Go Gardening summer 2013

WIN! OVER $2100 WORTH OF GIVEAWAYS THIS ISSUE $4.95

summer

INC GST

your dream garden

starting out

TRUSTY PETUNIAS FOR ENDLESS SUMMER COLOUR practical advice

plants for shady spaces

masterclass

growing magnificent roses

www.gogardening.co.nz ISSUE 04/2013

THE MAGAZINE OF NURSERY & GARDEN INDUSTRY NEW ZEALAND

35

HOT TIPS FOR VEGE GARDENERS

Plotting paradise

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hat’s your dream garden? Mine is a far cry from my actual garden and I suspect it

editorial

always will be. But maybe, like all things creative, the journey is the best part.

Seeing bits of my garden begin to approach the dream garden in my mind’s eye is hugely rewarding, and all the motivation I need to keep going.

Even more motivating is the beginning of a brand new summer with months of long sunny days stretched ahead. Now that daylight saving’s started there’s time to garden after work. And on weekends, losing yourself outdoors on a beautiful day has got to be the healthiest way to unwind.

If your dream garden is all about colour, you’re right on trend. Flowers are utterly in vogue. Then with all the colourful new plants on offer there has never been a more exciting choice of high performance flowering plants that will bloom nonstop for months on end. With Christmas coming up, we have the perfect excuse to lavish our outdoor spaces with flower filled pots and hanging baskets.

One of the rewards for planting lots of flowers is the increased presence of bees and butterflies. They’re good for the

contents

garden and good for the soul and they also need our help to survive. Butterflies are the focus of our Kids Go Gardening pages this issue.

For many of us, the dream garden is the one that feeds us.

And right now is the best time ever to plant a huge range of edibles, including all those fruits and vegetables we can harvest, store and preserve to feed the family over winter. A checklist of suggestions for a prolific summer vege garden starts on page 35.

Happy summer gardening, Editor

Sue Linn

Designer

Lee Kretschmar

Subeditor Sarah Thornton

nginz The Nursery & Garden Industry Association of New Zealand

Advertising Debbie Pascoe, phone 09 236 3260 Printer Webstar Publisher

Nursery & Garden Industry New Zealand phone 04 918 3511 email info@nginz.co.nz

www.facebook.com/gogardeningnz

www.gogardening.co.nz 2

go gardening summer

COVER PHOTO: GAP PHOTOS

Go Gardening is published by Nursery & Garden Industry New Zealand.

Articles in Go Gardening are copyright and may not be reproduced in any form, in whole or part, without the written permission of the publisher.

All rights reserved in material accepted for this publication, unless specified otherwise. The opinions expressed in Go Gardening are not necessarily those of, or endorsed by, the publisher.

3 8 15 20 23 28 32 35 42 44 46

Shop window What’s new in garden centres Masterclass How to grow your best ever roses Starting out Petunias for endless summer colour Crazytunias New petunias with attitude Real gardener A Taranaki treasure Practical advice Plants for shady spaces Kids Go Gardening Edibles Making the most of summer Be in to win Exciting products for your garden Noticeboard Summer events Ellerslie International Flower Show March 2014

what’s new

SHOP WINDOW This summer is all about colour!!

Don’t miss out on planting your share of the world’s latest and greatest garden plants…

Crazytunia ‘Twilight Lime’

COLOUR CRAZY Go crazy with this phenomenal new line of petunias. Available in a variety of colours (including spectacular, unfading ‘Black Crazytunia ‘Black Mamba’ Mamba’), Crazytunias flower profusely and continuously, all summer long. Robust and weather proof, they perform with outstanding vigour, but remain compact and upright in habit, excellent in containers, hanging baskets or garden beds.

They thrive in summer heat. Find out more on page 20 and at www.gardeningsolutionz.co.nz. And turn to page 42 to be in to win!

Grows 25cm tall x 30cm wide Flowers spring and summer Likes sun or part shade

Hot Springs Lobelias

SOME LIKE IT HOT

Unlike older lobelias the exciting new ‘Hot Springs’ lobelias perform beautifully in hotter weather. There are four different colours with compact, uniform growth so they look great planted as a blended tapestry. Perfect for pots or hanging baskets and ideal for spring, summer or autumn planting.

The Princess Lavender

Grows 20-30cm tall x 20-40cm wide Flowers spring, summer and autumn Likes sun or part shade

PINK PASSION

The most vividly colourful lavender yet, The Princess Lavender lights up the whole garden with its deep pink fragrant flowers. Very early to bloom, The Princess Lavender flowers most prolifically in spring, but flushes again in autumn with spot flushes during winter. Compact but quick growing with soft green foliage, it makes an excellent hedge.

Grows 70 x 70cm Likes sun Flowers spring and autumn

gogardening.co.nz 3

what’s new Inca Alstroemeria ‘Sweety’

MULTI-PURPOSE

The Inca Alstroemerias are proven garden performers, valued for their non-invasive habit and for being just the right height - not so tall that they blow over and look untidy, but with stems long enough for picking.

Incas will flower continuously - well into mid-winter in mild climates. They’re also great for pots. Look out for this season’s exciting new varieties: ‘Sweety’, ‘Yuko’ and ‘Vito’.

Voodoo Verbena ‘Red Star’

Grows 50 x 50cm Likes sun Flowers spring, summer, autumn

FLOWERS FOR AFRICA The stunning, long-lived, incredibly free flowering and very easycare cape daisies of Africa flower for many months of the year.

The state-of-the-art Osteospermum ‘Springstar’ collection offers a wide range of vivid colours on plants that remain compact and grow low to the ground. This season we welcome the first NZ release of four new colours that shimmer in the sunlight: ‘Cardinal’, ‘Cinnamon Orange’, ‘Dark Pink’ and ‘White’.

Grows 15-20cm tall x 25cm wide Flowers spring, summer and autumn Likes full sun Osteospermum ‘Springstar’

Hosta ‘Raspberry Sundae’

NEW TREASURES FOR SHADE Fresh on the menu this season are two must-have hostas. Hosta ‘Raspberry Sundae’ is stunning in cream, green and rich burgundy and grows about 25cm tall with deep lavender and purple flowers from late summer to autumn. Taller Hosta ‘Hudson Bay’ reaches 60cm in height with leaves of deep blue-green and creamy white with apple-green flecking. Its white flower spikes appear in early summer. Both varieties mature to dense, 50-60cm diameter clumps, lovely with other shade loving perennials such as heucheras, hellebores, ferns or spring flowering bulbs.

Grows 25 or 60cm tall, 60cm wide Protect from slugs and snails Likes shade or part shade

4

go gardening summer

Hosta ‘Hudson Bay’

BIG, BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL

New Voodoo Verbenas are said to be the biggest, bushiest and largest-flowered verbenas to date. These sumptuous summer bloomers form huge flower clusters on top of lush, olive green mounding foliage. Long flowering and exceptionally tolerant of both humidity and heat, they’re ideal for borders, beds, mass planting, hanging baskets and containers.

Find out more at www.gardeningsolutionz.co.nz Grows 15-20cm tall x 50cm wide Flowers spring and summer Likes sun or part shade

YELLOW CHEER

The starry summer daisy flowers of Bidens ‘Tweety’ will keep you smiling throughout summer and beyond. One of the best plants for hanging baskets, this ferny leafed, groundcover perennial is also ideal for pots and garden beds. Spent flowers drop cleanly, so it’s low maintenance too.

BRIGHT SPARK

Striking new striped Cordyline ‘Electric Pink’ is perfect for creating permanent garden highlights, planted in groups or as single accents.

This easy care evergreen does not develop a trunk but forms a dense weedstopping clump. It also grows well in a large pot.

Cordyline ‘Electric Pink’

Bidens ‘Tweety’

Grows 1.2m tall x 1m wide Tolerates dry conditions and frost Likes sun or part shade, well drained soil

Grows 30cm tall x 50cm wide Flowers spring, summer and autumn Likes full sun

SUMMER LOVERS

New Superstar Lobelias offer everything we love about Lobelias and more - delivering impressive vigour and tight mounding growth, plus superior heat tolerance. There is a good choice of colours in the range, including ‘Shooting Star’ in dazzling electric blue and white. Superstar Lobelias offer an exceptionally long flowering period which makes them a top choice for hanging baskets, tubs, and borders. Find out more at www.gardeningsolutionz.co.nz Grows 15-20cm tall x 20-40cm wide Flowers spring and summer Likes sun or part shade

RECIPES FOR SUCCESS Getting the nutrient balance right can make all the difference if you want to grow the juiciest red tomatoes and the biggest, sweetest strawberries. Different plants have different nutrient requirements.

