Weekend Gardener Magazine» From the Editor

Gardening together

Geofff — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:49:20 +0000

Because many of us work alone in our gardens we can lose sight of the broad, communal nature of gardening. Our pursuit brings together people of both sexes, from all walks of life and of different ages. Coming into the editor’s seat, I’m reminded that Weekend Gardener too, is very much part of this wide community of shared interest.
Our columnists bear this out in this issue. Peter McNaughton left his patch to travel to Gisborne during his holidays. He tells how he stayed with a fellow gardener who gave him and his family produce. This friend’s creative gardening in a coastal climate also offered Peter food for thought.

Beds built to cope with harsh coastal conditions. Page 32.

There are similar footnotes from our other writers: Jane Bellerby mentions sharing her produce with people whose gardens suffered in the recent Tasman flooding; Andrew Steens jokes about his amiable rivalry with a fellow garlic grower; Robyn Kilty delights in a lily that was a spontaneous gift.

Last weekend, a neighbour knocked on my door. Would I lend a hand to cut up his fallen wattle? My reward for a few hours’ work was loads of firewood, a bottle of red – and the fun of working alongside another gardener.

On that score, there’s lots to offer you in this issue. We’ve finally found the three prize winners of our 2011 photographic competition. Summer is with us and we have tips and culinary treats for outdoors. Among our usual array of informative articles we’ve also a fascinating feature on plant remedies.

Angela Crispin, of Waikanae, Kapiti Coast, took this shot of a bellbird in a banksia. Page 14.

Good reading and great gardening,

Mike Gowing. Acting Editor.

Time for more gardening

Geofff — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:15:14 +0000

January has to be one of my favourite months for gardens. Spring’s sometimes tempestuous exuberance settles into the more relaxed, grown-up style of our mid-summer, in perfect tandem with prime holiday time.
Lawns are usually still a pleasant green, trees cast cool shade by day and the evenings are balmy. To top it off in January some of our most easygoing and rewarding perennials start strutting their stuff, producing vivid highlights to balance our Kiwi summer sun. Sue Linn showcases these and highlights some great modern varieties (page 24).

Fiery-coloured Echinacea ‘Tiki Torch’ is aptly named.

Mid-summer is also a great time to raid the flower gardens for that something special to add to a meal, as Fionna Hill explains (page 20).

Adding flowers to summer drinks is fun.

Also in this issue, Pamela McGeorge visits the Potter Children’s Garden at Auckland Botanic Gardens (page 16) and in one of gardening’s ironies, Gillian Vine suggests how to get the winter vegetable garden underway at the height of summer (page 18).

A three-bin compost system shows the various stages of decomposition in
the Potter Children’s Garden at Auckland Botanic Gardens.

For me, mid-summer this year is also going to be a time of change because
I am venturing off in new directions and Mike Gowing is taking over as
Acting Editor.
I shall miss reading your many lovely letters. Thank you all. I have read every one during nearly four years in the Editor’s chair. We always wish we had room to publish more. Do keep them coming; Mike and our team will appreciate them too and fellow readers just love reading about your tips and gardening experiences.
And yes, I hope to be able to make more time for gardening from here on.

Happy New Year.
Susie Longdell, Editor.

Microgreens to the rescue

Geofff — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:00:03 +0000

If you mark the festive season by sitting down to a meal of new potatoes and fresh peas from your garden, you are doing far better than I’ve managed this year. With moving house, the new garden is not ready – but I’ve promised myself I will do better
next year.

Radish seedlings are sturdy so travel well.

