden in a structured, Japanese theme using weed mat and gravel which will cut out digging and replanting. Larger trees and shrubs have been planted in grow bags to semi bonsai which means they will still retain shape but at a reduced width and height. Each plant is being shaped to the desired effect needed. As it is count down time now until Christmas I am sure gardeners will be spending less time in the garden, just getting lawns mowed and watering done. You will know by now that I am determined to get all gardeners soaking then mulching to retain moisture, this time of the year is when gardens benefit most from being mulched because where dirt is left bare there will always be weeds. Soft hedge trimmings can go on as mulch along with grass clippings, tree mulch (forest floor) ornamental grass clippings, rotted leaf mulch and decomposed pine needles will all do the job. Remove seed heads from Peony roses as they interfere with subsequent blooming, foliage can stay until it turns brown. Delphiniums that have suffered from wind can sometimes be blown right over, it's hard to stand them up again without stems breaking so cut them back to the broken point to continue to put out smaller flower heads. Dead head as many roses as you can so they can get going on their second flowering, deep water and mulch if you have the time. Then let the garden look after itself while you have a well deserved break. Roses first flowering is almost over so it is time to deadhead spent blooms, cut at an out facing bud down on the strongest part of a branch, they will bud up and flower again in a few weeks. I collect fragrant rose blooms to lay out and dry to fill a basket for the hall table. Dry between sheets of newspaper until all hint of moisture is gone and they will last for months without going mouldy. If you are going away, pop all your indoor plants in the bath with a little water to keep them going and baskets and manageable pots around to the shady side of the house until your return. Fruit for us Kiwis fruit ripens at the busiest possible time for picking, it is such a waste if left to drop so maybe with some bribing Children could be recruited as pickers, if needed for jam or pickling and just pop fruit into the freezer until your return? Laden black current branches can be cut from bush's and stripped of fruit in a cool place while having a Christmas drink, this way pruning is also taken care of. Gooseberries are the tricky fruit to pick but the end of a branch lifted with a gloved hand will find fruit hanging from the underside ready to strip off a handful at a time. I find raspberries and strawberries the most time consuming to pick but so worth the effort. Vegetable garden: So much is ready for picking in the veg garden right now, I will be throwing shade cloth over mine to protect from sun and birds when I am not here to keep an eye on things . That's it from me for this year, our tree is ready and waiting for excited Children on Christmas morning and not need to hunt for Nana in the Garden this year. I wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and all the very best for a safe 2023. Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in Waitaki December 6th 2022