Daltons make it easy with Daltons incredible edibles® Strawberry Mix and Daltons incredible edibles® Tomato Mix. Used by commercial strawberry growers throughout New Zealand, the success of Dalton’s fertiliser blends is tried and tested so you can be assured of success. Find out more at www.daltons.co.nz

Lobelia ‘Shooting Star’

gogardening.co.nz 5

what’s new Gaillardia ‘New Moon’

Gaillardia

‘Yellow Sh ie

SUNNY SIDE UP Gaillardia are among the showiest flowers for warm sunny spaces, beautiful in a ‘hot’ coloured flower border. This season’s new releases

Gaillardia ‘New Moon’ and ‘Yellow Shield’

produce masses of large (6-8cm diameter) flowers. They last well on the plants but are also long lasting as cut flowers.

Grows 20-30cm tall x 30cm wide Flowers summer and autumn Likes full sun

Calibrachoa ‘Cherry Star’

ld’

WATER WISE Perfect for gardeners who’ve down-sized or live life on the run, the labour-saving Hydroponic Auto Pot watering system can be left alone for weeks at a time. No daily watering, no power or pumps required! Whether you want to grow flowers, salad greens or a lemon tree on your deck, this simple setup will make it easy. No water is wasted, and you can expand or adapt it to suit your requirements. Find out more at www.otakihydro.co.nz

NEW FOOD Satisfying a tomato plant’s appetite for the right kind of nutrients makes all the difference to the quality and flavour of the harvest. The same goes for cucumbers, chilli and sweet peppers.

New Phostrogen Liquid

Tomato and Vegetable Food

is specially formulated with added magnesium and seaweed extract to meet the needs of these and other vege plants. Turn to page 42 to be in to win!

NEW GENERATION COLOUR

The latest Superbell Calibrachoas celebrate the most up-to-date breeding innovation in these small-flowered petunia cousins. Uniquely coloured, top performing Superbells produce hundreds of flowers in a continuous display that lasts for months on end. The neat mounding domes with trailing branches are fantastic in baskets and pots. The epitome of low-maintenance colour, they’re both heat and disease tolerant and they don’t require deadheading. Unique new Superbells to look out for this season are ‘Cherry Star’, ‘Coralberry Punch’ and ‘Lemon Slice’.

Grows 25cm tall x 60cm wide Flowers spring, summer, autumn Likes sun 6

go gardening summer

Cordyline ‘Salsa’

FROM WAIKATO TO THE WORLD

Born and bred in Te Awamutu, Cordyline ‘Salsa’ takes the stage this season - throughout New Zealand and across Europe too. Colour is what sets new ‘Salsa’ apart. New leaves emerge bright pink with deep red stripes. Colours intensify with age resulting in a multi-coloured effect. A dense clump in the early years, ‘Salsa’ will eventually develop a classic cabbage tree trunk.

Grows 1.5m tall, 3m at maturity Tolerates light frost and dry soil once established Likes sun or part shade and well-drained soil

NO WEEDS NO WORRIES Yates Zero kills weeds quickly, roots and all. Now, the newly expanded Zero range makes life even easier. As well as the ready-to-use trigger pack, and economical Super Concentrate, Zero also now comes in the refillable Yates Zero Power Trigger. Just one squeeze sets off a battery-powered spray function. Another option is the nifty longhandled Zero Weeding Brush, which means we can ‘paint’ weeds out of our gardens without bending. Find out more at www.yates.co.nz and go to page 42 to be in to win Yates Zero Power Trigger pack.

Summer romance

Time to stop and smell the roses!

8

go gardening summer

roses Flower Carpet White

Mosey outdoors on a warm summer morning, secateurs in hand. Marvel at the colours, inhale the scents and witness the bees buzzing happily from flower to flower. It’s practically impossible to feel stress or worry as you absorb yourself in picking a bunch of roses from your very own garden.

T

hey’re the most loved, flowers in the world and surprisingly easy to grow.

That said, there is quite a difference between growing roses and growing really great roses.

EIGHT SIMPLE WAYS TO GET THE VERY BEST FROM YOUR ROSES…

1

Choose well.

It may be love at first sight, but you’ll love your roses for longer if you engage your head as well as your heart when deciding which varieties to plant. As well as those to-die-for blooms, there are other important attributes to consider such as growth habit, foliage, disease resistance and overall performance.

Go Gardening centres stock a range of the most reliable varieties. You could also consult your local rose society for varieties that do well in your area. The New Zealand Rose Review published each year by the New Zealand Rose Society is another

place you can go for inspiration. This is available at www.nzroses.org.nz Bear in mind that roses rate well for different reasons, some may be fabulous on a show bench but unremarkable in the garden. Others may have the most eye-catching blooms but no fragrance. Choose a rose that fits its purpose in your garden. There are roses for pots, roses for walls, tall roses, short roses, even ground cover roses.

2

Invest in top quality plants. Even the most

outstanding rose variety may fail to prosper if it’s had an unlucky start in life. Buy healthy looking plants with no sign of disease. Cheap spindly, bargain bin plants are usually false economy.

3

Give them sunshine.

Most roses will grow and flower quite well in half-day sun, but generally more sun means more flowers. On the other hand, a very hot cloistered spot with no airflow can be a disease trap so make sure your roses are well ventilated.

gogardening.co.nz 9

An eye catching feature plant for every season

• Great in containers • Clips well for topiary Great infor containers •• Perfect a colourful hedge • Clips well for topiary Perfect for a colourful hedge •• Vibrant seasonal foliage • Vibrant seasonal foliage

Availableatatall all good good garden garden retailers Available retailers

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New release

Available this SPRING at all leading Garden Centres

4

Soil is everything.

Because roses are longlived plants, it is well worth spending time enriching the soil before planting. They perform well on heavy soils that contain clay, as the clay particles hold onto the summer moisture and nutrients that roses thrive on. However, it is important that the soil doesn’t become waterlogged. Raising beds 15–20 cm above the ground level and digging in plenty of compost can significantly improve drainage.

Conversely, roses can struggle on light sandy soil but this also can be remedied by adding organic matter.

So, whatever your soil, plying it with compost prior to planting can only be good for your roses. Regular mulching further enriches the soil.

5

Plant with care.

Take extra care not to let your roses dry out between purchasing and planting. When planting container grown roses, carefully remove the container and try not to disturb the roots or you may damage the young feeder roots. Start with a generous sized planting hole (at least twice

the volume of the roots) then back fill it so that the plant sits with its bud union (that bump on the stem) just above ground level. Mix some sheep pellets or a scoop of slow release fertiliser into the soil, and then gently but firmly fill around the roots. Thorough watering after planting helps settle the soil snuggly around the roots.

roses

Of course, this must be balanced with the need to provide shelter from harsh, damaging winds.

Take care not to plant roses too close to trees as these will deprive them not only of sun, but moisture and nutrients too.

Tip: Try not to plant a new rose plant in soil previously occupied by a rose. Alternatively, replace the soil with soil from another part of the garden, mixed with compost.

6

Water deeply.

Deep infrequent watering encourages young rose roots to grow down into the lower, damper levels of the soil, whereas frequent light watering of the surface encourages shallow roots, vulnerable in dry weather.

Newly planted roses will need a good soak about once a week in their first summer. Once they’re well established, roses in the garden can cope with minimal watering, but roses in pots need daily watering over summer. If you have lots of roses, opt for soaker hoses or drip irrigation in preference to sprinklers, as wet foliage invites disease.

Lady of Megginch

Starry Eyed Graham Thomas

Mary Rose

gogardening.co.nz 11

Hot Chocolate

A generous layer of organic mulch is worth topping up every spring. This keeps water in and weeds out, while lifting the humus level of your soil – and that means more nutrients and more water can be absorbed by your plants.

Maintain a 5-10cm layer. Composted leaves, well rotted animal manures anything that once lived, is good for your roses. If using un-composted bark or sawdust as mulch, apply fertiliser first as these raw materials can gobble up the soil’s reserves of nitrogen as they decompose.

BUG WATCH As the weather heats up, bugs get busy. Roses are a prime target for the likes of aphids and disfiguring fungus diseases. Fortunately there is plenty the gardener can do to minimise the damage.

