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Friday 31st July, 2015
Hi
The potting season is officially over and the lovely couple who are on a working holiday in NZ, Eicke and Elizabeth, are back to their new digs of their very own tent as they head west to The Naki for some tramping round the mountain. Update just in:
due to weather and wet conditions over west its now northward to check out the warmest areas of NZ, but first a coffee at Woodlands cafe....
A final treat of home baked sour dough breads was given to us.. not just any
sour doughs but pumpkin, walnut and raisin. Elizabeth or Eliz.A.Bet (as was often heard over our walkie Talkies) is a stunning cook and their meals and breads will be very missed. I imagine that they will go home with fond memories of our classic NZ meal... LOL ..of a roast of some sort, with veges and plenty of gravy.
Well certainly from our home....
We have had some really cold frosts and now a serious drop of rain but the days seem warm enough for some plants to think that Spring is really here. I have seen Daffs out already and today the flowering cherry
Felix Jury is all but out with its cheery carmine bell shaped flowers. The
Prunus Campanulatas are always the first to flower and a good choice in the garden as not only are they pretty but the Tui are in there for a feed as well. There are a few varieties in the Campanulata stable, and generalizing, they are the first cherries to flower, with Felix seemingly to be the first cultivar usually followed quite closely by
Superba and then I guess
Pink cloud.
If you are looking for a driveway tree that doesn't get too huge then the flowering cherries make a good choice providing pretty blossoms in the spring and lovely autumn tones. Roughly they are a 5 x 5m tree within a reasonable time frame so planting spacings should be somewhere between 4 to 6 metres apart.
Buttercup family Ranunculaceae.. Who would have thought !!!!
Flamboyant queens looking like Dophins ???????????? Of course I mean
DelphiniumsIts always a bit of fun looking into the past of different plants as there is nearly always a story to be told and the queens of the perennial world have their own tales. I am talking here of the origin of the name of Delphiniums of whom I read were named by the ancient Greeks. Apparently the shape of the flower bud with that spur resembled the form of a dolphin to them. I will have to have a closer look and see if I can make that association....
The other interesting point that I didn't know is that Delphiniums actually belong to the buttercup family along with Winter roses
Now this is the perfect time to be getting these queenly perennials in as the plants are very hardy and are tolerant of frost and even benefit from winter freezing so don't be fooled by them looking fragile. I will put in here and now a warning that slugs and snails just adore Delphiniums so make sure you are armed with plenty of
slug bait.
The Delphiniums that we have on offer here are the specially bred ones by world famous Dowdeswell Delphiniums and are of the elatum types which means they are of the tallest style Now Dowdeswell are famous for breeding these tall majestic English Delphinium Hybrids which are renown for being more hardy than the more common Pacific giants. These should have a minimum sepal (commonly called petals) count of thirteen, and will probably have a central "bee" of small petals just in case you want to know.
The other delightful member of the buttercup family that are presently flowering and just looking fabulous right now are the winter roses.
Helleborus for those that want to remember the proper name. In stock in the garden centre right now we have a collection from a talented breeder of these winter flowering perennials from down in the south island. Clifton House is the home of these beautiful plants and they have managed to breed some pretty fancy types.
Doubles are the first of the fancy ones out and this year I see that we have some pretty
doubles even complete with
picotee edging. There are some pretty cool anemone forms with that centre piece happening and even single picotee with that gorgeous
eye liner finish. They are the sort of thing that you just have to come and choose as they sent us mixed boxes with all the best flowers.
My best tip with winter roses will make the best of the new flowers but you have to be onto it before now. Just prior to them flowering I remove all of last years leaves, it leaves them looking a tad naked for a few weeks but when the new seasons flowers come through, well its all on show, once the flowers are finished the plant will grow next years leaves which will look fresh for almost another complete season.
Dont forget that its time to be putting in Yams, spuds and broad beans, well for those that want an early crop anyways. I keep planning on putting in broad beans for myself as I just love them. Will have to see if we get a fine evening spare and do a few projects.
New in this week are these
Boronia... Gorgeously scented or so I'm told as Ang walkes past them saying that they smelt so good. Unfortunately its a fragrance that I cant smell but I must be in a minority. They are quite pretty in the garden to making a small shrub with either brownish or pretty lime green flowers.
Leucadendrons Harry bought some bunches of these from a cut flower place the other day and they are in vase in the kitchen. The bract like flowers last for ages. The plants are easy enough to grow but just make sure that the are in a full sun possie that has good drainage. The secret to keeping the plant in good shape is to actually pick the flowers or cut firmly back after the best of the blooms are gone and before they sprout again otherwise they can get a tad leggy
You may have noticed, from some of the links above, that Tony and I have found some time at last to start posting to our facebook pages again now that the potting is done. Those of you who have been able to visit us at the nursery know we have a wee selection of livestock roaming the area and of these the early morning visitors would have possibly seen our ducks. We have Indian runners and Magpie varieties and they decided to pay us a visit while we were packing the mail orders ready for dispatch. They looked so at home in among the plants that I couldn't resist taking some pics and posting them as well. Check them out here on our
facebook page.
Treat time with community website Number 8 Network and Woodlands Cafe
Fancy a VIP lunch for two at Woodlands Cafe? That's the works - drinks, lunch and dessert - in this gem of a cafe nestled by historic homestead on Whitikahu Rd.
To go in the draw, simply visit
number8network.co.nz and answer this question: In the online story about Gordonton's Home Guard, who is on the front lawn in the photo of Woodlands Homestead?
Email the answer to annette@number8network.co.nz by Saturday 15 August and be in to win a serious lunchtime treat. (One entry per person. And tell your friends!)
I cant believe how the weeks seem to roll into one and its Friday again... There is plenty to do in the nursery as usual and Sat night is lined up for all the oldies to come for dinner and its a pork roast on the agenda. My fav is when its done on the rotisserie and the roast is rested prior to serving. Roast spuds and all the trimmings. Yum
Hope that the weather is good for us all... some nice days wont go amiss
Have a great weekend
Cheers
Lloyd, Harry and the Wairere Team
Make it a Wairere weekend w
here even
GNOMES know that gardening's not a drag
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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 (11th March, 2015)
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
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:
