Saturday 14th June, 2025
Hi
Hi all, Tracy here, having just returned from an amazing holiday in Europe. Lucky me got
to visit some of my bucket list gardens including Versailles, Keukenhof (spring bulbs), RHS Kew, Hidcote
and Wisley. I think I just about broke my camera with all the photos I took. I definitely annoyed my friends with all my crazy plant lady Facebook posts.
RHS Wisley Garden, Surrey, England
RHS KewOne of the groups of plants which were looking amazing in these gardens were the
Roses and these were used in a variety of ways e.g. as climbers, bushes, groundcovers and in mixed borders. In landscaping terms roses are often
used in borders for height and long flowering over the summer or collected into dedicated rose gardens. However, many roses are also suitable
for hedges and borders within a garden setting. Some
Floribundas can fit into this category because they are such fabulous performers with heaps of flowers continuously over the summer, excellent disease resistance and vigour and dense growth: examples of great hedging roses include
Iceberg,
Sally Holmes and the
David Austin favourites of
Gertrude Jekyll and
Lady of Shalott.
Some of the old fashioned roses which we stock (
Roseraie de l Hay,
Blanc Double de Coubert,
Rugosa alba) which are considered shrub roses make great hedging specimens too. These shrub roses can be a little more on the vigorous side - growing up to 1.8m and generally they are dense, with healthy habits and an ability to produce a lot of flowers.
You can contrast the Floribunda roses with the other major group of roses which are often grown in home gardens - Hybrid Teas. The Tea roses originated in China and were named because their delicious fragrance reminded people about the smell of brewing tea. The Hybrid Teas came about because they were then cross bred to create new 'Hybrids' with different colours and fragrances. One flower is produced on one stem and the bud is usually long and pointed. Over time the differences between the groups is becoming more blurred with some Floribundas having Hybrid Tea features and vice versa. Classic Hybrid tea roses which are great performers include Loving Memory, Double Delight, Remember Me, Mum in a Million.
Another type of
Rose which were used to striking effect in Europe were
Standard roses. Forgive me if I bore you with the details about what a standard rose is as it can be confusing with all the terms flying about: bush, shrub, standard, hybrid tea, hybrid musk, gallica, perpetual etc... Our website gives a good explanation of the features of some of these. See this
Link.
A
Standard rose is one that is grafted (joined) onto a straight stem without branches. They can come in a variety of heights and forms including some which are weeping and the king of the standards - the
Pillar which is actually multiple roses grafted up a tall stem - usually 1.8m height.
Weeping standards will send branches cascading downwards so that you have a sort of umbrella effect.
The perfect way to use standard roses in the garden is as a feature - drawing the eye to a focal point in a bed, through an archway or leading your eye along the side of a building towards the entrance of a house or pathway. Mass displayed standards create that 'wow' effect which has the impact of height at close to eye level and also allow you to plant something under to compliment the roses. Needless to say I have returned from my trip inspired to plant my garden with roses and more - now I just need to save my money!
Deciduous Trees arriving soon
Even if you are not a rose fan, this is still an exciting time of year at the garden centre because each week we are receiving in more of our new season's
Deciduous Trees,
Shrubs, and
Climbers. July is the peak for availability of these, so if there is something you are after, be sure to add it to your waitlist now. For some things this is the only way to get first dibs on our new stock. Just received recently are our Dwarf varieties of:
Nectarines,
Peaches and
Apricots but you wont see many of these out in the nursery, as most of them are already spoken for. There are a handful of
Nectarine Nectar Babe,
Flavourzee,
Garden Delight and
Apricot Garden Annie available if you are quick. We are expecting another delivery a little later so if you are keen be sure to add it to your waitlist.
Colourful Leptospermums
It's a bit of a shock to the system to go from Summer days in the U.K. where the sun rises at 4.30 am and sets at 9.30pm to a NZ winter. My body is not happy about it and I'm still getting used to the bare trees and soggy paths. On a brighter note, it's cool to see some of the colourful
Manuka (Leptospermums) starting to flower at the nursery - a truly iconic NZ plant which makes a great garden display. These guys come in a range of forms too; from large shrubs and trees to dwarf varieties growing up to 1m and some pretty ground covers. Currently we have a range of pink and red flowering ground covers in stock.
Seasonal Favourites
There are some plants which we only get a a certain times of year, and this week we received a couple of these which look fantastic at this time of year when the rest of the garden is a bit 'meh'.
Genista Yellow Imp packs a punch with its bright, in your face yellow flowers. It is covered in pretty yellow pea shaped flowers in late winter - adding some sunshine to our dull winter days.
Another of the winter warmers are the
Ericas - I spotted a few of these in Devon when we were walking on the moors. They are generally low growing compact shrubs which are hardy and flower from winter to early spring. Currently we have
Kramers Red which reaches a height of around 60cm and is covered in pretty pink flowers. Keep an eye out for other varieties arriving in the next month or so.
Andromeda Compacta is a compact shrub with clear pink buds that gradually open to pink flowers that have a hint of white. The flowers last for a very long time and this is a hardy evergreen which would look great in a pot. It has a height of 30cm and width of 50cm.
Polygala Little Bibi is another with a compact dwarf habit. It's covered in flowers almost all year round and can cope with hot dry conditions (we wish)! This guy grows a metre tall and wide.
Thryptomene
These Aussie natives are winter overachievers because they combine graceful arching foliage and dainty flowers in abundant quantities. Currently we have a number of different
Thryptomene varieties which are in flower or bud and they can be planted in a mixed border or
en masse for a lovely effect.
Thryptomene Paynes Hybrid is a stunning pink-flowering variety which grows just under a metre tall and has arching foliage up to 1.5m wide. These also make great cut flowers. It's hardy to light frost and can grow in sun or part shade as long as it has good drainage. The other varieties are similar although a little smaller (typically growing to 1m wide within 7-10 years) but vary in foliage and flower colour.
Thryptomene Saxicola White and
Super Nova have dainty white flowers and green foliage, while
Thryptomene gold tips has small pink flowers and golden foliage.
Matariki Opening Hours
On Friday June 20th we celebrate our newest public holiday: Matariki. It's the start of the traditional Māori calendar and a time for reflection and celebration. Sounds like a great time to think about nature, your family and friends, and maybe how you can enjoy your garden in the spring and summer to come. We are open 8.30 to 5 pm on Matariki holiday.
Rose Question and Answer Sessions
Once again we are delighted to have Waikato Rose Society members in store to answer your questions about roses: pruning, feeding, spraying, watering and anything else.
Mark these dates in your Calendar... we have tried to get a variety of times and dates so that hopefully there is at least one that will suit everyone:
Wednesday 9th July 10.30am to 12.30pm
Saturday 19th July 1pm to 3pm
Sunday 27th July 11 am to 1pm.
Winter is a great time to plan and think about summer days in your garden. Hope to see you out at the nursery sometime soon.
Have a great weekend.
Cheers from Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team.