Keep them well fed and watered.

A healthy well-nourished rose bush is better equipped than a sickly one to defend against attack from insect pests and fungus disease.

Use drip irrigation, not sprinklers as wet foliage encourages diseases..

,

Be a tidy Kiwi. Clear away all pruning waste and fallen leaves (do not put disease ridden debris on your compost heap!)

,

Foliar feed with liquid seaweed.

This increases the plant’s natural immunity to pests and disease.

,Plant disease resistant varieties.

,Spray if necessary during spring

Modern rose breeding offers an increasing choice of roses, such as the Flower Carpet range, which remain healthy without the need for spraying.

Avoid overcrowding. Keep the air flowing around your rose bushes and banish weeds as these harbour pests and increase humidity.

,

12 go gardening summer

Feed your roses generously and they’ll reward you with loads of top quality blooms. Apply controlled release fertiliser or sheep pellets in early spring and again in summer to support autumn flowering. Roses also respond well to soluble liquid fertilisers applied regularly throughout the flowering season. Many gardeners swear by fish-based fertilisers.

Aphids on roses can be tally. removed digi to ds ki e th Teach ith w em th sh squa ! rs their finge

Apply copper and oil in winter.

Problems are significantly reduced in summer if roses are treated to a ‘winter cleanup’ spray after pruning. This breaks the pests’ life cycles by killing spores and eggs.

,

8

Feed them well.

,

and summer. The need to spray depends on your climate and your own personal tolerance levels, as well as that of your roses. Pests and diseases are more prevalent in warm humid climates.

Ask for advice on what to spray at your Go Gardening centre. There are many low toxicity and natural sprays available.

Systemic products, like Confidor, get inside the plant’s sap, killing only the

THINKSTOCK.COM

roses

7

Cover the soil.

insects that are feeding on your roses, and compared with traditional contact sprays they’re applied less often. The best time to spray is in the evening when you are less likely to harm beneficial insects or sun-scorch the leaves. Always take the recommended safety precautions when spraying, and read the label carefully before use.

Plant a variety of shrubs and perennials to compliment your roses.

This will attract predatory insects, which feed on pests like aphids.

,

Romantic Roses Finally Finally

Impatiens for the Sun Impatiens for the Sun

Grenada™

Segovia™

Three seasons of colour Three seasons of colour White Cover™

Thrive in full sun or shade Thrive in full sun or shade Blarney Castle™

Essential Cover™

Castle Roses ®

Modern Bouquet Roses.

Fragrant old-fashioned antique look roses.

Compact and bushy, perfect in pots or garden beds.

Towne & Country Roses ®

Landscape Roses for Gardens and Parks.

Dense ground cover roses teeming with colourful flowers.

Disease resistant and fast growing.

Plant now and enjoy the romance of roses this summer.

Available from all leading garden retailers

Easy care and fast growing Easy care and fast growing Use in containers, baskets and beds Use in garden containers, baskets and garden beds

A selection of stunning colours to choose from A selection of stunning colours choosecentre from Available at your localtogarden Available at your local garden centre

www.rainbowpark.co.nz www.gardeningsolutionz.co.nz www.gardeningsolutionz.co.nz

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Name: FLAME_SYCR566_GO GARDENING T&Mnursery_Summer_Gazania_Gazoo Size: 134mmH x 210Wmm Date: 20.09.13 | Round: Final Mina Giang (account service) | mina@flame.com.au | +61 2 9887 8500 | flame.com.au Note: While Flame™ has taken great care in preparing this artwork responsibility for the printed artwork and copy accuracy lies with the client. The printer is responsible for checking artwork before plates are made, accuracy in measurements, plates tolerance requirements, registration and construction detailing. Any questions please contact flame before proceeding with the job. Copyright 2013 Flame. SP

Gazania Gazoo loves the heat.

Gazoo has large flowers and continuously flower during spring, summer and autumn. Gazoo will perform best planted in garden or patio pots in the hot sunny spots and they don’t need much watering either.

Look out for the entire Masterpiece Gazania Gazoo series available now at your local Garden Centre.

Gazania New Series

Masterpiece

Gazania Gazoo

LAME_SYCR566_09/13 AD 13/733

Available in 4 modern colours, Gazoo Clear Orange, Gazoo Red with Ring, Gazoo Clear Vanilla and Gazoo Clear Yellow.

colour

Perfectly petunia How do you like your petunias? Big and blousy or dainty and diminutive? Spreading and tumbling or chunky and upright? Striped, starred, multi-toned or plain? Bright primary colours, ‘antique’ pastels, snowy white, or black as night? Whatever your look, you’ll find it among today’s amazing smorgasbord of vigorous, floriferous and long flowering petunias.

T

heir vampy velvet trumpets range from coin-size to cupsize and they’re produced in astounding volume in a non-stop display from spring till the first frosts of winter. The sooner you plant them, the longer you’ll enjoy their startling effects!

No matter how small your garden or how limiting your soil may be, petunias make it easy to fill your summer with flowers. In Europe, limited outdoor space has never repressed the passion for gardening.

Everywhere you look colourful flowers cascade from window boxes, hanging baskets and pots.

Apart from their beauty and endurance, petunias are a first choice among container plants because of their ability to perform in hot weather and lower watering requirements. They’re often mixed with ivy geraniums, silver helichrysum, yellow bidens and blue or white lobelias, but there is hardly a more failsafe choice for summer pots and baskets than petunias.

No longer must we put up with flowers that droop and die like soggy tissues in wet weather. The petunias we planted a generation ago have long been displaced by strains with more weather tolerance and

more disease resistance than ever before. Over the 250 years since they were first discovered in their native South America, they’ve undergone huge changes at the hands of plant breeders and seed companies.

There are new and improved petunia genes at both ends of the cost spectrum. As the lower cost option, seeds and seedling petunias sold in punnets (or as ‘potted colour’) include varieties that perform better than ever. For a little more we can buy one large, multi-branching petunia plant that will quickly fill a large pot or basket, one plant often doing the job of up to ten bedding plants.

gogardening.co.nz 15

Petunia ‘Bubblegum’

Petunia ‘Twilight’

Petunia ‘Blue a Fuse’

SuperCal Petchoa ‘Terracotta’

Calibrachoa ‘Cherry Star’

Petunia ‘Pretty Much Picasso’

The petunias we planted a generation ago have long been superceded by new improved varieties.

Superbells Calibrachoa ‘Coral Berry Punch’

16 go gardening summer

Crazytunia ‘Bitter Lemon’

Little bells

The ‘Colourwave’ petunias started a petunia revolution when they romped onto the scene in the mid nineties, flowering continuously for six to nine months.

Still a top choice among gardeners internationally, they keep on getting better. Check out the colour range at www.colourwave.co.nz

The dainty bell flowers of the Calibrachoas are, for all intents and purposes, mini petunias. They are however classified as a separate plant species. Calibrachoas are known variously as ‘Millionbells’, ‘Superbells’, and ‘Sunbells’.

The small flowers, just a few centimetres wide are produced in teaming hundreds, completely smothering strong spreading plants with attractive small leaves.

Like their larger flowered cousins they are long blooming, sun loving and highly weather tolerant.

The Superbells collection from Aussie Winners features more than ten colours with new ones released every year. Find out more at www.aussiewinners.com.au.

Dwarf Calibrachoas, ‘Calipetites’ produce tiny flowers on close-packed low growing plants just 15cm tall x 30cm wide, ideal for pots and for beautifying outdoor table tops, they also make colourful groundcover or garden edging. See the range of five bold colours at www. gardeningsolutionz.co.nz

Supersized One plant of the hugely popular Petunia ‘Raspberry Blast’ will fill a large hanging basket to overflowing with stunning twotoned blooms. It also performs extremely well in pots or garden soil, spreading to 60 – 80cm wide with a height of around 25cm. Read more about ‘Raspberry Blast’ at www.gardeningsolutionz.co.nz Recently released ‘Happitunia’ petunias are another highly successful strain of fuss-free, perpetual summer bloomers. They include the top-rated ‘Bubblegum’ series in shades of pink and white. These super vigorous, lowmaintenance plants are great landscape or basket fillers, reaching 40-60cm tall and covering at least 60cm in diameter. The Bubblegum petunias are truly perennial and will last for about 3 years in pots or planted in the garden. They will take a light frost, although in colder climates they’re best in tubs to survive the winter. Another Happitunia is the unique ‘Pretty Much Picasso’ with bright violet flowers edged lime green. Find out more at www.aussiewinners.com.au.

