The other night I emailed  Cath who looks after our radio advertising asking if they had a Lost and Found and whether or not our trailer door had turned up and well,  perhaps they could advertise it. Next morning I happened to need to ring on another issue and well, there she was, with her work mates,  laughing and yakking, taking the mickey about whether I was confused and whether I meant the tailgate of the trailer.  No I really meant the back door as its a special plant trailer and there was even more laughter as they discussed the rear end of our trailer but I put them all straight LOL. I never did get to the bottom of whether it actually made it on the Lost and Founds and they all got a giggle to start the day.

On a more serious note, It has been a flat out week, not only have we fitted in going to the horticultural trade fair but we have now have all our new seasons, Camellias, Michelias and Rhodos here. Gosh, it's been a huge team effort as there are just thousands of plants that all have to be accounted for, measured and put away in alphabetical order.  Overall the plants are just beautiful, lush, bushy and that healthy green that they should be. They have come in all shapes and sizes ranging from designer standards and espaliers to hedging grades and just excellent plants for the garden.

Gosh don't you just look at some plants and just wonder who the parents are,  Well I'm not embarrassed to say I do, well at least its just plants LOL. Anyways we have just got in this most awesome little Camellia called Little Gem and I think that its just corker. (now that just aged me). Now I don't know if you are familiar with a miniature Camellia called Baby Bear but it is petite growing, only just 30 to 70cm. I have had some in the garden for some 18 years and they are only now just 70cm high. Well I think that Baby Bear is pretty cool but this chance seedling is just gorgeous, compact, bushy and complete with white flowers.

It was a seedling found by our local grower and its this plant that we are speculating as to who its parents are. This cool little Camellia was found as a seedling under the species Camellia Tsaii and well the other parent must have been a one night stand from outta town.  Tsaii is quite a large growing Camellia that will form a small evergreen tree so this little one must have got it's dwarfism from the other parent or there is a hidden recessive gene in there for being petite. Stunning for a pot or even as a small hedge or just as a small shrub in the garden.

 Moss roses are generally accepted as being part of the Centifolia Group (rose of 100 petals) which we wrote about last week. They are easy to recognize because of the ‘bristles' or ‘whiskers' that cover the stems and buds. In the rose world this designer stubble is known as ‘moss'.  The green or bronze coloured moss is full of aromatic resinous oils and is sticky to the touch. Gardeners in the Victorian era were enchanted by the Moss Rose and this is when it was at the height of its popularity. There is no definite record as to when or how this quirk of nature occurred though the original Moss rose Rosa centifolia muscosa is accepted as being a sport of Rosa centifolia. Moss Roses are mentioned in written records from the early 1700's onwards.
 
Characteristics of Moss Roses
‘Mossing' of stems, buds and sometimes the base of leaves
Small and compact habit
Blooms that are beautifully fragrant
Colour ranges from deep purple, pink white and striped
Prune after flowering
 
Some of our favourites are Chapeau de Napoleon,  Shailers White Moss, Nuits de Young, Marechal Davoust and William Lobb.
 

Michelia Gracipes are some of the biggest that Ive seen, Great bushy plants that must be 1.2m high and Michelia Figo (port wine Magnolia) that are also really good. Use for hedging or screening or just as large shrubs in th garden. Both excellent buying at  $29.99

Abutilons We had these on last week and they all went so have a few more on  offer. These are hybrid form of the old fashioned plant and so are much more compact in from orange, red and yellow and normally $19.99 these just $7.00

     

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