Saturday 31st January, 2026
Hi
Sharing the love by Tracy
One of Lloyd's neighbours dropped round this week with apples from his
Gala apple tree which he was happy to share. One of the benefits of
Fruit trees is that when your tree is mature, there is almost always more than one family can handle. This gives you plenty to bottle, freeze or give away. When visiting friends in summer (one of life's pleasures) it's great to be able to gift fresh, bottled or preserved fruit and produce. It's a lovely way to build community and a nice way to say "I love you" or "thanks". Sometimes the sharing is accidental and I am certainly not complaining about the delicious
Hawera plums which are falling from my neighbour's tree on my side of the fence! Plenty for all. I like this quote from Pythagoras: Friends share all things.
Apple Trees
Speaking of
Apples, I am excited that the new season's apples are starting as they are one of my favourite fruits. Many a meal at our house has been finished off nicely by the addition of apple crumble or apple and feijoa cobbler, plum and apple pie, blueberry buckle (yes this is a thing) etc. My adult kids like making these - quick and easy and filling. Whether you like to eat apples fresh or baked or to freeze them there are a huge range which are so easy to grow and maintain.
Apples take care of themselves to a certain extent, benefiting from pruning but not requiring drastic cut backs. The principal difference between eating and cooking apples is the texture when cooked.
Cooking apples retain their shape and go fluffy when cooked whereas other apples can fall apart or turn to mush.
Ballarat is a popular cooking heritage apple which comes from Australia. We will have this one in stock later in the year - around July - so you can add it to your waitlist. It's a large green apple with a red blush and it stores well. Most people will be familiar with
Granny Smith which has been around for almost 200 years. It also supposedly came from Australia, where an early settler by the name of Marie Ann Smith found it growing on a river bank near Eastwood north of Sydney. Another chance encounter in the 1800's, but this time in West Virginia USA, was the discovery of
Golden Delicious. This beloved heritage apple is an excellent pollinator and great for eating, crisp and juicy with a sweet honey flavour.
Owen Thomas is an apple name that may be unfamiliar, but this one makes a great cooking variety and it ripens mid-season.
For lunch box treats and midnight snacks you can't go past
Braeburn apples. They are tart but sweet and very juicy. They are also perfect for juicing and drying.
Fuji is modern variety which stores well, and develops better flavour as it ages, but is not suitable for cooking.
Splendour apples live up to their name as they are a fantastic red apple with a creamy crisp flesh and low acid. They also keep well over winter (if you don't eat them all quickly).
Pacific rose apples were developed as a cross between
Gala and
Splendour by ENZA the New Zealand apple and pear Marketing board. It's sweet with low acidity and crisp flesh with good storage power. And while on the topic of great eating apples, hopefully most kids in NZ have enjoyed
Gala at some stage in their lunchbox, or given away at the supermarket. Early, crisp, juicy and sweet - what more could you want? Well, actually they have tried to improve the colour by breeding
Royal Gala which is a darker red with the same characteristics of taste and sweetness.
New Roses
It's an exciting time of year for us rose lovers as we contemplate all the new season's roses which will be arriving in just a few months (May-June). Now is the time to book your favourites as many of these sell out fast. For example we have 100
Munstead Wood on order and currently 98 are pre-ordered. For an alternative check out
Darcey Bussell,
Grand Prix Special,
Mulberry Wine or
Purplelicious.
Speaking of favourites, there are some gorgeous new releases this year, watch this space for more information about some new
David Austin varieties as well as some old friends which are returning after a brief gap.
A new variety which is being released next year, and is exclusive to Wairere Nursery, is
French Connection. This rose is grown by Rob Somerfield of Glen Avon roses and is the winner of a Gold Medal at the 2025 International Rose Trials in Baden Baden, Germany where breeders from 15 countries trial their new roses! Rob says of it that is the healthiest rose he has ever bred (and that's saying something). As well as being 'no fuss' it is also gorgeous with crisp pink flowers offset by the dark green leaves.
As mentioned above,
Fruit and
Ornamental trees can be waitlisted to ensure you get first dibs on your requirements. If you are after a large number of
Flowering Cherries or
Maples, perhaps for an avenue, it would pay to send us an email or check in to see if we can adjust our indent accordingly for some varieties. As you can appreciate it takes several years for these trees to be planted, grafted and grown so once the crop is gone there won't be any for another year. Check out our website for more information about plants which will be arriving in winter.
Superfoods
It's strange when you get older; sometimes the changes in weather can have an impact on your joints and make you 'feel old'. With all the damp weather I have been thinking of ways to help me get the spring back in my step again. As well as some exercise, there are some foods which are supposed to help. These so-called 'super foods' contain lots of antioxidants and other goodies which your body needs to regenerate new 'bits'. Expected this week are
Turmeric plants which are a bit on the unusual side. These root vegetables are renown for all sorts of things including being anti-inflammatory, anti-mutagenic, antimicrobial, and anticancer. Just watch out when you are picking it as they will stain everything with that famous bright yellow.
Another top pick for antioxidants are
Blueberries. With a handful of these at breakfast on your cereal you will be saving the world in no time. They are supposed to support heart health and brain function and we could all use a bit of that, especially on a Friday! Lastly I will mention
Cranberries (Myrtus Ugni) which are a bit of the tart side but great as a garnish. They are said to improve heart, gut and oral health, and to reduce inflammation. What's not to like?
New this week
Waitangi Day opening hours:
As always we are open every day from 8.30 to 5pm including public holidays. So, if you don't fancy battling the crowds on the road to the beach next Friday (Waitangi day, 6th of Feb.) come and browse around at all that is on offer.
Cheers from Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team.