Tidy trendsetters The very latest ‘Crazytunias’ are set apart by their vigorous yet tight, chunky growth habit and their uniquely beautiful colours, including darkest unfading ‘Black Mamba’. Read more on page 20 or go to www.gardeningsolutionz.co.nz Other new petunias offering brand new colour combos are ‘Bumblebee’, ‘Blue a Fuse’ and ‘Twilight’.

GETTING THE BEST FROM PETUNIAS… ,Petunias will flower in full sun or

partial shade, but the more sun they see, the more they’ll flower.

colour

Tried and true

Well-drained soil or potting mix is essential.

,

Although petunias are drought tolerant, they’ll give their best performance with summer watering.

,

, Petunias perform best with

feeding. Use slow release fertiliser at planting time with extra liquid feeding up to three times during the season.

Most modern strains drop their flowers cleanly and generally don’t require dead-heading, but occasional light trimming keeps plants looking tidy and encourages further flowering.

,

Clever cross Crossing Petunia with Calibrachoa to combine the best qualities of each has resulted in the SuperCal Petchoas (pictured on page 15). These plants combine large flowers with small, nonsticky leaves on a vigorous heat tolerant plant that is more cold tolerant than most petunias.

Dubbed the ‘all-weather’ petunias, SuperCals grow about 30cm tall by 40cm wide. Strong roots minimise disease problems.

Right: SuperCal Petchoa ‘Purple’ Bottom right: Calibrachoa Calipetites

gogardening.co.nz 17

colour Petunia ‘Raspberry Blast’ Above: Yates’ Fusion Petunias make it easy to create beautiful effects from seed. Small pellets made from very fine clay contain three to five seeds each. As the seeds germinate, plants fuse together producing a beautiful close-knit blend of foliage and flowers - a lovely tapestry effect that can’t be achieved with conventional transplanting.

PETUNIAS FROM SEED Petunia seed is very tiny, but not difficult to strike.

1 Fill a tray with seed raising mix.

2 Water thoroughly and let it drain.

3 Gently tap the seeds out of the packet

for an even spread (pre-mixing with equal parts of dry sand can help).

4

Press the seeds down so that they come in contact with the mix.

5 Light is needed for germination but the

tray may be covered with clear plastic to retain moisture until the seedlings appear.

6 Three to five weeks after sowing, your

petunia seedlings should be large enough to transplant.

18 go gardening summer

EASY BASKETS

H

anging baskets are a joy to plant and bring colour to eye level. Planted properly they’ll keep on blooming right though summer and autumn.

You need a good sized basket, quality planting mix, healthy young plants (or just one), and your choice of liner.

Sphagnum moss liners hold the most water. Chicken wire keeps the moss in place and makes it harder for birds to steal it. Available loose or as a preformed liner, coconut fibre is usually cheaper, easy to handle and looks great.

The traditional way to plant a hanging basket involves using small seedlings planted in layers, carefully poking the plants through the holes from the inside of the basket as each new layer of potting mix is added. The entire surface of the basket is planted, sides and the top. Done well, a basket planted all over with a mixture of colourful flowers is a work of art.

An easier approach with faster results is made possible by today’s super vigorous petunias (on the previous pages) that grow quickly to completely fill an entire basket and cascade to cover the sides. And

because no holes need to be cut in the liner, the basket will hold its water for longer.

Planting couldn’t be easier: Take one lined 30 or 40cm hanging basket, fill it with best quality container mix and plant one large growing petunia, chosen for its multi-blooming, vigorous and cascading form.

BASKET TIPS ,Always use top quality potting mix.

Choose a mix that contains water storage granules and a wetting agent (such as Saturaid), or mix these in before planting.

,

Provide some shelter to protect from drying winds.

,

Water often - especially in hot or windy weather.

,

,Feed regularly with liquid fertiliser.

Summer

w ith s t r sta

ght

Moonli

Bana na

Pink Julip

Dark C herry

lour it in... o C

www.colourwave.co.nz Available now from all good garden retailers

CRAZYTUNIAS ~ Petunias with attitude!

Crazytunia ‘Twilight Lime’ 20 go gardening summer

T

his season’s all new Crazytunias are shaking up the petunia scene, worldwide. The breeders were told to go crazy and the results are phenomenal! We love the beautifully shaped flowers with their sophisticated colours. And we love their neat and tidy growth habit.

Vigorous but compact Crazytunias grow strong and fast, and they don’t go straggly or bald in the centre. They are being hailed for their bold, chunky growth habit. They’re naturally multibranching and you don’t have to trim them to maintain that tidy shape.

Whatever the weather Petunias of old would turn to mush with rain or overzealous watering. No matter whether it’s rain or hot searing summer sun, Crazytunias shine on.

Rich velvet red New Crazytunia ‘Red Blues’ is one of the most vibrant red petunias available, arguably the most ‘christmassy’ colour you could plant to add a festive touch to an entrance or outdoor dining area.

advertorial

Petunias have long led the field among summer flowers.

For decades they’ve reigned supreme in the celebrated baskets and window boxes of Europe. Aided and abetted by exciting new developments, they’re becoming more fashionable than ever.

Sublime limes Lime is the new white.

Sophisticated, classy, and elegant it is highly sought after by fashionable gardeners. Crazytunia ‘Bitter Lemon’ and ‘Twilight Lime’ offer new citrus tones with an extra twist.

Vintage chic Slightly bohemian in antique shades of grape, cream and silvery rose, Crazytunia ‘Twilight Blue’ makes a superb combo with ‘Twilight Lime’, and it’s the kind of colour that will look great with almost any other.

Best-ever black Crazytunia ‘Black Mamba’ is considered by many to be one of the best black petunias currently on the market with no striping or fading of its large, open flowers.

Crazytunia ‘Twilight Blue’

EASY CARE ,Plant Crazytunias in well-drained

soil or potting mix.

,Crazytunias flower at their best in full sun but perform well in part day sun. ,Feed up to three times a season with controlled-release or liquid fertiliser to support their colossal flowering performance.

Top for pots Because of their free-flowering compact form and their resistance to hot dry situations, Crazytunias are ideal for all kinds of containers - big tubs and balcony pots, table pots, hanging baskets and window boxes.

Non-stop colour Now is the time to plant and enjoy Crazytunias. Plant now and you’ll be rewarded with an instant colour effect that will look even better by Christmas and continue longer, right through autumn until winter.

Crazytunia ‘Red Blues’ Crazytunia ‘Bitter Lemon’

MEMBER GROWER PROUDLY GROWN BY AMBROSIA NURSERIES

Crazytunia ‘Black Mamba’

For further information and more inspirational planting ideas, visit www.gardeningsolutionz.co.nz

gogardening.co.nz 21

Living Fashion

Leucanthemums

Leucanthemum ‘Paladin’

Leucanthemum ‘Victorian Secret’

Leucanthemum ‘Bridal Bouquet’

Leucanthemum ‘Banana Cream’

Living Fashion

www.livingfashion.co.nz Available at your garden centre or by mail www.parvaplants.co.nz

QR Scan with your smart phone for our full Leucanthemum range (requires QR Reader download from your App Store)

real gardener

Mary’s passion Cleo Wood meets industrious Taranaki gardener Mary Dickson, as she prepares to open her garden to thousands of festival visitors – for the twenty fifth time!

“

I

t’s something that’s bred in you, gardening,” Mary Dickson tells me as we sit at her kitchen counter sipping frothy lattes and looking out on her beautiful magnolias. “My grandmother was a keen gardener and I was always asking her the names of plants. Most young girls wouldn’t have given much notice!”

I visited Mary on an overcast day in September, as she was getting her garden ready for the thousands of visitors who would be strolling through in just 6 weeks’ time. This year

will be Mary’s twenty-fifth year in the Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular (formerly the Taranaki Rhododendron Festival) which has been running for 26 years.

Mary moved from the farm to her Hawera home 16 years ago after her first husband passed away, and she wasted no time getting stuck into the bare patch of land. Just one year later she was back in the Festival having created a whole new garden from scratch. “It was a good thing to keep busy at the time, although I think I drove the neighbours a bit nutty breaking concrete at all hours

gogardening.co.nz 23

DESIGN TIP:

ccent Choose an a peat colour and re t it throughou . n the garde

of the day and night!” she laughs.

Concrete that was once the cow shed on the old family farm lives on in Mary’s garden as a picturesque water feature, a retaining wall, stepping stones and a paved corner at the rear of her garden. She had the concrete trucked into town and then single handedly smashed it up before creating her garden features.

Other remnants of the family farm can be spotted around Mary’s garden, providing a pleasant contrast to the vibrant colours of her plants.

An old wheel frame turned on its side supports a rose bush and a great wooden wheel is featured at the entrance, half camouflaged behind a rhododendron. A rustic old cream can is now home to a flowering Clematis spilling over its lid.

The main focus of the garden is an archway and an old seat, viewed from the kitchen window.

Mary reminisces about the day she overheard her husband telling her daughter, “you know what she wants now - she wants an archway!”

“I still remember them out there giggling, but I kept out of the way and sure enough they made the archway for me together.”

Mary’s garden features three archways. Two are covered in Clematis, while a long archway at the back of her garden is swathed in roses.

Bright blue Aubretia are in full spring bloom, nicely offset by edges of pastel coloured Rhodohypoxis. The overall

real gardener

Clockwise from top left: Orange Heuchera leaves make a cheerful pairing with viola flowers; a rose covered arch creates a passage between garden rooms; an example of Mary’s planting eye for foliage detail is seen here in the contrasting textures of lady’s fern, hostas and small leafed ajuga.

26 go gardening summer

What’s your advice to new gardeners?

“You’ve got to get out there and try. You’ll do something wrong, but you’ll do something right. Start with the basics, a vege garden.”

What area of your garden takes the most work?

“It differs. The lawns and the edges are a huge thing to do though, it makes a real difference if someone does them for you.”

Where do you get inspiration from, any particular garden or gardener?

“Oh everywhere. Every garden I go to. You’re always learning from someone else. I always come away from someone’s garden with a new idea and you mightn’t do exactly what they did, but you always get inspiration from seeing other people’s gardens.

It always makes me come home and re-look and re-think.”

Clockwise from top right: Mary is fond of blue flowers, including Abutilon vitifolium, a rare shrub; Colourful heucheras feature throughout Mary’s garden and are displayed here in a cluster of interesting vessels; Tiarella makes a lovely container plant for semishade.

PICTURES BY ANN NICHOLAS

real gardeners

effect is as if you’ve stumbled into a secret wonderland of colour.

Many confides that her biggest gardening fear is to become boring. “You’re always striving to keep it interesting.

You know, everyone likes to know what’s in vogue. If I don’t like something, it comes out, I’m always critical about an area getting boring.”

She spends every day she can in her garden but next year her plan is to try to make it a little more manageable and less time consuming. “No one realises how much time you’ve got to put into your garden to get it ready for public viewing.” She admits she makes work for herself by trying to grow plants that are sensitive to the cold and frosts. “I’m always out checking on things and covering them at night.”

On commending Mary for her gardening achievements and stamina she brushes me off with a laugh. “It’s all about winning and losing though isn’t it? Life is winning and losing and so is gardening. If we didn’t have challenges it’d be boring.”

Inca Alstroemerias ®

Perfect for Picking Inca® Desert NEW Inca® Yuko Inca® Pulse Inca® Avanti

NEW Inca® Sweety Inca® Glow Inca® Joli

NEW Inca® Vito

Inca® Mardi Gras

Living Fashion

www.livingfashion.co.nz Available at your garden centre or by mail www.parvaplants.co.nz

QR Scan with your smart phone for our full Alstroemeria range (requires QR Reader download from your App Store)

foliage

SHADE STARS

The shadier parts of a garden can be challenging. But they also present an opportunity to create something of subtle beauty and sophistication - a cool revitalising space to retreat to on hot summer days.

S

ome of our most stunning foliage plants are purpose built for low light situations, their leaves designed to catch the light. Big and shiny, fine and lacy, or frilled and crinkled, they fill a garden artist’s toolbox with richly contrasting shapes, textures and colours. Flowers are fewer in a shady garden, but they’re by no means absent. There are loads of shade plants to try.

Here are a few of the classics.

Cold-hardy ‘woodland’ perennials that thrive in moist but well-drained, humus rich-soil and look beautiful planted in groups under deciduous trees…

Hostas offer an exciting choice of leaf shapes with colours ranging from bright chartreuse through icy blues and some striking variegated forms. They range in height from ground hugging to over a metre tall.

Heucheras, tiarellas and heucherellas come in an astounding range of colours.

These popular foliage plants cope with a range of light conditions but perform best with protection from afternoon sun. Generally, the darker the foliage the more sun tolerant they are. Most will tolerate dry periods once established.

Hellebores, also known as winter roses, are long-time favourite flowers for dappled shade under deciduous trees and shrubs. Perfect planted in groups

Above: Hardy NZ kiokio Right: Hostas, renga lilies, ferns, heucheras and pulmonarias beautify a walkway beneath deciduous trees.

28 go gardening summer

with hostas and spring bulbs, they flower in winter and spring. Their healthy green foliage is beautiful too.

Ligularias provide fantastic contrast, accent and drama. The variety ‘Britt-Marie Crawford’ is a favourite with large dark burgundy leaves. L. reinformis (tractor seat ligularia) has huge kidney-shaped leaves in highly lacquered forest green. Ligularias grow 60cm to a metre or so tall and look fabulous with ferns. Some are now reclassified as Farfugium.

Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’ is loved for its heart-shaped leaves with silver and mint green markings. Sprays of bright blue forget-me-not flowers appear in mid to late spring. It is easy to grow in all but the driest shade.

Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’ Heucherella ‘Brass Lantern’

Hosta ‘June’

Shady gardens need never be dull when there are so many beautiful shapes and colours to work with.

Hellebore ‘Winter Sunshine’

Ligularia reniformis Pulmonaria

gogardening.co.nz 29

SUCCESS IN SHADE , Bulk-up the soil with compost

before planting.

foliage

Mulch regularly to conserve moisture and build up soil structure.

,

Apply fertiliser to compensate for the competition from tree roots.

,

Ferns are among the most beautiful and underutilised plants for cool shady spaces. They blend perfectly with flowering plants such as clivias, daylilies, rengarenga and hellebores.

Some will grow in dry shade once established, but most ferns require humus rich soil, which holds moisture without becoming

water logged. There are ferns for every climate.

Pulmonaria (lungwort) is a hardy groundcover perennial, which forms a low leafy clump of pretty, silver spotted leaves.

Flowers in shades of blue, pink or white appear in spring. Look for modern varieties bred for superior mildew resistance.

In very dry areas consider installing an irrigation system.

,

Prune trees to let more light and moisture into the soil beneath them.

,

Protect young plants and newly emerging spring foliage from slugs and snails.

,

Plants grow more slowly in the shade. Start with larger plants for quicker results.

,

Shade lovers for warm subtropical gardens or a sheltered frost-free location...

Coleus are colourful subtropical plants, mainly grown as annuals and easy from seed.

They’re great as short-term fillers among shade loving perennials.

They combine beautifully with impatiens and are great for pots.

Bromeliads make excellent container plants. Most require good drainage and are intolerant of frost. Of the many different bromeliads, the Neoregelias and Vreisias are among the easiest to grow.

Clivias are among the few spectacular flowering plants that thrive in the shade of trees. Once established, they tolerate dry shade. The modern hybrids that have been developed from the native South African species have Bromeliads, hostas and lime green coleus

30 go gardening summer

Clivias

the most spectacular flowers, in rich shades of orange, red or yellow, with thick strappy leaves.

Renga lily (Arthropodium cirratum), or ‘NZ Rock lily’ lights up the shade with fountains of little white lily flowers in spring and summer. Among the best plants for mass planting under trees, cultivars like ‘Matapouri Bay’ and ‘Avalanche’ are favoured for their thick leaves and compact habit. Protect from frost and snails.

Other NZ natives for shade include Mazus radicans and Pratia angulata (panakenake), two pretty flowering groundcovers that thrive in damp soil. Also for damp shady ground are Gunnera prorepens and Fuchsia procumbens, a groundcover with exquisite miniature fuchsia flowers. For a spacious subtropical garden, consider the beautiful lush groundcover, Parataniwha (Elatostema rugosum). Its large, prominently veined leaves are bronze green with purple highlights. One of the many native ferns, hen and chickens (Asplenium bulbiferum) is a good choice for dry shade, while kiokio (Blechum novae-zelandiae) is a super tough fern that grows in sun or shade and is great for frost free coastal gardens.

