Friday 31st March, 2017
Hi
Last day of March, last day of the financial year and we are two days out from putting those clocks back. I am never sure about that.... in that I like getting the daylight back in the early morn but then we lose it in the evening... a sure sign that winter is on its way Which it is !!!
But first we must enjoy Autumn a season in which so much happens. T
here are fruits and berries abundant which all add attractive colour to the landscape. The early
Sasanqua Camellias are flowering away right now. If you look at your
hellebores or winter roses, they are starting to push up new growth which will be this coming winters flowers and the new set of leaves for the coming year.
If you look around, the leaves on all the trees are already beginning to turn. The avenue of
flowering cherries that we have in the nursery has turned the shade that indicates their leaf season is over. When we move the deciduous trees the leaves are already starting to drop and they just tend to fall off with out any help.
There is a technical process for this which is controlled by plant hormones and its a long time since I studied it.
I'm remembering that in Autumn, deciduous trees create an abscission zone, also called a separation zone, which is formed at the base of the petiole or leaf stalk.
It is composed of a top layer that has cells with weak walls, and a bottom layer that expands in the autumn, breaking the weak walls of the cells in the top layer. This allows the leaf to be shed.
I was moving the
peach and
necatarine trees, which are half price at the moment, and as much as I swept up the leaves they just kept falling off...... always something to do !!!
At this time of year most of the proteins and carbohydrates are rapidly transported out of the leaf as we begin to see the break down of chlorophyll in the leaves and the increase of yellow and orange pigments called carotenoids. These carotenoids were previously masked by the presence of chlorophyll and we see the final result of yellowish dead leaves.
So while the leaves of trees are in their Autumnal cycle the camellia family are starting to put on their flowering show and the
Sasanquas are the first to bloom. there are many shapes of
camellia flower and the first to come to mind are the singles. Singles are just that and consist of approx 6 petals with obvious stamens. Many singles are what I love.... think it must be beauty in their simplicity. There is a species called
Microphylla, which is also very early flowering and has the most gorgeous small simple white flowers which are also fragrant. If you are into singles then there are all kinds from white (
Setsugekka) to pink (
Plantation pink) and even those that are white with a pink edge like
Gay Border.
Then there are the doubles which obviously consists of many petals and there are two kinds to write about. The first are the informal doubles of which
Silver Dollar would be a
good example. Then there are the formal doubles where the petals are layered around in a precise pattern. Early Pearly demonstrates this flower type quite well.
The last main flower style that I must share is the peony style and these are also doubles usually with an outer row of petals and a central button that is made up of petaloids. This flower style is more associated with the
Japonicas though perhaps the camellia
Gay Sue could be a
sasanqua that looks a bit like this style. A classic example of this style would be
Brushfields yellow.
New to us are the gold of smoke bush and the burgundy red of pepperwood
If you love lime green foliage then you just have to check out the golden leaves of the Hydrangea Goldie. these have a particularly nice shade of lime gold green that will certainly brighten up a semi shade spot. Another favourite shrub of mine is the smoke bush
Cotinus and
Golden Spirit has really beautiful lime green gold foliage as well.. It gets its name from plume like flowers that resemble smoke .. but wait there is more, brilliant autumn foliage to boot.
Pseudowintera colorata is endemic to NZ and has the common name of pepperwood because its leaves have a hot or peppery taste. There are quite a few of these that have been cloned these days because they have attractive reddish and cream foliage. These are quite slow growing and form a really attractive small bush that would contrast nicely with other plants. Check out the full range that we have of these.
Cotinus Golden Spirit - Smoke Bush. A unique form of this easy to grow multi-stemmed shrub that has golden-green foliage from spring to summer. Combines particularly well with blue shades and picks well for floral work. In autumn fiery tones of burgundy and scarlet prior to leaf fall. Sun or part shade. Deciduous.
Hydrangea Goldie is also worthy of a place in the garden. The gorgeous
lemon and lime look to the leaves is uplifting especially in a shady spot and the white mop head flowers just pop against the foliage.
Pseudowintera Plum Wine - A new variety of the easy to grow NZ pepper tree. Featuring broad, wine coloured leaves with a plum purple bloom on the underside, offering a great show of colour in winter. Best in full sun to part shade in well drained soil. Mulch to retain moisture. Evergreen
Pieris Scarlet O'Hara - Lily of the Valley Shrub. Tall, slender, upright evergreen shrub with bright red new foliage growth. Clusters of bell-shaped white flowers bloom in spring in a showy display. Makes an excellent colour display as a hedge or foundation shrub. Evergreen
You can always find out specials on our
Family Deals page of the website and there are a few going on right now! Plums (except for
Plumcot Spring satin) Peaches and nectarines are all to clear at 50% off.
Cannas half price so many are going for $5 bucks a piece.
Native plants from $5.99
Hostas are in and Night before Christmas, Blue Edger and Silver Knight are a great buy at $19.99 down to $10.99, buy 10 or more for $9.99 each! nice big and chunky plants too!! I needed
some for the garden to finish off a piece that we have just redone.
Harry has crumble on his mind and this week we have had a
Rhubarb crumble and last night he decided that we are going to have another but should I say that this one is going to be more of a fruit salad one. Feijoa, apple and orange juice were all added to the Rhubarb brew and I guess that crumble will top it tonight. Now Dad had quite a repertoire of things to do with feijoas like
Feijoa and Coconut cake,
Ginger and Feijoa cake and of course he was famous at Wairere Nursery for his
Feijoa and Pear muffins. Seeing as
Feijoas are all on tap right now, if you have an amazing recipe to share on cooking with Feijoas then please return mail them to me.
Another weekend is upon us and hopefully a gorgeous one for being in the garden. Don't forget to turn those clocks back on Sunday night.
Kind Regards
Lloyd, Harry and the Wairere Team
Make it a Wairere weekend where even GNOMES know that gardening's not a drag