But I can, at least, very quickly produce some microgreens for holiday meals at the bach, following Fionna Hills suggestions (page 12). Microgreens are a great way of taking a little bit of the garden with you and scoring some very fresh greens, something that can be in short supply in more remote holiday destinations.
If you’re holidaying at a beach, keep an eye out for beachcombing bounty. Shells, driftwood and water-worn odds and ends can be put to all sorts of uses in the garden, as Mark Rayner suggests (page 18).
If you are staying home and plan to potter in the garden check out Andrew Steen’s suggestions to fill gaps in the veggie plot (page 16).
Those on the road passing through Taupo might stop at a garden and gallery with a difference. Rob Lahood visits a mosaic garden art wonderland (page 10).
This issue we have a special focus on the beautiful area out of Warkworth north of Auckland. Locals Andrew Steens and Lesley Ingham extol the virtues of this gardening gem area in this special Destination Matakana feature (page 24).
From the team at Weekend Gardener, we would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Next issue is out January 5. Enjoy the holidays.

Susie Londell, Editor

‘Lemon n Lime’ awards excitement

Geofff — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 03:24:17 +0000

Roses are our most loved flower.
So each November, when blooms should be at their best, the country’s big rose fraternity and rose fans by the thousand focus on Hamilton Gardens where over a weekend of great ceremony, fun and excitement the prestigious New Zealand Rose of the Year awards are decided.
Children, the public, rose lovers, the breeders and the experts attend.
Rosarians consider the competition this year, because of a favourable spring, was one of the best shows ever, with most roses at their best.
Editor Susie Longdell reports on the big event and talks to Rob Somerfield, the Tauranga rose breeder whose Floribunda rose ‘Lemon n Lime’ took out the honours.
Also in this issue, Esther Paddon visits artist Nancy Tichborne and husband Bryan’s garden at French Farm which they have created on Banks Peninsula after moving from the very different climes of Rotorua.
Andrew Steens gives us his pointers on how to grow perfect tomatoes; (page 14). Marilyn Wightman talks about ideal herbs for pretty and practical flower garden borders and discusses herbal allies to discourage veggie patch invaders (pages 16 – 19).
If you have time over the holidays, try Mark Rayner’s DIY projects – he uses terracotta drainage pipes for garden art and makes a decorative table (pages 26, 27).
And our flower garden and edible gardening experts around the country report their activities and provide detailed advice on growing at this beautiful and busy time of the year.

Good gardening.

Rob Lahood,
Publisher

At war with the cats?

Geofff — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 04:08:16 +0000

Whenever I venture into the garden, I can almost always count on the company of our cat. Some cats keep a little aloof from their human food providers but our Puss loves people. So much so, she even seeks the company of small grandchildren and lets them treat her like a teddy bear.
We rub along very well in the garden together, Puss and I – she’s a more pleasant companion than a previous cat who, without warning, pounced on your hands when you were weeding.
But sweet-natured though she is, Puss is also a determined rabbiter (a welcome attribute both on a farm and in a country garden), and I suspect, she eyes the birdlife behind my back. Happily, apart from any unseen attacks on birds – and I may be maligning her – Puss has never proved a nuisance in our garden and there are no close neighbours.
Not so the cats in Gillian Vine’s street. In her veggie garden report in this issue (page 27), she describes how she recycles unwanted items to win the war against neighbours’ cats. Gillian and Marilyn Wightman take a look at lavender (page 20) and we have lots of practical suggestions in this issue, even advice on how to keep alive Venus flytrap, plants little boys like to grow on their windowsills (page 24).
With Christmas looming, Mark Rayner has come up with some DIY gift ideas (page 17) and we bring you the story of a Kaipara Coast garden and sculpture trail that is open to the public and has a garden centre alongside (page 10).

The gardens are a perfect setting for the sculptures on display.