• Exceptional garden performance, perfect for warm sunny patio pots • Plant now for brilliant Summer and Autumn colour

www.zealandia.co.nz

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KIDS

SUMMER 2013

FLUTTERBY BUTTERFLY Butterflies are some of the most interesting and gorgeous creatures on Earth.

Planting a butterfly garden is easy and you’ll be rewarded with the fluttering of butterflies all through the summer. All you need to do is grow the plants that caterpillars like to eat and the flowers that adult butterflies feed on.

Butterfly gardens can be any size. Choose a sunny sheltered spot and make sure there is water around, or maybe a birdbath - butterflies love puddles!

Butterflies love flowers!

Butterflies are attracted to groups of flowers that make a big patch of colour. Purple, yellow, pink, white, orange and red flowers all work well. But because butterflies are nearsighted, a single plant might not produce enough colour for them to see. Mix it up so there’s tall flowers and short plants. And plant heaps!

32 go gardening summer

Butterflies love: -

Asters Bee balm Catmint Cosmos Lantana

-

Marigolds Salvia Sunflowers Sweet William Verbena

Cosmos

Photo Competition!

There are some very talented photographers out there and some even more talented gardeners!

PHOTOS: THINKSTOCK.COM

Congratulations to everyone who entered their photos – they were awesome!

It was so hard to choose, but here’s our two winners:

The Swan Plant - what a great host!

Plant one in your garden for the monarch butterflies to lay their eggs on. Tiny caterpillars soon hatch from the eggs and get fatter and fatter as they eat the leaves.

Watch as they transform into chrysalises and emerge as beautiful butterflies. It’s amazing!

WARNING: Swan plants are poisonous!

Don’t eat them unless you are a caterpillar.

Swan plants are available at your Go Gardening centre, or you could try growing some from seed (tip: remove the eggs off tiny seedlings so they have a chance to grow bigger before the caterpillars gobble them up!) For lots of butterflies, grow lots of swan plants!

Scientists reckon there are between 15,000 and 20,000 varieties of butterfly and one of our favourites is the Monarch. The Monarch Butterfly NZ Trust is an organisation that helps protect our butterflies. Look at their website for more tips. www.monarch.org.nz

Some bet we things n’t know d you di bout a flies! u b tter

Georgia Kennedy-Jarman, 14, of Waiau Pa Georgia says “This photo captures the essence of nature and how harmonious it is. The bee is working hard to collect pollen for its community and to help the flower to continue to grow in other areas.”

Butterfly wings are actually transparent – they are made up of very thin layers of a thing called ‘chitin’ and the scales on top of the chitin reflect light.

A newly emerged butterfly can’t fly.

Butterflies live on an allliquid diet, usually nectar.

No solid food here!

Butterflies drink from mud puddles – fly t can’ Butterflies it’s a source of minerals! with ies taste if they’re cold.

Butterfl have t – they heir fee t there!

Butterflies only live for about 2 to 4 week ceptors s. taste re Butterflies u se their win gs to camouflag but they e themselves Butterflies are nearsighted, from predat ors. can see a lot of colours.

Leah Gray, 9, of Marton Leah took this photo of a fairy in a polyanthus. We think it is such a clever creative idea and we might not have guessed it was a polyanthus if Leah hadn’t told us. It looks so tropical!

gogardening.co.nz 33

edibles

Summer The sweet taste of

Picture your summer vege garden bursting at the seams with colour, health and vitality.

Picking armloads of fresh, sweet homegrown fruit and veges to feed family and friends is one of summer’s greatest joys, but there’s no time to waste if we’re to make the most of the warm months ahead.

T

reat yourself to a little time out in your vege garden every day in November and you’ll be reaping the rewards by Christmas. It’s a lovely time to be busy outdoors – the best way to de-stress in the build up to the festive season.

Here’s a to-do list for the best ever summer in your garden.

PLANT – tomatoes – eggplants – capsicum – melons – pumpkins – cucumbers – cauliflowers – cabbages

– broccoli – lettuces – spinach – cress – silverbeet – basil – parsley – spring onions

– chives – potatoes – kumara – rhubarb – passionfruit – tamarillo – berries – fruit trees

gogardening.co.nz 35

Tomato & Vegetable Liquid Concentrate 1 Litre

Feijoa Bambina

™

TharFiona

Perfect for fruiting plants Use in greenhouse vegetable patch, grow bags or containers Makes 50 watering cans of liquid food

With added seaweed extract

IT FRU TS C A F

Plant Now for April fruit

‘Distinctive’ would best describe this fruiting beauty that is dwarf in growth habit with delicate small leaves, an abundance of bright red Christmas flowers followed by delicious wee fruit. Don’t be fooled by the size of the fruit as it is bursting with sweet aromatic pulp and is ideal for a snack or the lunch box. Rich in vitamin C to help fight infection and keep your immune system healthy, “Bambina™” ripens in autumn just when we need the added help.

Landscaping

Care

• Low growing hedge

• Low maintenance • Pollinated by birds • Full sun

Value • Ideal container plant – compact habit • Double as a Kiwi icon Christmas tree

Benefits • Eat skin & all • Rich in vitamin C • Sweet & juicy

Available at your local garden retailer

Available at leading Garden Centres and Hardware Stores

www.burnets.co.nz

Bringing Your Garden Alive with Fruit

www.edible.co.nz

1

November is a great month for planting a wide range of veges, but it’s an especially important time to plant those crops that need a good few months of warm temperatures for ripening; e.g. chillies, capsicums, eggplants and pumpkins. For a head start buy big seedlings in individual pots.

2

November is also an ideal month to plant tomatoes.

Prepare the soil well with lots of compost. Set stakes firmly in the ground prior to planting.

3

Don’t plant tomatoes in the same soil as last year. If you cannot change the location, dig out the top 30cm of soil and replace it with soil that has not been used for tomatoes or any other member of the tomato family (potatoes, eggplant, and capsicum). Wherever possible practice crop rotation for all crops to prevent build-up of soil borne pests and diseases. A two or three year break is best.

4

THINKSTOCK.COM

Zucchini and flying saucershaped scallopini grow quickly with phenomenal yields.

Modern compact varieties are ideal for smaller gardens, available in yellow and green for colour variety on the dinner plate.

5

Cucumbers are ready to pick within two months of planting. Pop a plant in every few weeks for a continuous summer and autumn supply.

6

Pumpkins and melons need a full summer season to ripen so plant them as soon as possible after frost has passed.

7

While full sun is best for most vege plants, lettuces, parsley, rocket and coriander benefit from part day shade during the heat of summer.

Rhubarb is another attractive plant that will grow in a shadier corner of the vege garden.

SOW

8

Sweetcorn and beans grow fast from seed sown directly into well-drained crumbly garden soil that has warmed to 16°C for germination.

9

If you don’t have a teepee or frame for climbing beans, try dwarf beans.

10

When sowing large seeds such as sweetcorn, zucchini or beans, sow two seeds at each station, removing the weakest after germination.

A NEW VEGE PATCH – GETTING STARTED

, Location

A vegetable garden needs a flat area in full sun. Good air movement helps keep the bugs away, but there should be shelter from strong winds.

edibles

PLANT

, Size and layout:

The size of your vegetable garden should relate to the time you have to spend in it. Allow space for easy access. Main paths should be wide enough for a wheelbarrow.

Beds should be easy to reach without standing on the soil.

, Groundwork:

Get rid of all weeds before planting.

The better your soil, the better the results. Drainage is a must as wet, soggy soil severely inhibits plant growth and leads to disease. Add as much compost as possible.

, Building up:

On wet or very heavy soils, the best remedy is to build raised beds above ground level and fill them with the best topsoil, compost or soil mix that you can get. Raised beds allow you to start a new garden without digging and can make easier work of weeding and planting, especially if you include wide edges for sitting.

Climbing beans

gogardening.co.nz 37

NEW

E

R

S A E L E

Living Fashion Stunning neon pink flowers for an enchanting garden

www.livingfashion.co.nz for more information or scan here

– sweetcorn – beans – carrots – spinach – beetroot – sunflowers

– lettuces – rocket – coriander – dill – fennel

11

Plant sweetcorn in a block rather than a single row for better pollination (hence fully formed cobs).

12

Root crops like carrots and beetroot are best sown directly into the garden and thinned out to make space as they grow.

13

Sow salad seeds in fortnightly batches for non-stop picking.

PROTECT

14

Protect vulnerable young seedlings from slugs and snails. Read about this at www.gogardening.co.nz

15

Use netting over wire frames to keep seedlings safe from birds or rabbits. The same frames can be used for frost cloth if a late unseasonal frost is forecast.

16

If summer pests get the better of you, seek advice at your Go Gardening centre. Most sprays (natural or otherwise) will kill the good insects along with the bad, so the less you spray the less you will need to spray. Neem oil is a natural biodegradable spray that controls many pest insects and is believed to be non-toxic to beneficial insects.

edibles

SOW

17

Tomato and potato psyllid (TPP) is a major problem in some areas and difficult to detect before the damage is done.

This pest can be controlled with Yates Mavrik, taking care to spray the entire leaf surface.

Pick beans often

MULCH

18

Great for all summer vege plants, mulching is the best way to keep moisture in the soil, where it is needed most. A good layer of organic mulch will also save you hours of weeding and enrich your soil as it rots down.

19

Useful materials include compost, bark, pine needles, leaves, and pea straw. Beware of products that may contain weed seeds.

20

As you trim herbs and shrubs, lay the prunings on the ground as mulch.

21

Pea straw placed around fruiting plants like cucumbers, strawberries, eggplants, and dwarf tomatoes keeps the fruit clean and dry.

Tomatoes and basil Aubergine

22

Plastic weed mat is also used for this purpose. It is an effective weed barrier, and can help keep the soil warm, but lacks the advantage of improving the organic content of the soil.

Cucumber

gogardening.co.nz 39

WATER edibles

23

Though greatly assisted with the laying of a good mulch, watering gets more and more important as summer goes on. Always water after planting and before laying mulch.

24 25

Avoid watering in the middle of a hot day when evaporation is fast. If possible, water in the morning before the sun gets up.

Above: Zucchini in bloom.

Right: Tomatoes thrive on potassiumrich fertiliser and need regular watering, especially when in fruit.

FEED

26

Rapid growth needs food to fuel it. Apply fertiliser at planting time or as a side dressing once crops start growing. To make it easy, there is a wide range of plant foods formulated for specific crops.

27

Once the fruit first appears plants need ample nutrients to support the best crops. Tomatoes respond well to fertiliser high in potassium. A homemade fertiliser made from comfrey leaves is ideal.

28

Organic fertilisers add humus as well as nutrients, helping to preserve the long-term health of your soil.

29

Fast-acting fertilisers (liquids, powders or granules) provide a quick boost when used as a supplement to compost and longer-term fertilisers.

30

Veges grown in containers need the most feeding.

Use regular liquid feeding as a supplement to slow release fertilisers.

PICK

31 32

Pick salad greens regularly to maintain fresh healthy growth.

Beans and zucchini taste best if picked when young and tender, and cooked the day they are picked, and frequent picking keeps them cropping for longer.

GET CREATIVE! A summer vege garden can be as visually beautiful as it is productive.

Make the most of all the different shades of green, blue and purple, and brightly coloured silver beet stems.

Herbs and flowers planted for extra colour will also attract beneficial insects and help repel pests.

Archways, teepees and obelisks provide charming vertical accent.

Add further character with pots, sculptures or seats. Bay trees 40 go gardening summer

THINKSTOCK.COM

Tomatoes and other fruiting plants need regular watering especially once the fruit appears.

33

The shorter the time from picking to eating, the sweeter your sweetcorn will be. Cobs are ready when the silks turn dark brown. If you’re not sure, open the husk at the top and press a grain with your fingernail. If it is soft with a thick creamy juice it’s ready.

34

Chillies and sweet peppers can be picked at the green stage, but flavour and sweetness intensifies with maturity. The hotter the weather, the hotter the chilli!

35

Pumpkins and melons need a full summer to ripen. In cooler climates, look for quick maturing varieties.

and citrus trees make lovely centrepieces. However beware of creating too much shade.

While border hedges look very attractive, they do take a lot of space, and compete with veges for light, food and water. If you do have room for a little hedge, consider Chilean guava for its colourful and sweet late-summer berries. Or try an edible border of parsley, chives or thyme.

Living Fashion

Penstemons

Penstemon ‘Blueberry Taffy’

Penstemon ‘Strawberry Taffy’

Penstemon ‘Watermelon Taffy’

Penstemon ‘Grape Taffy’

Living Fashion

www.livingfashion.co.nz Available at your garden centre or by mail www.parvaplants.co.nz

QR Scan with your smart phone for our full Penstemon range (requires QR Reader download from your App Store)

competitions

GIVEAWAYS Two new books offer loads of inspiration for small spaces…

EMBRACE YOUR SPACE – CREATE A PRODUCTIVE URBAN OASIS IN NEW ZEALAND

By Janet Luke. Published by New Holland.

This second book by the author of ‘Green Urban Living’ was inspired by her own ‘edible balcony’. The 4x2m space adjoining her kitchen was borne of a desire for escapism, “A mother needs a place to hide from her children during the late afternoon witching hour”. Such realism pervades this colourful and companionable book, a treasure trove of information for anyone wanting to grow veges in limited space. Simple step-by-step projects make great use of low cost recycled materials. We love the chapter on fruit and berries, and another on how to grow mushrooms.

We have two copies, valued at $45 each, to give away. See entry details on following page.

WIN CRAZYTUNIAS

These amazing new petunias flower profusely and continuously, all summer long, on robust high vigour plants perfect for pots and hanging baskets. Read more on page 20 or go to www.gardeningsolutionz.co.nz.

We have 20 Crazytunia plants to give away, valued at $10 each. See entry details on following page.

BIG IDEAS FOR SMALL GARDENS – CLEVER WAYS TO ENHANCE NEW ZEALAND OUTDOOR SPACES

By Carol Bucknell and Sally Tagg. Published by Penguin Books.

This beautifully illustrated book is well timed for summer living. Packed with creative landscaping ideas, it suggests how we can make the best use of our outdoor spaces and add value to our homes. Chapters are devoted to walls, floors, steps, overhead structures, water, furniture and decoration. The edibles section combines the pretty with the practical, while a useful plant directory features a selection of plants that work well in small gardens. It’s a book to dip into whenever you’re in need of creative inspiration. It’s a book to keep and a wonderful gift.

We have two copies, valued at $45 each, to give away. See entry details on following page.

Share the love of gardening advice, handy tips and news WIN

Go Garde nin gift cards g

by enteri ng competit our ions $ 500 PRIZ

E POOL!

www.facebook.com/gogardeningnz

42 42 gogo gardening gardeningspring summer

WIN NEW PHOSTROGEN LIQUID TOMATO AND VEGETABLE FOOD New Phostrogen

Liquid Tomato and Vegetable Food provides the correct balance

of nutrients needed for high yields and optimum quality and flavour. It is enriched with magnesium and seaweed to meet the needs of tomatoes and other fruiting plants. Each 1L bottle makes about 50 watering cans of plant food.

We have twelve 1L bottles of Phostrogen Liquid Tomato and Vegetable Food to give away, valued at $19.95 each. See entry details on right.

WIN YATES ZERO POWER TRIGGER

WIN YATES PRIZE PACK

Here’s a treat from Yates, perfectly timed to support the spring growth flush.

For lush green, healthy, disease resistant lawns it’s time to apply Yates Lawn Master Rapid Greening. This convenient hose-on product feeds 75m2 of lawn. For flowers and fruiting plants, Yates Thrive plant foods in special new liquid formulations make it easy to make sure your plants get all the nutrients they need. Each 500mL bottle makes up to 150L. We have three Yates prize packs to give away, valued at $130 per pack.

Each pack contains one each of Yates Thrive Roses and Flowers Liquid Plant Food, Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food, Yates Thrive Strawberry and Berry Plant Food, Yates Lawn Master Rapid Greening 500ml, plus the Yates Microgreens seeds range (4 different packets) and your copy of the 78th Edition of Yates Garden Guide. Find out more about these products at www. yates.co.nz. See entry details below.

Yates Zero kills weeds quickly, roots and all and it’s even easier with the new refillable Yates Zero Power Trigger. One squeeze sets off a batterypowered spray function. Find out more at www.yates.co.nz We have five Yates Zero Power Trigger RTU packs, worth $29.99 each, to give away.

