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Wednesday 11th March, 2015
Camellias and Michelias
Hi
Home made Pasta sauce
Harry asked his sister Teresa for tomatoes and being a typical Janssen nothing ever gets done in halves. So the next minute she has organised 80 kg of tomatoes for him but wait there is a catch. She is in charge of a wholesale nursery and to get our tomatoes freight free we have to order 100 plants from her, I swear it runs in the family.
Its an easier process than pears as these don't need peeling but rather just need the stalk removed and the tomatoes all quartered and laid out into the roasting pans. Added some brown sugar, Balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and heaps of our home grown basil and a splash of olive oil then into the oven to roast until they are soft and delicious. We used to put them into a kitchen whizz but this time we threw them, already roasted, into a large pot blitzed them with one of those gadgets every kitchen should have.
Bring the now pureed tomatoes to the boil then into prepared Agee jars. Seals and lids on.. and then its just a matter of waiting for the seals to go down... 10 pm last night 30 jars later and 50 kg still to go.. even got up early this morn to do a few more but I reckon that there is a few more hours involved yet but its so worth doing. We have endless jars of tasty tomato to use all year long.
New Weed cloth freshens up the front space
There is always a project on at the nursery and in the process of making some space for the new seasons Camellia standards, it was decided that while the spot was mostly empty that we should totally empty it and replace all the weed cloth. The old stuff was really worn and did make the space look quite tatty but oh my word, you don't realise how many plants were sitting there until you have to move them all.
It took almost an entire day to shift all the plants off and lay two layers of new cloth and then to put them all back.
It does all look pretty cool now and boasts a whole new display of the new seasons Camellia standards. There is quite some choice here in these beautifully grown plants, from 'Yuletide' with its Christmas red and yellow flowers to some Japonicas like Lemon drop and 'Jurys yellow'to species and hybrid types like 'Microphylla' and 'Fairy Blush'and there are heaps more. 'Michelia Figo' and 'Gracipes' are both very suited to being grown and used as standards.
Michelias belong to the Magnolia family and in fact, those that concern themselves with the naming of plants, have renamed them Magnolias but it is going to take a while for us all to change... so for now our labels still have Michelia on them. These are really like evergreen magnolias and boast gorgeous mostly white flower and are usually all are pretty fragrant.......'Mixed Up Miss' is a hybrid that I think has some figo in its parentage and has white and some pink it its sweetly fragrant flowers. The very popular 'Maudaie' has ultra cool leaves that are very blue green with very white flowers. Then there is the old favourite 'Figo' ( port wine magnolia) that just so lends itself to standards, cones and even hedging. 'Gracipes' and 'Yunanensis' are both quite similar with matt greeen leaves and fragrant white flowers and like Figo also suit being shaped.
Check them all out online via the links in bold above.
Michelias fairy collection
New seasons Camellias
Most don't realise the diversity of Camellias and there are just so many. They break down into approx 3 to 4 main groups . Firstly the Japonica's which tend to have the larger leaves and also flowers and tend to be quite dense in habit and this group of Camellias flower generally after the Sasanquas.
The next main group would have to be the Sasanquas which tend to have slightly smaller leaves and smaller flowers and are often lightly fragrant and a more open habit. Anthony from Garden Graphix Landscaping (Wairere's garden designer) has a soft spot for the fragrance of Sasanquas which incidentally are usually the group that flower first in the year approx April / May. Sasanqua Camellias are often a good choice for hedging and in my book are very hardy and long term compared to other plants.
Specie hybrid Camellias are those that have been crossed resulting in new cultivars and tend to be long flowering with smaller leaves. Species tend to have a diverse range of leaves and flowers and make for interesting small trees. Some good example here would be Tsaii, salicifolia sinensis and microphylla.
Reticulata Camellias have large and often quite coarse leaves and huge flowers and form a larger almost tree like form and often I suggest these to be used as a, well relatively small evergreen tree. I always imagine that they could give quite a oriental look to the garden design and could almost look layered.
Camellia flower types differ and there are the ones called Anenome type which have an outer range of petals and that pin cushion look in the center created with what they call petaloids. An example of these would be Jurys Yellow Then there are those that are formal doubles with the petals all layered around in quite a formal pattern like E G Waterhouse, Silver Dollar is what they call an informal double and of course there are singles like Yuletide. I don't know if they have an official name but the species like Transnokoensis have what I called drop like flowers.
Harry deal of the week
The supplier came around this week with these on special so we can offer these Patio Dahlias normally out at $17.99 now $10.99. These are beauty full plants in flower. Choose from Little Tiger, Monet, Singer, Alstergraus, Art Fair, Art Deco, Art Nouveau and Cezanne.
