Pretty In Pink

You never know what a customer is going to say to you after the initial "Hi there." Then I ask you, what do you say,  when they ask for a suitable plant for their bird cage so that their two male budgies can build a nest togather. Harry just laughed and said that they had to have been set up by the guy in the pet shop but had they thought just to add a couple of mirrors into the cage...  When they asked me, I suggested maybe that they stay away from anything that flowers pink. Lol but thenpink may be be the right shade.

On a more practical note, budgies and birds, are on the whole, quite hard on plants and more so in a confined space. Best leave leave them with a tea tree branch and some nesting material and let them get on with it.....

Anywways on to much more sensible subjects like the gorgeous pink roses that are in flower in the nursery at the moment especially the brand new Austin roses. Wisley 2008, Strawberry Hill, The Alnwick Rose and The Wedgewood Rose. Now this is the first time that I have seen these flowers for real, so to speak and they are out in bloom now if you wish to come on out and check out them yourselves. 

They are all very pretty shades of pink and would even look quite cool all planted in the same bed.

I have been practising my facebook upload skill and did post these Pretty in Pink pics there the other day. Click here if you wish to follow us on FB... You should also check out Anthony our garden designer on his FB page for some pretty creative pics and amazing insight into design ...  Click here 

           

 

Not much beats Maples for  stunning spring Foliage

Following on from the Weeping Maples (Acers) we featured last week. This week I want to let you know about some of the special, small, upright Maples available. Many of these are slow growing and compact making them ideal for container or courtyard planting. Once again we are mainly talking about Japanese cultivars so the same cultural requirements apply i.e. protection from harsh wind and scorching sun. In my humble (?) opinion I don't think any other deciduous tree can equal the Maple for sheer beauty in early spring when the new foliage is emerging. Often the new leaves are quite intense in colour gradually changing to a softer tone in summer before putting on another dazzling display prior to leaf fall. Some of our firm favourites here at Wairere are: - Acer Shaina, Chisio, Beni Komachi and Mikawa Yatsubusa. Acer Brilliantissumum which has an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society deserves special mention as it is a personal favourite. The new leaves are a warm salmon pink tone before gradually turning pale green-yellow. Brilliant indeed.

          

 

Did you know that the tiny Maple flowers are an important source of pollen for bees? The flowers appear early in spring, before the foliage and they are welcome sight for foraging bees recovering from winter deprivation. Chris tells me that during a recent visit Eastwoodhill Arboretum in Gisborne she followed the sound of a very loud humming to discover a mature Maple in full flower vibrating with the buzz from hundreds of bees. Amazing! That brings me to my final Maple facts for this week:- the winged seeds (helicopters) that follow the Maple flowers are correctly called samaras and a collection of Maples within an Arboretum is called an Aceretum. You just might need to know that one day!

I will just add here at this point that last year Harry noticed swarms of bees in our very handsome Tulepo tree or Nyssa sylvatica which we though was unusal but it must be the same case as for the maple flowers .

 

Maples underplanted with Hostas would look pretty cool

Hostas We have been renovating a piece of the garden and Harry couldnt resist grabbing  quite a few of these  gorgeous new Silver knight Hostas for the garden. I have to say that its quite handy having a garden centre attached to our garden. These Hosta Silver Knight, are a beautiful hosta bred right here in the Waikato.  Hosta Silver Knight has stunning silver blue foliage that simply gets better with age. In summer stems of nodding bell like flowers appear above the leaves.  Harry is sure that the silver leaved varieties are less tasty to the rasping tongue of the land molluscs. Now you dont have to be limited to the silver ones as there are plenty of cool greens and bright yellows and those with fresh cream and green.. Hostas enjoy moist rich soils and dappled light. Dont be fooled though thinking that they are all shade lovers. usually the the more gold the leaf the more shade they like and the more green and grey the more light they will tolerate.

 

              

 

New in this week

Alstromerias and its always one of those words that I struggle to spell consistently correctly.  This selection are mostly of the smaller growing cultivars and great for pots and or the garden.  Pretty cool in flower and tough and hardy to grow as well. Check out the one called Mardi gras that has variegated foliage as well as flashy flowers..

Gyp good ole Gypsophila Bristol Fairy. I remember a few years ago when we had heaps of this in the garden centres that I used to work in and I haven't seen it around for a while. Then Ang had seen it on a plant list and grabbed a few and they are just awesome  big plants.  If you are a keen floral arranger then you will love to have this in your garden.  Plant in a sunny spot similar to where you would plant any Dianthus or Pink.

Its a long weekend and an extra day to be had by most so there will be time to cook as well as garden. Its been a while since I have posted a recipe but our dear friend Jan shared this fruit cake recipe with us as well as the cake. Im sure that its a hand me down recipe and the cake was damn good and so reminded me of the fruit cakes that my mum made me when I went off to boarding school. Sorry there is no pic but take my word its a beaut cake and looks so easy to make, just get out the scales that do both metric and imperial.

Jans Moist Sultana Cake

Cover 1lb Sultanas with water and simmer

Drain water off and chop 1/2lb butter onto the hot fruit and let melt,

Beat 3 eggs

Mix togather 12oz flour 12oz sugar and 1tspn baking powder

Mix in cooled fruit , eggs and 1tspn lemon essence and 1tspn vanilla essence

Bake at 180 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2  hours in a well greased tin.

Take care and have a great weekend.

Cheers

Make it a Wairere weekend where even GNOMES know that gardening's not a drag