See entry details on right.

HOW TO ENTER

Choose one of three ways to be in to win any of the prizes on these pages: 1. ENTER ONLINE at www.gogardening.co.nz OR 2. EMAIL info@nginz.co.nz with the name of the product you wish to win in the subject line. Please include your name, city, phone number and email address, OR 3. ENTRY BOX: write which prize you wish to win, followed by your name, physical address, telephone number and email address on the back of an envelope and drop it in a Go Gardening Entry Box at your nearest Go Gardening retailer.

4. POST to Go Gardening Giveaways, PO Box 3443, Wellington 6140.

ENTRIES CLOSE on Sunday December 15, 2013 and must be received by NGINZ not later than Thursday December 19, 2013.

Be in to WIN $500

PRIZE-POOL OF GO GARDENING GIFT CARDS

Simply fill in the entry form below and drop it into the entry box next time you shop at a Go Gardening retailer.

Alternatively you can post your entry form to Go Gardening Competition, PO Box 3443, Wellington 6140.

The lucky winner receives a Go Gardening Gift Card to the value of $250, and five runners up receive cards worth $50 each.

Visit www.gogardening.co.nz/retailers to find your nearest retailer.

Enter now! The last day for entry is Sunday 15th December 2013.

For terms and conditions go to www.gogardening.co.nz Title:

First Name:

Family Name:

Address: Phone: Mobile: Email address: Name the Garden Centre where you received your copy of Go Gardening: Please tick here if you do not wish to receive any further correspondence.

gogardening.co.nz 43

NOTICE BOARD Summer Events Nov 1-10 Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular, www.gardenfestnz.co.nz and Taranaki Fringe Garden Festival, www.taranakigardens.co.nz

Nov 10

Coatesville Garden Ramble. www.albanyrotary.org.nz

Nov 11-17

Nelson Growables Garden Week. www.itson.co.nz

Nov 16-17

Auckland Garden DesignFest. www.gardendesignfest.co.nz

Nov 7-10 Nelmac Garden Marlborough. www.gardenmarlborough.co.nz

Nov 16-17

Coromandel gardens, arts and crafts.

Ph 078668563 email: daverob.dudson@xtra.co.nz

Nov 8-11

NZ Iris Society Convention Timaru. www.nziris.org.nz

Nov 9-10

The Gisborne Garden & Arts Festival. www.gisbornefestival.co.nz

Nov 23-24 The World Federation Rose Convention and lecture program Palmerston North. email: haydenfoulds@gmail.com www.nzroses.org.nz

Nov 9-10

Nov 23-24 Waihi Garden Ramble.

Nov 9-10 Palmers Planet Mangawhai Garden Ramble.

Nov 30 Great Barrier Island Spectacular by Nature Garden Tour. www.thebarrier.co.nz

Nov 9-10

Feb 22-23 Heroic Garden Festival, Auckland. www.heroicgardens.org.nz

Jassy Dean Garden Safari, Waiheke Island. www.jassydeantrust.co.nz www.mangawhai.co.nz

Country Garden Ramble, Manawatu. email: manawatu@zonta.org.nz

Nov 10

Wadestown School House and Garden Walk, Wellington. www.wadestownschoolpta.co.nz

Ph 07 8636988, email: lizinwaihi@xtra.co.nz

Feb 26 - Mar 2

The Ellerslie International Flower Show, North Hagley Park, Christchurch. Find out more on page 46 and at www.ellerslieflowershow.co.nz

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A contemporary range of Dahlia just right for today’s gardens. These beauties are set apart from other Dahlia by their fashionable filigreed mahogany to black foliage topped with the most vivid blooms.

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· Vivid Blooms in a range of fashion colours · Good vase life · Black foliage · Long flowering period · Staking not required

Dream Seeker

a fantastic new range of Dahlia from NZ’s premier breeder – Dr Keith Hammett.

Reader’s Top Tips Go Gardening is all about sharing the love of gardening!

Here are some of the best gardening tips from our readers who entered our recent Facebook competition.

WINNING TIP: When planting small vege plants put 1 tsp of sugar and 1 tsp of Epsom salts into the hole before the seedling then plant as usual and watch the growth. I’ve tried it and my plants were at LEAST one third bigger and grew faster.

Highly recommended. If plants are very small

Look out for future competitions at www.facebook.com/gogardeningnz

use 1/2 tsp of both. – Sonya Costello

OTHER TOP TIPS:

, Insert a 10cm piece of copper wire

, Plant your plant and put a brick on the , After I’ve finished weeding around

through the main stem of your tomato plants about 10cm above the ground to prevent fungal disease.

top of the soil for one month. The plant keeps moist, and grows every time.

established plants, I layer some very wet newspaper over the cleared soil and pile the weeds back on top - this stops more weeds growing in the short term and after a while turns into delicious compost.

, Flatten a banana peel and bury it

, Befriend your local cycle shop. Old cycle

under one inch of soil at the base of a rosebush. The peel’s potassium feeds the plant and helps it resist disease... works for tomato plants too.

inner tubes are great to cut up and use for securing climbing plants. Way less severe than string.

, Grow potatoes in tyres filled with

moss or straw. As the plant grows add another tyre. When time to harvest remove tyres one at a time.

Nice clean potatoes and great for small sections too!

, Always carry a potato in the boot of your , If you’re buying for a whole new car. When you take a plant cutting dig it into the potato. The starch in the potato acts like a rooting hormone and the moisture keeps the cutting moist.

garden, take a photo of it so when you’re in the store you can refer back to it for inspiration, and so you don’t forget anything!

subscribe now!

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gogardening.co.nz 45

advertorial

GARDENS GALORE AT ELLERSLIE 2014 PHOTO: ALLAN POLLOCK-MORRIS

Inspiring gardens are at the heart of Ellerslie International Flower Show, and next year’s event will boast a record number.

FIRST BIG NAME ANNOUNCED FOR ELLERSLIE 2014 Andy Sturgeon is one of the United Kingdom’s leading garden designers, whose modern designs are a fusion of traditional and contemporary materials Andy Sturgeon will be Ellerslie’s Convenor of Judges in 2014.

The winner of six gold medals at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show and Best in Show 2010, Mr Sturgeon regularly appears on TV and writes for numerous UK newspapers and magazines. His practice creates bold, architectural and timeless landscapes around the world.

W

ith more than twice as many gardens as there were in this year’s show – and more than ever before in the show’s 21-year history – February’s event will cement Ellerslie as a leading horticultural attraction.

Feedback from visitors to the 2013 show is being taken onboard, especially the request for even more of the unique and creative gardens that make the show such a magnet for plant lovers, says Ellerslie general manager Kate Hillier.

A new school garden category will let young imaginations run riot.

“We’re expecting some of the most whimsical and colourful design schemes the show has ever seen,” says Ms Hillier.

Another move likely to prove popular with visitors is pulling the event forward into late summer.

Giving designers more flowers to choose from, the new date also boosts the already high chance of Christchurch turning on dry, sunny weather, says Ms Hillier.

“We’re acting on public feedback, along with expert advice from horticulturalists and research into decades of weather records. Even though we’re moving the event less than a fortnight, we’re on the cusp of the seasons and the difference is quite dramatic.”

Ellerslie is New Zealand’s premier garden event that celebrates Christchurch’s Garden City heritage and culture. Just like the famous Chelsea Flower Show in London, Ellerslie forecasts the latest trends.

“Visitors to Ellerslie get the first chance to see the hottest new plants, colours and looks by the country’s leading landscape architects and garden designers,” says Ms Hillier.

TICKETS ON SALE FROM NOVEMBER Ellerslie International Flower Show 2014 will be held in North Hagley Park, Christchurch from 26 February – 2 March. Tickets are on sale from November at www.ellerslieflowershow.co.nz

BOOK YOUR BED NOW Christchurch offers a diverse and increasing range of accommodation. There’s something for every level of comfort and budget, but for the best choice and value we suggest you get in early with your Ellerslie booking.

See www.christchurchnz.com/ accommodation.

46 go gardening summer

A new School Garden category will feature at the 2014 Ellerslie International Flower Show.

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RELAX!

Here’s your Christmas gift solution...

A Go Gardening gift card can be used to buy everything from plants to pots to giftware to garden tools and accessories.

Available from 170+ Go Gardening retailers nationwide and online at www.gardengiftcards.co.nz