Enjoy this issue.
Susie Longdell
Editor

Finding room for everything you want

Geofff — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:29:50 +0000

Our subtropicals expert Russell Fransham, who this issue starts a regular column (page 28), describes himself as someone with a terminal condition – gardening.
This means that every time he steps outside he updates his list of must-do garden jobs.
Right now, top of my list is to mow the lawns more regularly and get our veggie garden started. I confess I haven’t planted even a radish yet and can’t decide, even after six months here near Pukekohe, where to grow veggies for just this summer – there being no veggie garden in our temporary home and no obvious, sunny place to start one.
It’s not that late, I tell myself. After all, the best tomatoes I ever grew didn’t go in until the end of November – though that could be due to the weather that summer and not my late timing. Meanwhile, I am putting off the problem most gardeners face in spring of finding room for every summer crop I want to grow.
One solution is to make a plan and stick to it (yeah right!) or to banish seed catalogues and keep away from garden centres parading different veggie seedlings one really has to try.
So far I am being very disciplined – no garden dug: then no purchases allowed. Busy weekends are helping but before long I will succumb and end up needing every space-making trick in the book. Andrew Steens provides plenty of ‘space finding tips’ on page 16.

Aim high for maximum production per square metre.

High on my list then is having a go at growing culinary gingers as Fionna Hill has been doing (page 18). When it comes to flowers, I can surely find a spot for some poppy seed (page 24) and to sow a few moonflowers (page 32) for this summer.
November is such a great time to be out in the garden, so I know you will be out there too.

Enjoy this issue.
Susie Longdell
Editor

Car boot a dead giveaway

Geofff — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 05:48:41 +0000

You can tell a keen gardener by the boot of their car. If it’s done a few garden centre kilometres, you’ll find some clues. Maybe a trowel, often a small garden bag intended to limit the damage and always bits of pumice from
potting mix.
That stuff seems to sneak into every crevice; it’s a sure giveaway you are a compulsive plant buyer or buy bagged potting mix. Still,
pumice is not quite as wayward as vermiculite, once a popular potting mix ingredient.
We know pumice is used to improve drainage and porosity but I never thought about another of its important properties that Andrew Steens notes in his article on choosing and making potting mixes (page 14).

Whether you are growing plants in containers for their crops or ornamental qualities,
suitable potting mix is essential for success.

The lightness pumice lends to potting mix is something I’ll remember to appreciate when next hauling a bag out of my pumice-lined boot. It will surely make me more tolerant of the ability of pumice to infiltrate nooks and crannies.
I might buy some now to use when making my own mix with the help of Andrew’s great pointers.
Also in this issue, Gillian Vine suggests ways to make gardens more appealing to insects in the battle against plant pests (page 18) and Pamela McGeorge shares her iris addiction (page 28).
Marilyn Wightman reveals there are many more mints than the common variety usually banished to a garden corner because of its ability to spread – she talks about ginger mint, certainly one that appeals to me.
Happy gardening.

P.S. My mystery plant has at last burst a few leaf buds (just a few) and I am wondering whether it is a pomegranate. The leaves remind me of dwarf pomegranates I have previously grown and the size is about right for the normal species form. Identification time is nigh.

Susie Longdell, Editor.

No ride up the hill for you

Geofff — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:39:21 +0000

The outlook is not looking good for the mystery deciduous shrub in my ‘new’ garden that has been defying all
identification.
So far, it’s done nothing to win favour and earn a wheelbarrow ride up the hill when we move our garden next winter.
The masses of tight buds I hoped would prove redeeming are now looking very much like leaf buds so visions of it bursting into beautiful spring blossom look overly optimistic. But perhaps it’s merely a very late starter.
I do know it’s not one of the splendid spring shrubs Sue Linn reviews (page 16). That’s a pity – they are such a wonderful way of celebrating spring.

The snowball tree or bush, Viburnum opulus ‘Sterile’ is perhaps the most popular viburnum.

Planting summer crops is another way to rejoice in spring. For most of us this includes growing tomatoes which despite their popularity, are not the easiest crop to grow.
Gillian Vine does her homework and learns about the most popular tomatoes in different regions (page 14) and Andrew Steens provides top tips (page 15) to ensure we all grow tomatoes we can be proud of over summer.

And this spring, why not celebrate the season’s splendour by visiting amazing Taranaki for the Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular and the Taranaki Fringe Garden Festivals, two delightful but very different garden events. This issue we feature one of the Spectacular’s feature gardens (page 10) in the shadow of the mountain.

Mt Taranaki stars in this view from the verandah.

It’s a busy, busy time but when you do put your feet up, we have plenty of other great gardening reading to inspire you.

• Don’t forget to visit the Waikato Home & Garden Show at Claudelands Event Centre this week and take in some of our Seminar Series. See www.waikatohomeshow.co.nz for the seminar timetable. Story page 8.

It’s show time!

Geofff — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 06:47:22 +0000

Waikato Home and Garden Show 6-9 October 2011

A lovely life with the birds.
One of the unexpected pleasures we are enjoying since moving home is the wonderful and plentiful birdlife.
Tui are dropping in daily to share the spoils of a kowhai in full flower. Canny, peace-loving wood pigeons leave them to it, feasting on the flower buds of two other trees yet to bloom.
The result is shredded kowhai flowers and stripped trees that untouched would be only partly deciduous. The trees are now as bare as our ‘mystery plant’, which still clings to anonymity.
But temporary damage is a small price to pay for enjoying the birds. And afterall, the trees and birds’ forbears were rubbing along together long before humans arrived.
Anyway, I have no problems with trees bare of leaves as part of a natural cycle.
Kaka can be much more destructive as the Great Barrier Island gardeners Pamela McGeorge has just visited can attest (page 18).
What evergreen can match the spring show of magnolias or the the blossom beauties featured on page 47.
There’s also the spring and autumn foliage delights of Japanese maples that are very trendy in Europe – trees in sizes to suit large and small gardens (page 15).
Also in this issue, our microgreens guru, Auckland apartment dweller Fionna Hill shares her success with growing vegetables on her patio (page 12) and Marilyn Wightman recommends sprouting herbs for quick results (page 21).
Peter McNaughton provides some tips to plan the perfect veggie garden for the season ahead (page 30).
Spring is a busy time in the garden – enjoy it.
• Join us in Hamilton, October 6 – 9 at the Waikato Home & Garden Show. See our centrefold guide for the highlights, show gardens, the Weekend Gardener Garden Stage seminar series featuring a line up of 10 garden experts, our hanging basket competition and the floral art exhibition.

Susie Longdell, Editor

Free 28 Page Pullout Programme

Geofff — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 10:42:09 +0000

Taranaki Fringe Garden Festival. New Zealand’s Largest Garden Festival. 28 October – 6 November 2011. Free with Weekend Gardener Issue#322.

Taranaki Fringe Garden Festival - Free 28 page Pullout Programme with Weekend Gardener #322

Mystery plant on the move?
IN a corner of our garden there is a mystery plant. When we moved a few months ago it was casting off utterly unremarkable leaves for winter and since then has sat very densely twigged, leafless and lacking in any ornamental assets.
Now spring is here, the buds that pack its branches are swelling so soon it should be unmasked. Judging on performance to date, it will need to put on a grand show or produce a knock-your-socks-off scent to qualify for the wheelbarrow journey next winter to our new home and garden up the hill.
Plants growing around it are no guide to this mystery plant’s identity, our inherited garden being a pleasant hotchpotch of plants, some native and some exotic, some everyday plants and some quite special. I’ll let you know when I solve the mystery.
This issue is a mixed bag too. Gillian Vine talks to Dunedin’s Bunny Rathbone, a gardener who really knows her herbs (page 10) while Abbie Jury visits a very different
Wanganui gardener and focuses on his creative and aesthetic approach to garden structures and statues (page 14). Both inspirational gardeners in their own ways.
Inspiring too is the guide to making a patchwork salad garden – a fun and ornamental way to grow leafy veggies (page 16). Mark Rayner’s DIY shell pavers are ornamental in a different guise. And if you like plants that do double duty as good garden performers and producers of long-lasting vase material, check out leucadendrons (page 18) and pineapple lilies (page 21).
We’ve plenty more reading for when you put your feet up after a busy session in the garden. And to top it off, Jane Wilks has a restorative hand cream recipe for hardworking gardeners (page 22).
Susie Longdell – Editor