Hebe latest in
Some of the latest in the hebe range with pretty neat coloured foliage. Choose from Orphan Annie, Marilyn Munro and pretty woman
For the collector
Lobelia Aberdaricia or Giant African Lobelia. A rare perennial with attractive clump forming, long fresh green foliage and towering flowering spikes that reach for the stars! The spikes of small mauve-blue flowers can be up to 2m tall. Prefers morning sun and soil that does not completely dry out in summer. This perennial Lobelia comes from a cool mountainous climate and in the warmer areas of NZ would be better planted with protection from the hot afternoon sun. It will tolerate some frost Definitely worth growing though as it is a real stunner even when not in flower.
Callicarpa Dichotoma or Chinese Beauty berry is grown for its rows of lilac-violet, round, glossy, tiny fruit, purple beauty berry is a small, deciduous shrub native to China, Korea, and Japan. Its long, arching branches often touch the ground, giving it an elegant shape. The small pink flowers in summer are followed by the small fruits that ripen in September and last through October. It has good yellow autumn colour as well. For those who do floral work you will love this.
Lapageria rosea is the national flower of Chile. It grows there in cool mountain areas so find a cool shady spot for it and in Chilie the waxy pinkish red blooms of this climber are pollinated by hummingbirds, we will just have to settle for something else doing it here as I don't know that our bees will be up to the job.
Viburnum burkwoodii has gorgeously scented flowers which are pinky white, borne in spring, and followed later in the season by red fruits ripening to black. We have it as a small standard which will make an excellent accent plant or go great in a pot.
Newsflash, there are still heaps of gorgeous roses out there at 25% off. I know you have a place in your garden needing the colour burst that will come next spring after you put these in. There are also plenty of perennials marked down to clear. These aren't available online but for those of you who can get here they are worth checking out.
Stevia
In response to our article last week we received this comment from another person that uses Stevia
"Thanks for forwarding the Wairere article. Miles put Louise onto Stevia about two years ago. He had been growing it for years as his daughter, my cousin is diabetic.
I have it in my herb garden under the eves as the frost kills it. I put into dishes ratio 1 tsp stevia equals 1 tsp sugar. Louise loves it or put in fresh 2 leaves = 1tsp sugar.
Cook up stewed fruit etc. with it."
NUTS!!
As you know we have been busy moving plants around at Wairere making room for all the new seasons stock which is arriving and I noticed how good the Macadamia trees were looking. There should be good supplies of fruit and nut trees in July. If you would like some different fruits or nuts at your place them from our website.
Last weekend we had our first guests stay at Kahikatea Homestead. It is a self contained 3 bedroom villa so if you are a garden group from out of town, check it out for your accommodation when you next stay in Hamilton. We think you will love it.
The Great Pumpkin Carnival starts on 29 March with lots of things pumpkin to do and see. Check out their information by clicking the link above and get ready for a smashing good time.
At last we have had a decent shower and with the shorter days and much cooler in the gardens it is really time to get cracking on in the garden. Autumn is natures planting time and so if you have hedging to get in or a project in mind now is the time to get onto it and don't forget daylight savings ends in a couple of weeks.
What ever you have planned for the weekend, have fun.
Lloyd, Harry and the Wairere Team
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2015 Newsletters...
We're back (8th January, 2015)
Settling In (29th January, 2015)
Summer colour (30th January, 2015)
Fabulous Feb (6th February, 2015)
Roses on sale (16th February, 2015)
stevia (20th February, 2015)
Cheeky Climbers (6th March, 2015)
..... Michelias and Camellias
Living fences (20th March, 2015)
Easter is nearly here (25th March, 2015)
Mourning the end of summer? (2nd April, 2015)
SALE NOW ON!!! (8th April, 2015)
Autumn Harvest (17th April, 2015)
What to do with all those leaves. (22nd April, 2015)
Autumn Flowers (1st May, 2015)
Sunday Mothers Day (8th May, 2015)
Colours of Autumn (15th May, 2015)
Always a project (22nd May, 2015)
Rose potting (23rd May, 2015)
Clip n Snip (4th June, 2015)
Roses Galore (14th June, 2015)
Rose Climbers (19th June, 2015)
Its Time to prune (3rd July, 2015)
Like a candy shop (11th July, 2015)
The pruning session (16th July, 2015)
Red and white stems (24th July, 2015)
Rose pruning Thur and Fri (24th July, 2015)
Winter Colour (31st July, 2015)
Time to feed (9th August, 2015)
Magnolias (20th August, 2015)
Gardeners work is never done (25th August, 2015)
Till the cows come home, or get shoooood away! (28th August, 2015)
Topiary Art (11th September, 2015)
Tosca in spring (19th September, 2015)
An extra hour (25th September, 2015)
The first Friday in October (2nd October, 2015)
Pretties Galore (9th October, 2015)
Frantic Fridays (16th October, 2015)
geraniums are in (20th October, 2015)
November events (31st October, 2015)
Movember (9th November, 2015)
Christmas is coming (20th November, 2015)
Harry was blowing in the wind (26th November, 2015)
December (3rd December, 2015)
Chilli out for Christmas (18th December, 2015)
HL Nurseries Limited t/a Wairere Nursery
826 Gordonton Road, R D 1, Hamilton 3281 Ph: (07) 824 3430 Email: