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Friday 7th December, 2012

 

 

Holidaying in the Caribbean ......?

Hi

What do you say when.....

Harry walks past me the other day whilst I was at the shop and very casually asks if the tractor was insured. It's like what? What are you going on about!   Oh!!!...... Just as casually...., the tractor is in the drain!
The story that I got told is that he parked it at the top of the rise in the paddock and then walked down the hill to fix the electric fence wire. The first that he knew was the wire went slack as he realised that the tractor had just rolled past him through the two wire fence and into the drain. The hand brake hadn't held apparently. It was off to the neighbour who has a way bigger tractor to rescue our old Fergie from the murky  drainage board drain. On a more serious note, H did mention that he was lucky that he wasn't in its path. Its easy to laugh after the event and  H was retelling the story to my mother, Joy, Tony and myself and and we were laughing that we could all be off holidaying in the Caribbean on the life insurance.  I have to say here that H is a damn good tractor driver, having spent time driving on the wheat belts in Perth. It's just as well, as while I can  manage to do the basics, I have the very unmanly reputation of getting a tractor stuck in a flat car park while trying to load scoria into a customer's trailer.

I get asked all the time at this time of year, can we still plant and the answer is yes. Containerised plants can be planted all year around.  Now here in the Waikato we are usually pretty lucky as we usually get some rain over the summer compared to other districts around NZ.  It can get dry here though, but it's not often that we get a drought. Now if you are planting at this time of year, soak the root ball (specially trees and larger plants) into a bucket of water and wait for the bubbles to stop and then haul it out to drain. Plant as per usual and water in, meaning, water the surrounding soil ( all plants should be watered in when first planted ). Covering the soil surface with a mulch will also conserve moisture and stop the sun from drying in out so fast.  Watering in the summer should be long and deep and for this reason I really like soak hoses as you can leave them there for a long time and the water is targeting where it needs to be. A really good soaking may mean that it could last for a couple of weeks before needing another session with the soak hose. Hand watering doesn't usually get deep enough. With planting established trees, the rootball can dry out, as opposed to the surrounding soil and so Harry recommends a moat around the top of the plant for the summer months to collect water and feed it into the rootball or use an upended plastic bottle with the bottom cut out, like a funnel.

I love mulches as they do so much for the soil. The coarser the mulch, the less weeds it grows but the longer it takes to break down to release nutrients to the plants.  Soil like mulches, look nicer and feed the plants sooner but the fine composition tend to grow weeds easier. In our garden we use both, using coarse mulches for the weed suppressing and finer mulches for front of the garden and those that we grow annuals and veges in. So all those new areas of garden that we have created, we have mulched to conserve moisture and to suppress weeds until the plants establish.
Remember too, that the less that you disturb a soil or mulch surface, the less weeds that it will grow.

New in this week

         

Vireya Rhodos, Brand new for us to have this type of Rhodo in stock, These brightly coloured rhodos need protection from the frost but suit sheltered spots in the garden or even in pots and baskets. Our friend from Rotorua and who is a bit of a plant nut even has the most beautiful Vireyas in pots over in their cold climate.

Metrosideros or Pohutakawa, NZ's Christmas tree, called so as they are about to be in full flower for Christmas, There are many styles of this stunning NZ native ranging from shrubs to the majestic trees, suitable for growing in tubs and pots. Usually spectacular in red we even have a few of the creamy yellow cultivar.

Passion fruits, we had run out of these but have a new batch in. Its the best time of year to get one of these well established before next winter

Tree tomatoes or Tamarillos or botanically Cyphomandra betacea  belong to the same family as potatoes and tomatoes and of course the weed nightshade. Actually my point is that we have new plants in. Protect from the frost so as warm as you can and planting well before winter means that the plant can be well established before the cold.

Dwarf Dahlias, Liliums, Gerberas, Gardenias and Zantedeschia in colour and looking gorgeous, great colour for the garden or pots. Last year we potted the Dahlias and they looked really cool as a table top for the deck.

What to give for Prezzies other than Christmas cake in a flower pot?

Long Tom pots are a really cool taller flower pot style. Available as two sizes or get them as the set Set price is normally $34.99 these two pots for just $18.00. Pot them up with a ground cover and push a tall candle in for a great table top feature.

Antiqued pots in wire baskets are a winner and there is time to pot them up for xmas, 3 piece wire basket $44.99 now just $22.99, also available as two pots and singles in baskets.

Secateurs and shears, great quality and long lasting for gardening family or friend. We have been using the shears and the secateurs in the nursery and they have been just excellent. The shears are nice and light and very sharp and just wonderful for hedges and topiary.

Table top wax candles for outdoor entertaining 34.99 now just $10.00 while stocks last or gorgeous Bay plants in terracotta pots $49.99 now just $25.99

When in  doubt Vouchers are a really good option and you can get them in whatever amounts you want. We can even post them out for you.

                 

House Keeping Over the Christmas Period

Opening Hours, we will be closed only on Christmas day, other wise the garden centre will be open 7 days as usual from 8.30am to 5pm

Mail orders, Because its that time of year, our last date for mail order and courier dispatch will be Wed 19th of December. Our first dispatch for the New year will be Tuesday the 15th of January

Spuds, If your early crop is ready for harvest then we have all our remaining seed spuds at half price or two for the price of one.

We are having our usual Xmas brunch so will be making sure that the garden at home is up to scratch and will be planning the brunch menu. Its important to me me that my elderly aunt  and others have somewhere to be on what otherwise could be quite a lonely day. After this damp week its forecast to be fine so I guess for most it will be Xmas shopping and pre Christmas events but whatever youre doing, have a great weekend!

Cheers, Lloyd and Harry and the team

Make it a Wairere weekend where gardening's not a drag

Wairere Nursery
826 Gordonton Road, RD 1, Hamilton
07 824 34 30
www.wairere.co.nz

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2012 Newsletters...

Rhubarb Pie (27th January, 2012)

Plums and more plums (4th February, 2012)

Projects and Roses (10th February, 2012)

Lily of the Nile (17th February, 2012)

Apples and Hedges (23rd February, 2012)

Hedges and Zucchini Cake (2nd March, 2012)

Camellias as Hedges (9th March, 2012)

Swan Plants and Blueberries (23rd March, 2012)

Peaches and Tree Dahlias (23rd March, 2012)

Autumn Tree Sale (6th April, 2012)

Rhodos and Azaleas (20th April, 2012)

Feijoa'd Out (27th April, 2012)

Roses n Lemons (4th May, 2012)

Copper n Oil (11th May, 2012)

Small Fruits (18th May, 2012)

The big pot is on (26th May, 2012)

Roses R Us (15th June, 2012)

Tree fetish (15th June, 2012)

Cloning Trees (22nd June, 2012)

Pruning (29th June, 2012)

Planting (6th July, 2012)

On the Move (15th July, 2012)

Lilacs (20th July, 2012)

Lilacs (20th July, 2012)

Grapes (2nd August, 2012)

Campanulatas (17th August, 2012)

Spuds for Xmas (25th August, 2012)

Bee time (31st August, 2012)

Downy Mildew (8th September, 2012)

Best In Show (14th September, 2012)

Flower Power (28th September, 2012)

Cherries Again (5th October, 2012)

Update the garden (12th October, 2012)

Hedges lavs and lilies (19th October, 2012)

Snowballs and Pointed Leaves (26th October, 2012)

Toms, Veg and Pinks (2nd November, 2012)

Lemon and passionfruit slice (6th November, 2012)

Lavenders (9th November, 2012)

Trees and more (16th November, 2012)

Roses are gorgeous (23rd November, 2012)

Dogwoods and Prezzies (30th November, 2012)

..... Passionfruit and Tamarillos

Christmas Lilies (21st December, 2012)

Merry Xmas (21st December, 2012)

HL Nurseries Limited t/a Wairere Nursery
826 Gordonton Road, R D 1, Hamilton 3281 Ph: (07) 824 3430 Email: