Monday the 8th March was the take over day for the new owners of Rockvale Garden at Weston. Husband Bob, myself, Scruff and our cat are downsizing after 41 years of bringing up our four Children, developing and maintaining our property Rockvale. We have been privileged during this time to share Rockvale with many wonderful visitors, weddings, functions and bus loads of garden interested people and now look forward to another chapter in our lives. We wish the new owners well with taking Rockvale into the future. I will continue to share garden Knowledge under the facebook page of Gardening in North Otago. With nights cooling and days shortening it will not be long before the major leaf drop and days filled with raking, so I guess we need to play the waiting game for trees surrounding gardens to drop all before getting gardens ready for winter with spreading compost then mulch. However, branches can be lifted on large tree's and climbers like wisteria, jasmine and honey suckle can be trimmed along with hedges and shrubs. Rose dead heading now will be the last for this growing season as roses will soon need to stop putting out new soft growth. Rose wood needs time to harden before the big winter prune which means leaving spent flower blooms on to allow seed heads to develop. Keep dead heading dahlia's and geraniums to keep them flowering through until the first frost and continue to remove spent summer annuals so ground can be worked ready for winter flowering annuals, such as primulas, wall flowers, pollyantha;s, pansies and viola's. Fork in some compost and dampen well before replanting beds. Be on the look out for useful self sown seedlings, you will find quite a few for transplanting now to settle in before winter. Spring bulbs need to planted during autumn and I see wonderful varieties on offer, plant in groups, at the depth suggested on packets ( 4 to 6 inches dirt cover ) to bring your garden to life after winter. Peony roses will be on offer now, they are really worth planting with their big showy blooms taking over from the spring rhododendron displays, be careful when planting not to disturb the new shoots (eyes) forming. A peony root to be planted should contain at least 3 eyes that will eventually become stems. A root with only 1 or 2 eyes will still grow, but it will take longer to flower. Taking the time to prepare the soil before planting is time well spent, plant with the eyes facing upwards and the roots spread out. Peonies are very adaptable, but they do prefer a sunny, well-drained, slightly acidic soil and benefit from compost added when planted, they can remain in the same spot for upwards of 70 years. Peony roots should be planted relatively close to the soil surface; only about 2-3 inches deep. It may seem odd to leave roots so exposed, but they need a winter chilling to attain dormancy and set bud. Keep mulch away from the base of peony plants. Lift gladioli now : you do not need wait for leaves to die back, dry in a warm place then dust with insecticide to prevent infestation before storing in a cool place for next growing season. They can be left where they are growing if there is not a pest problem. If you want to grow a great number of gladiolus plants and don’t mind spending a few years doing it, seed germination is the way to go. Leave the flowers on the stem for about six weeks after they die off and produce hard casings filled with seeds. Sprout seeds into miniature plants and you’ll have full-sized gladiolus in about three years. For quicker results with fewer plants, try propagating small gladiolus corms. Each plant will have a number of baby corms, known as cormels or cormlets, attached to the bottom. When you remove these cormlets and plant them separately they’ll grow to flowering size in a couple of years and be true to the Mother plant whereas seeds will develop their own shades. It is time to empty compost bins in readiness for all in coming leaves. Shrubs, plants and bulbs take so much from the soil during each growing season until soil reaches a stage of needing more than the Man made fertilisers which work by feeding plants and promoting growth and in doing so depletes soil of humus. Compost / humus is a soil enhancer taken down to where needed by worms to get the best results from both ornamental and vegetable gardens. Lawns: Get new lawns sown now, the cooler nights and mornings are allowing the moisture to remain longer after watering and a strike will happen pretty fast as the ground is still nice and warm. Fruit: Apples in abundance dripping from trees, pick when pips are brown and store carefully without bruising in a cool dark place. Vegetables: Good growth is still happening as long as water is kept up, pumpkins and corn should be ready to harvest. Dry off pumpkin and squash skins before storing them in a cool dry place. This is a good time for planting above ground annual crops that produce their seeds outside like lettuce, spinach, celery, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and grain green crops for digging in. Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago March 3rd 2021

Signs of Autumn this week with our silver birch tree's tingeing gold and leaves dropping but gardens should still be holding green and should continue to do so a little longer if moisture is kept up.  Summer potted annuals will be looking tired now but deadheading and folia feeding will keep them flowering through autumn. Here on the coast we can still enjoy colour during winter if bedding plants are prepared now. The idea is to utilize the warmth from now on to encourage individually potted plants to bush, bud and harden for planting before frosts get heavy. Bedding plants that respond well to this method are pansy, viola, pollyanthus wallflower, stock, calendula and primula malacoides. It is so worth taking the time to pot individual young seedlings into single pots for root development and become acclimated to early winter conditions rather than buying plants that have been forced into flower at the time. I place these pots on trays and store them in a cool shady place until frosts begin, then the trays are put in a sunny spot to bud up. Keep rose and dahlia deadheading up to encourage a last vibrant show. Rust is always a problem on roses in autumn, strip the affected leaves from the bushes as well as those on the ground and burn them to reduce this problem for next year.  Carnations can be layered now, pin the center of a stem  down under the soil while still attached to the mother plant with the flower end still exposed, roots should form along the buried stem. Once rooted cut from the mother plant and pot up to grow on before planting out in lime sweetened soil. This layering method can be applied to many herbs, plants and shrubs. Lawns.There should be a lot of new lawns being sown in the next couple of months, don't worry about annual weeds appearing as the grass germinates most will disappear after the first mow. All lawn weed sprays are too strong for new grass.Birds are after grass grub in lawns now while the grubs are feeding on grass roots, you have until the end of May to deal to grass grub should they be a problem. Fruit: This is proving a good season for apples, quince, pears and walnuts. The more I read about the health benefits from eating walnuts I feel we should all have access to a tree. The east coast is said to be the preferred place for growing walnuts, they need a dry climate, with a high summer temperature and winter chilling (down to -10ºC). Walnuts are self-pollinating but the more trees you have, the better the pollination rate, if planting trees from scratch, they won’t be producing at economic levels until about Year 8.  Vegetable Gardens will be ready to plant out new crops for the cooler seasons, root veg seeds will germinate well while the ground is still warm. Keep water up to corn and the pumpkin family. We have been experiencing higher humidity than normal for North Otago, this encourages fungus in glass and tunnel houses, water early in the day to ensure produce is dry going into the night.

Cheers Linda

Gardening in North Otago February 23rd 2021

How good has this growing season been and now colours are changing as they should be after such a warm summer. Our garden was really tired and dry before that last rain but has now perked up and with the cutting back smartening things up things up and plants and shrubs pushing new growth and colour out before the first frosts. Petunias, begonias and roses get knocked back after rain but if you have the time to deadhead and cut back to new growth they will recover in the warm early autumn sun. While cutting back seeds can be collected and left to dry in paper bags and seedlings that have popped up among plants can be removed and potted if in the wrong place. .Stock, statice, snapdragon, wall flower, and Iceland poppies are good fillers and if planted now would flower through a mild winter. Roses: Keep the rose dead heading up to encourage the last blooms of summer, it is 6 weeks from a prune to another bud which will take us into April, after that flowering it is best to not deadhead, leave blooms to make seed which will help to harden wood for the winter ahead. Pruning and feeding then will encourage new soft growth so no feeding from now on either. Compost: I got a bit desperate for potting mix while potting up so have been adding compost to the peat mix, my ready heap needs to be emptied to make room for all the leaves to come. The other heaps are breaking down well with the heat and rain, I need to add manure and a little lime now while they are cooking. March is definitely a great planting month with the soil warm and the nights and mornings cooler, newly planted trees and shrubs settle in well. There are a lot of well grown trees, shrubs and plants on offer right now in Garden centers ready and waiting to be planted. Gardner's further inland will need to read the labels to establish frost ratings before buying, if in doubt wait until spring.  Spring bulbs are on offer now in garden outlets. Break up really large clumps already in your garden as they tend to double in size without you noticing and in no time a garden bed can become choked, looking attractive only in spring and dull for the rest of the year. I have often been asked the reason for spring bulbs not flowering after the first couple of years from planting, the most common problem is bulbs may not have not been planted deep enough. Spring bulbs need to be planted 4 to 6 inches deep, that is 4 to 6 inches on top of the bulb, if not planted deeply eventually when they do come into leaf and experience a dry patch during this time they won't take up enough moisture to come into bud.Rake mulch off bearded iris rhizomes they need to exposed to the sun for a baking now.Lawns.  After those baking hot days and a lot of mowing lawn growth starts to slow down from now, catchers will still be filling for a while yet but don't feel you need to cut lower than usual because growth has slowed, a scalped lawn dries out faster and encourages weeds. Going into autumn is the best time to sow new lawns while weed growth is slowing. The flat weeds I do come across now I pop out with the blade of secateurs before they seed and spread.  Fruit: Late peaches, nectorenes, apricots, quince and apples will be in abundance and birds will be feasting so pick and get the jam, pickle  and freezing done before they get the lot. Vegetable  Gardens will be overflowing with produce and corn and pumpkins ripening, leaf veg should not bolt so readily now and will not mind the days getting shorter and cooling. and root veg seeds will germinate well in the warm ground. Second sowings of peas will be up in no time, onions can be lifted once leaves have bent over, don't bend or damage leaves before they are ready to bend naturally if you want them to store and keep well.  Once dug lay them out in a warm place to fully ripen then store in a cool place. Cheers Linda

Gardening in North Otago February 18th 2020

The first sign of a chill in the air last week which means Autumn is just around the corner. I am still cutting back plants that looked stunning through summer but are now just tied and straggly like most cottage plants, bush lavatera, mignonette, lavender tops and geraniums, they will all leaf up again to go through winter. Seed collecting, there are so many ready now, dianthus, delphinium, annual lavatera, salvias, hollyhock, sweet peas plus many more. I plant a few now but save most to sow in early spring. This is the perfect planting time for trees, shrubs, spring bulbs, perennials and annuals. As I have mentioned before buying punnets of annual and perennial seedling now to pot on into individual pots and nurse over winter will give you a head start for early planting and flowering, some will bud up and flower others will grow strong roots through winter and flower when the ground warms in spring. Try this with pollyanthas, Iceland poppy, lupin, primula, wall flower, stock, snapdragon and if sweet peas are planted in late Autumn they will pop up and sit through winter to flower in August. This month is also the best time to plant conifers, there are such a lot of different types, I consider conifers to be a component in creating the bones of a garden. Tall narrow conifers planted in groups give larger gardens a vertical push and formality. Conifer labels need to be read carefully they give the height and width for the first ten years, after that they do keep growing and should be removed if they start to look untidy. Most ornamental and ground cover conifers look wonderful for years and years. A web site with a comprehensive selection is ttp://www.conifers.co.nz , a good contact for those who like to bonsai. Bulbs:It's difficult to think about Spring when Autumn has just begun but if you want that beautiful spring splendor in your garden after the chill of winter it is now that spring bulbs are on offer, all that beauty dormant in bags waiting to be planted. Daffodils along a roadside fence line, grouped in a vacant paddock, under deciduous trees with bluebells, best of all they can be forgotten about and happily multiply year after year. Tulips are planted last in the month of May. Compost:This is an excellent time to start building a new compost heap and get it heating up before winter. The heating process stops during the coldest months so get one started when leaves fall and lawns still need mowing. Hen manure becomes too hot for heaps during other months but it is ok to add now. If you have no time or space for making compost ring Gregg, 0272293215 for a delivery of ready made from our local meat works which is wonderful for feeding plants and suppressing weeds. Not recommended for the sowing of seeds. Lawns. Autumn is said to be the best time to sow a new lawn because perennial weed growth is slowing and the ground is warm with dew adding moisture, grass seed will be up in no time. Water your new lawn early in the morning instead of during the day, between 6am and 10am, this will ensure that the moisture actually gets down into the soil and to grass roots before the suns evaporation. Mature lawns may need aeration with a fork or a push along spikier, or if a lawn is chocked with thatch then hiring a detaching machine will solve that problem. Vegetables: That last rain was a benefit to dry gardens but evaporation is great right now so watering is important for all new plantings. Keep planting in rotation, leaf veg where root veg has been, it is a good time to sow Root plants like Beetroot , Carrots and Parsnips also Chives, Leeks ,Onions , Shallots , Spring Onions. and Asparagus. When potatoes are dug they need to be kept in the dark or they will go green, when storing there are products which will inhibit sprouting, but many gardeners avoid chemicals near food so I will once again mention a natural alternative with you. Layer the stored potatoes with sprigs of rosemary, sage and lavender, the essential oils given off by these herbs not only inhibit sprouting, they will also help to keep the tubers free from bacterial soft rots. Fruit: Apples, quince, plums, walnuts and late peaches so much at once! the birds must be overjoyed by their feasting and the rats / mice will be munching sunflower seeds and waiting patiently for walnuts to ripen, I am sure they are pleased with the work we have put in to feed them! Cheers, Linda

Gardening in North Otago February 9th 2021

Dry again in North Otago as we go into the ripening season,and then it rained to relieve parched ground.. The hedge trimmer has been on the go again here Trimming with secateurs is not practical for us with such a large garden and at this time of the year you can not do too much damage so if hedges need height and width taken well back the regrowth time is pretty quick. Buddleia's have been flowering for a while now attracting butterflies, when flowers die off they need to be cut well back to encourage new fresh growth to take through autumn and winter. Buddleia's are a great fill in bush and look attractive with their blue green foliage even without the blue, pink or white flowers, plant at the back of a border and you will not be sorry. Begonias, petunias and Lilly's are taking center stage now begonias are tropical perennials and like partial shade. Strong sunlight will burn leaves and blooms, if growing in dense shade they will grow more leaves than flowers, wind protection is needed because stems are damaged by strong wind. Let the top inch of soil dry out before watering. Petunias need dead heading often, cutting back and feeding petunias will keep them flowering for ages. Lillies: should be in good draining soil but never be allowed to dry out, mulching helps with this. Lilies do not re bloom, remove faded flowers so plants don't waste energy making seeds. Leave foliage until it turns brown storing energy for next years flower, cut dead stalks in late autumn. large lily clumps can be divided up and shifted straight after flowering.Dividing bulbs: Time is limited now for lifting and dividing congested bulb clumps while they are still dormant. Anemones and ranunculus: will be in Garden centers now I pop them in the fridge for a month in paper bags (not plastic) then soak them overnight in tepid water before planting (stratification), this simulates the winter chill then they are stimulated into growth with the water warmth before planting. Staggering the planting over several weeks will extend the flowering. Lawns continue to stay green with the odd rain shower and warmth which means no slowing down in growth. I spot sprayed lawn weeds again this week, clover really takes off if left and daisies like the continual rain watering, then there is that creeping the tiny leafed weed with yellow flowers that forms a mat in lawns. Every little plant off this needs to be zapped because it flowers and seeds very quickly and spreads from lawn to lawn when mowing. Fruit: It is time to shorten back fruiting leaders on grape vines, the growth is needed for the grapes that have started to form. If a leader has produced too many bunches remove some while shortening back. Veg Garden: Get seeds in the garden now for autumn veg, lettuce, carrots, beetroot, dwarf beans, parsley, parsnip, silver beet. Keep mounding up late potato rows to encourage bigger shores, keep water up to corn, which is growing well with warm days,  Corn have a shallow rooting system, mulching helps to keep them upright in strong winds and adds needed nitrogen. Pea straw is being baled again, order bales now then pick up from the paddock Ph: Sue 03 4326844. Cheers, Linda.

Gardening in North Otago February 2nd 2021

Sun day after day, this real kiwi summer is such a treat and watering is once more a daily happening and with evaporation so great I spend time deep watering around plant roots rather than using sprinklers. Cutting back is full on now,  it all has to go if it has died back to encourage new fresh growth.February: is a good month for taking cuttings and propagating your own plants. Why? Because by late summer the soft new spring growth has hardened and the cutting is less likely to lose moisture from leaves. Plants like geraniums (Pelargoniums) or impatiens are easiest for beginners, but many common shrubs such as abelia, buxus, lavenders,camellias, azaleas, fuchsias and hebe's have a relatively high success rate. The trick when growing plants from cuttings lies in keeping the cut pieces alive while they develop their own new roots. Professional nurserymen do this by growing cuttings in glasshouses where they’re regularly misted with fine sprays of water. But there are lots of techniques that can help a home gardener to achieve success. Try the following: Take cuttings early in the morning, while it’s still cool. Choose tip pieces that are about 100- 150 mm long then drop into a bucket with enough water for cuttings to stand up in, cuttings can remain there for a couple of days if you are short of time. Work in the shade. Fill a deepish container with river sand or crusher dust  and water well and allow to drain. Trim the base of the cuttings below a leaf node (which is where the leaf is, or has been, attached to the stem). Remove bottom leaves, leaving a few at the top. Large leaves can be cut in half (with scissors or sharp secateurs) to further reduce water loss. Dip the base of the cuttings into hormone Gel or powder. Use a pencil to poke holes in the top of the mix a 150 mm pot can hold about six cuttings. Insert the bottom of each cutting into a hole and gently move the mix back to hold it in place.When the pot is full of cuttings, water carefully and place the pot in a lightly shaded spot, out of direct sunlight, no plastic cover is required at this time of the year but check regularly to make sure the mix stays moist. After a couple of months, look to see if buds are swelling and gently gently move the stems to feel if they’re firm and roots have started. When roots are established the rooted cuttings can be moved into individual pots filled with good quality potting mix and fed with a weak liquid fertiliser. Plant these cuttings out in spring or pot on when roots fill the pot. Bulbs: I will mention planting bulbs again because they are coming into plant shops now wanting to be in the ground. A bulb comes ready-equipped with the promise of a flower and in its previous growing season bulbs do all the work of flowering then creating an embryo flower safely stored within the bulbs waiting for the right moisture and temperature to trigger growing. In all but the wettest areas, bulbs can be left in the ground from one year to the next but If soil stays wet for long periods (especially during cold weather) your bulbs will rot, feeding once they make an appearance is the secret to ongoing success. Lawns are showing heat stress now, keeping lawn mower blades higher will help with shade and moisture retention for lawn roots. Fruit: Such a busy fruit picking time now, plums, apricots, peaches, nectarines all ripening. It is recommended to prune stone fruit trees in late summer after fruiting has finished, however it can be done in early-mid autumn if time is against you. if you do wait and prune in autumn protect cut wounds with a water based paint or pruning paint to seal the wound and prevent disease entering. Feed citrus trees with citrus food and spray any scale you notice with winter oil.  If your lemon bush has become crowded with branches and leaves, remove a few branches to let light and bees in. Vegetables: Keep sowing veg seeds, carrot, beetroot, parsnip, spring onion, and lettuce because there is plenty of growing time left for seeds to germinate and grow.  I planted another couple of rows of peas, in a different place to where I pulled the last crop out. Veg  seedlings being planted now will need bird protection while small.