We Gardeners can start thinking about just enjoying the fruits of our labor now as flower and veg gardens fill with colour and produce, but unfortunately weeds and lawns don't stop growing so I guess we must soldier on. Mulch will be holding moisture in the soil on those very hot days, I learned over many years how beneficial mulch is on soil and around plants and trees. Exposed soil dries out very quickly during hot summer weather which means plant roots suffer, growth is stunted, worms dive deep and nutrients deplete as moisture is needed to get benefit. When gardens are mulched, less watering is needed and decomposing  mulch is a tonic to soil and plant growth, beneficial insect life is encouraged and weeds are limited with soil covered. Arborist mulch is great as a mulcher reduces live wood and green together into small particles readily able to break down faster than large chunks of bark which robs nitrogen from gardens. Fresh lawn cuttings scattered thick enough to keep light from soil  (not thickly laid) can become mulch, pine needles and compost will work, mulch becomes dry instead of soil and plant roots.  Buddleia can be cut back now as they finish flowering. When newly planted I cut them back by half after flowering and the mature buddleias right to the ground as they push up new growth very quickly and look attractive with new blue green foliage. Buddleias are a good fill-in shrub and come in shades of blue /purple, pink and white make this an ideal plant for a back border and can be grown from a cutting.  Forget-me-not,  most gardeners pull out forget-me-not when it has finished flowering, I cut it right back to almost nothing and it returns in nice green clumps stronger than ever and becomes a perennial which will flower for years every spring. Heaps of the seed heads stick to clothes while cutting back but as a woodland plant you can't go past forget-me-nots as a pretty sea of blue among rhododendrons. Branches lifted on large trees now will let light onto underplanting, I hired a small chainsaw on a long handle which I found perfect for reaching up to remove long branches growing naturally as a canopy to shade the tree roots but in a garden situation plantings beneath need light to survive.  Anemones and ranunculus for winter flowering can be planted in the next two weeks, I used to plant first into pots to make roots then transplant later when the summer clearing had been done. I liked them grouped and would forget where I had planted them and dig through them in my big garden. Lilies are flowering now, large clumps can be divided up and shifted straight after flowering and planted into good compost. Lily bulbs should never dry out, I have had clumps of Christmas lilies completely disappear and have not noticed until I miss them flowering at this time of the year,  so keep an eye on them through the dryer months. It takes years for lilies to grow from little pup bulbs and seeds so they are worth looking after.  Lawns: If you don't like using sprays and you have a few flat weeds in the lawn try painting them with vinegar, I was told about this recently and it works! I used white vinegar, also great for spot spraying pathways and drives. Clover browns off a little, I am watching to see how much it knocks it. Apply the vinegar in full sun, keep off needed plants. Vegetables Keep mounding up potato rows to encourage bigger shores, corn likes to be mounded up also when stalkes get to about knee high. Corn has a shallow rooting system and the mounding helps to keep them upright in strong winds. All leaf and root veg will be thriving this month, I am picking a lot from my veg plots then filling gaps with new seedlings. One thing is for sure you can put off doing what is needed but nature can not be put off when it comes to weeds and ripening of fruit and veg. If time is limited, cutting the flowers off weeds before they run to seed will reduce the spread until you can tackle them. Fruit: It is time to shorten back fruiting leaders on grape vines, growth is needed for the forming grapes. If a leader has produced too many bunches, remove some. I was told years ago that offal or a dead animal is what a domestic grape vine likes to have buried down around it's roots, too much nitrate fertiliser will produce too many leaves and leaders. Most fruiting plants like a little potash to encourage fruiting during spring. Pip and stone fruit should grow in abundance this season. Usually a tree will shead small forming fruits if too crowded, but I have found this reduction needs to be done by the gardener as well, now is the time to check the number of fruit to branch ratio.  Cheers, Linda

Gardening in Waitaki December 3rd 2022

December is here and does the cutting back NEVER end? It's getting rid of it all that creates a problem for most people, however at this time of the year the cut back growth is soft and with the help of daily heat will break down in heaps or on the compost so pile it up until it all reduces, then cart it off. Gaps left can be built up with fresh compost and planted out in summer annuals. Catmint edging can be cut right back now, it will grow back and flower again and lavender will be flowering well now, English lavender is worth cutting, bunching and hanging once stems have firmed, it will continue to give off that lovely fresh lavender fragrance, if kept inside right through the year until it flowers again next year. Rhododendrons finished flowering need spent flowers removed before they make seed, impossible to do on very large bushes but beneficial to smaller bushes as you want them to put growth into the bush not seeds. There is a point on a spent flower that when bent will break cleanly without damaging new growth. Roses: will have enjoyed the rain but remove rain damaged buds and blooms, if left they will encourage fungus during humid weather. roses need dry sunny days to flower at their best. Lilies will be enjoying moisture in the ground, lilies cannot cope with dry ground but like most plants will rot if water logged. Hedge trimming will go on for a while, if a hedge is trimmed before new growth has stopped it will be sure to put out more new growth and need trimmed again. Storing dried Herbs: Herbs should be harvested when flavor and aroma oils are at their peak, before they flower. Harvest early in the morning after the dew dries and before the heat of the day. Herbs must be completely dry when cut and bundled for drying to rub and store, any moisture will result in mold. Drying herbs is well worth the effort as a summer harvest and drying can amount to enough mixed herbs to last all year, as well as a gift to others. Culinary herbs to dry: rosemary, thyme, sage, dill, basil, chives, parsley, oregano, tarragon, nasturtium (leaves and flowers) Fruit: black currents, raspberries and gooseberries are all wanting continuous sunny days , remove any strawberries showing signs of rot and large top leaves to let more air and light in but they need to have a net cover if exposed to birds. Vegetable garden: Weeds as well as veg are romping away but are easy to pull while the soil is damp, get rid of any veg rotting and when time and weather allows work ground with a hoe to get air in. Keep potatoes mounded, protect carrots from carrot fly by covering with cloth that lets light in, don't leave carrot thinings laying about. Pumpkins and corn sould be in to get the summer length needed to ripen. produce is so good from your own garden to the table and planted now will reward you through summer and Autumn. Cheers, Linda.