Friday 22nd May, 2015
Hi
Just when you think that you have it all sorted, well that's probably a silly thing to think, but apparently Google is now favouring sites that are built to be mobile device friendly. I guess that is because we have all become mobile with our phones, tablets and computers.
Its just as well that we have the most amazing IT guy who is dedicated to tasks like keeping Google happy. His project for the last month has been making the Wairere web site more friendly to all those that have a smart phone or go to bed with their tablets to cruise through their favourite internet sites..... of course I mean sites like the Wairere site to check out those gorgeous roses....
I don't think he has quite finished yet but I imagine that after another week he'll have it sorted. When I checked the other day he told me that he had just finished the shopping cart and check out page and was now in the testing phase.
While on the subject of the IT stuff and the Wairere page, I will take the opportunity to mention that on the home page there is a place to log on and if you haven't done it before its the way to go. It just means that you keep all your orders and information under the one account and also you don't have to fill all your details in each time you make an order.
Its pretty easy to do! Just go to the homepage of our
website and in the top left corner you will find the CUSTOMER LOG IN link.
If you have not registered before click the REGISTER link just below it and fill in all your details. Don't forget to use a password you will remember easily. (Perhaps the name of your favourite plant)
If you are registered then click CUSTOMER LOG IN, fill in your email and password that you registered and then you are ready to shop. If you have any changes you need to make to your account i.e. email, phone etc then you can just click Account Info to do so. This is also where you can see all the items you have purchased on your account.
Here are some (sorry) fuzzy pics below showing all the links you need. These are found just below the Family Deals link at the top left of the screen on the home page.
OMG Its just days away from the arrival of the roses and its all go here. Space has to be cleared to put them all down in Alpha order. The
label printer is going non stop printing all 14000 labels and I have even conned my mother into sorting and checking all the labels and rubber banding them together then getting them all into a box in alphabetical order. The old boy Pete has gone away on a small holiday and for the first time no home baking... during the rose potting. (The 2 roses at the end of the first line won't display their name when you hold the curser over them but they are Henri Matisse and Scentimental and the 3rd rose on the second line is Hugo Roller)
Lily of the valley, the real stuff
Convallaria majus or the gorgeous smelling perennial that has the small white bell like flowers along the stem. Interestingly enough it grows like twitch with runners just under the soil level with little shoots uprising which I will call pips. We sell these as individual pips and I suggest you keep them in their little pots until they leaf up in the spring because if you plant them in the garden you may lose them as they are so small. It would even be a great idea to put 3 to 5 pips in an attractive shallow pot and grow them until they are more established. Lily of the valley looks great in a pot as it is very pretty when in flower... I know because Anthony (Wairere's Garden Designer) has a stunning pot of these that look gorgeous every spring. Once you have the lily of the valley plants looking great then either split them again or plant the whole pot in your garden, remembering that they like to grow in a dampish but not wet position with dappled light and leaf litter.
One of my favourite trees
The dilemma is:- The rule is that all plants in our inventory are entered under their botanic name but the problem is that often nobody can find them. That's not just your average gardener, but horticulturalists as well. A good example is the
Persimmon, Diospyros kaki is its Latin name. So... there are always exceptions and some plants are best listed under a name that all know. Now there are two types of Persimmon and the first I write about is the astringent ones. These I think look just gorgeous with red Autumns tones, when the weather here gets cold enough, and stunning orange fruits. These are edible..... but when they get to a very ripe and translucent skin... to me they have a texture of river slime which isn't a fav.. If you eat them when they are not ripe like this then they are very astringent and will certainly make your mouth pucker. The non astringent persimmon cultivar, that I have in my garden, is one called Fuju and you can eat these crunchy, like an apple, and I really enjoy eating them.
As a tree, Persimmons have lots of ornamental value and look great as a small feature tree. awesome lime green foliage in the spring, attractive red autumns leaves in the fall and stunning with bright orange fruits when naked of their leaves. When the fruit get ripe the birds will hoe into the left overs so a perfect tree for those that want bird fodder too.. grow them in a sheltered position. Lovely
Persimmon Pudding Cake recipe on the website if you are looking for another way to use this excellent autumn food crop.
Rose potting has come around again so we will be flat tack getting the place ready to absorb all the new plants. Hopefully it will be fine as I have a few other chores to do that requires fine weather, but hey, you get what you are given.
If you are in the garden over the weekend enjoy
Cheers
Lloyd, Harry and the Wairere Team
Make it a Wairere weekend where even
GNOMES know that gardening's not a drag
