Colours
of Christmas .......
The colours red and green together are
so strongly associated with the Christmas
season that we find it almost too clichéd
to put them together at any other time of
the year. As green is the
most dominant colour in the garden and red
is directly opposite to it on the colour
wheel, together they are visually vibrant
and dramatic.
Many shy away from using red in the garden.
Keep it close and out of the shade to appreciate
its energy. Use plants with small flowers
to create a quieter more floating haze.
Geum ‘Mrs
Bradshaw’ has brilliant
scarlet double flowers, Chrysanthemum
coccineum ‘Robinsons
Red’ is a good long-flowering
perennial with bright red daisy flowers
with yellow centres and Penstemon
‘Firebird’
has tall spires of large trumpet-shaped
rich red flowers appearing all through summer.
Pineapple
sage (Salvia rutians
syn elegans) is delicious. The bruised
foliage smells just like pineapple and can
be used fresh in salads and teas. It is
tall, growing to 1.2m, and has an airy open
habit with flowers of ruby red through late
summer and autumn. Yummy!
We
have a new range of ceramic
glazed pots and small
birdbaths in the most interesting
‘Tropical Green’.
It has a pleasing naturalness that blends
particularly well with the lime green foliage
of some native New Zealand plants such as
griselinia or puka, dark leaved varieties
of corokia or psuedopanax and the new flax
Phormium ‘Choco Mint’.
A great present for any keen vegetable
grower is the Mini
Greenhouse from Gardman.
Made from sturdy tubular steel frames and
clear PVC covers with roll up zipped panels
for easy access – only $72.00.
This will keep precious seedlings sheltered
from the vagaries of Wellingtons’
weather giving them a good head start before
planting out.
Need more ideas for those Christmas presents?
Check these out at www.karorigardencentre.co.nz/gallery_christmas_2009.html.
Green project
If you are having some nice time at home
over the holiday season I have found a
great “green” project for
you. It’s a weed control method
called “solarisation”, which
means the sun helps you to get rid of
persistent weeds.
It will take about 6 weeks over the
summer so the area will not be in use
for that time. Method as follows:
-
Hoe or rake out as many
weeds as you can
-
Wet the soil and cover
with clear plastic kept in place by
weighting or burying the edges
-
Leave the plastic in
place for 6 weeks
-
When the plastic is
removed the sun will have cooked the
weeds that would otherwise have sprouted
Helping
the garden cope without you!
A common concern that worries many is
how the garden will cope when you are
away on holiday. There are a few things
you can do before you pack your bags so
you return to thriving plants.
Move houseplants from
sunny windowsills to a position out of
direct sunlight and water well. Soak a
towel in water and lay it in the bottom
of the bath. Stand plants on this and
they will absorb water as they need it.
The best way to keep outdoor container
plants and the garden watered is to install
an irrigation system
with a computorised timer. These are extremely
easy to put together, rather like outdoor
Lego. There is a wide choice of attachments
to water different parts of the garden.
Once the system is set up, attach the
water timer to an outdoor tap and programme
it appropriately.
In most urban areas there will be water
restrictions. In Wellington there
is a year-round restriction on sprinklers
and garden hoses. Use is only allowed
between 6am-8am and 7pm-9pm on alternate
days. If you have an even-numbered address,
you can use sprinklers on even day of
the month and vice versa. These restrictions
also apply to watering systems. Established
plants should only need 30 minutes of
watering once or twice a week in dry weather.
If you don’t have a watering system,
move containers and hanging
baskets into a shady place. They
will dry out less quickly. Water well
and further reduce evaporation by covering
the plants with a sheet of shade-cloth
material.
Alternatively, pots can be plunged into
the soil in garden beds. Dig a hole and
sink the plant so the lip of the container
is flush with the surface of the soil.
As the mix dries out the plant will start
to take up moisture from the soil. Even
better if you have installed that watering
system!
We have had a wonderful year at the garden
centre and have been encouraged by your
feed-back. Thank you for all your support.
Over the holiday period we will
be closed on:
| 25 December |
26 December |
01 January |