Gardening in North Otago February 27th 2021

February almost here already and summer as it should be. February almost here already and summer as it should be.  The first of the seeds I left to fall from spring flowering plants are up, I will wait until perennials are stronger, another week or two and then transplant them into trays to sit in the shade and keep growing ready to plant out at the end of next winter. Have a look around plants that have dropped seed in your garden, I have found nice little seedlings of pansies, viola, marigolds, hellebore's, sweet William, aquilegias, foxglove, and hollyhock to name a few.  Seeded annuals can be planted out as soon as they are big enough ,they should flower over autumn.Heaps of cutting back still going on here, early summer flowering plants like bush lavateras, buddleia, geranium, astrantha and lupins, they will bush up again in no time and refill gaps.I planted out a number of geranium seedlings before Christmas and with this hot summer they have grown into bushy flowering plants ready to fill some of the gaps. If you see any geranium seedlings on offer grab them, they are such great flowering plants for sunny gardens and need little attention.  Remove the seed heads off anything that you do not want to spread, that goes for weeds as well, make sure you whack the seed heads off even if you don't pull them out there and then .  Keep trimming hedges as the soft new growth will have matured now and either compost the trimmings or scatter them around the garden, they will be still soft enough to break down fast at this time of the year. Hydrangeas are looking lovely right now, very vivid shades this year, probably had something to do with all that rain we received as they were budding up. I have been taking hardwood cuttings of one or two. Select a stem that has flowered and cut at a node just before a new shoot. Push the cuttings into some firm, damp shady ground where they will not be disturbed and place a pot with enlarged drainage holes over the top of them ( to let rain in). Forget about them until they start to shoot in late spring, then pot them up and get them big enough to plant out the following year in early summer.  Roses will need a dressing of manure or blood and bone now as they will be ready for a boost after their first long flowering and keep the dead heading up to encourage flowering.  Peony roses will be making large seed pods which need to be removed so the energy from leaf die back can go into the tuber which means leaving leaves until they have dried back. Planting peonies is best done in Autumn, they prefer a cold over winter and don't like shade, being close to trees and shrubs or being planted too deep. If splitting and shifting it is best to wait until autumn.  lavenders can have a hair cut now before they make seed, the bumblebee type will flower again, same for catnip, Mine has been cut back twice during their flowering season.   Lawns Its grass grub time again, they are most active from February to May. I use a product that can be shaken on and watered /rained in well like powdered fertiliser. The grubs feed on the grass roots and leave dead patches on lawns, once a dead patch is visible they will have moved on to another area of the lawn so concentrate on the unaffected areas  Vegetables: There is a lot of growing time ahead so keep sowing root veg seed and plants. If planted now: carrots (harvest April / may) parsnips (harvest June)board beans (harvest May / July) cabbage sow in seed tray,plant out in 4 weeks (harvest April May ) cauliflower sow in seed tray, plant out in 4 to 6 weeks (harvest May / July) leeks grow in seed tray plant out in 4 to 6 weeks (harvest May / June) lettuce I sow butter crunch now and stagger it right into winter onions grow in seed trays, plant out in 4 to 6 weeks (harvest July - October) silver beet (harvest March / April Cheers, Linda