Gardening

Have a gardening question you need help with? The Daltons gardening experts are here to help with your gardening questions! Send in your gardening question and you could win a Daltons gardening prize pack! See entry details below.

Congratulations to Wendy Neame with a question about growing tackling thrips. Do you have any ideas for stopping or reducing the number of thrips on plants such as Portuguese laurel and Rhododendrons?

Rhododendrons and all Portuguese Laurels are especially prone to thrips. They are tiny insects that attack plants en masse and suck the sap out of leaves. The symptoms of thrips are visible on the upper side of a leaf by a grey, silvery colouring, while on the underside of the leaf, a brown and sometimes-sticky appearance is very obvious. Spray your trees regularly with a good quality horticultural oil, especially the undersides of leaves. While spraying can kill the thrips, the symptoms will remain on your leaf until they fall and are replaced in the growing season. You can reduce the incidence of thrips infections by maintaining the plant’s optimum growth. Ensure they are well fertilised in spring /early summer – use Daltons Premium Tree and Shrub Fertiliser on your Portuguese Laurels, and Daltons Premium Acid Fertiliser on your Rhododendrons. Keep plants well mulched and watered over summer. The less vigorous the trees are growing, the more prone they are to thrips. To avoid reinfection next growing season, ensure you remove and burn all infected leaves as they fall off the trees (even though the plant is evergreen). Other products to try: Daltons Premium Mulch and Grow You may also find it helpful to read our free How To Grow Guides for more gardening advice: www.daltons.co.nz/how-to-guides.

Win a $70 Daltons Summer Care Pack

Regular mulching is a must for your summer garden! It protects the soil from powerful sunlight, regulates soil temperatures, and helps keep moisture in and weeds out. Adding a thick layer of mulch or compost around your plants or garden. Help your garden survive summer with our Daltons Summer Care Pack. To enter, email your gardening question to nelsonmag@daltons.co.nz with Daltons prize pack in the subject heading. Giveaway entries must be received by Monday 17 January 2021.

The one-stop solution for the home gardener

Höglund Glassblowing Studio - a family affair

Ola and Marie Höglund at their glass studio. When Ola and Marie of Höglund Glass met at boarding school in Sweden at the age of fifteen they had no idea that their meeting would eventually launch the brand for which they are now famous the world over. Both worked at the Boda Glassworks before being accepted to study at the Orrefors Glass School in southern Sweden. They then spent three years in Swaziland establishing a glass workshop, the beginning of their glass blowing adventures in other parts of the world.

Hearing about a glass business in Hokitika, they made the move to the West Coast of New Zealand, working there for three years before setting up a glass studio at Craft Habitat in Richmond.

In 1993 the couple moved to a brand-new glass blowing complex in Lansdowne Road, Appleby which has been the Höglund Glass home base ever since. For the last 12 years Marie and Ola have been making glass in Queensland, and then Central Otago during the winters, while their son Ossie and his wife Annie have maintained the Nelson studio. They are now back on home turf and enjoying the chance to be together as a family and creating glass work together. Their other son Oliver continues to make glass lampshades in the Queensland studio which are sold in the Nelson gallery as well. Marie is conscious that not everyone can afford some of the highly complex large glass pieces they produce and has worked to establish a range of beautiful items priced under $100. These include exquisite blown glass birds, the popular vinegar and oil bottles, goblets and a wide range of exquisite dichroic glass jewellery that she and long-time staff member Mel produce. The pendants, earrings and cufflinks in rainbow-like colours have become extremely popular with people wanting a unique piece in their jewellery collection. With so many years of packing glass items to travel all around the world behind them, the team at Höglund Glass Studio are expert packers and every day packages leave for all corners of the globe. Those purchasing from elsewhere however, don’t have the joy of being able to come and enjoy the extensive studio and on weekday mornings, watching the glassblowers magically blow molten glass into all manner of designs. Höglund glass can be found in public and private collections around the world and Nelson is fortunate to have the heart of this highly successful glass making business on their doorstep. With each piece individually made, you will find the perfect unique gift that can be wrapped beautifully and sent to any location, bringing pleasure for any occasion.

Höglund Art Glass 52 Lansdowne Road, Appleby, Richmond Ph 03 544 6500 Visitors Welcome 10am – 4pm hoglundartglass.com

Nelson Classic Car Museum Museum Store

1 Cadillac Way, Annesbrook 03 547 4570

nelsonclassiccarmuseum.nz

Höglund Art Glass Studio & Gallery

52 Lansdowne Road, Appleby, Nelson Open 7 days 10am – 4pm 03 544 6500 hoglundartglass.com

Chocolate Dog Studio

See Jane’s work at chocolatedogillustration.co.nz Buy the Otter book online at copypress.co.nz/shop/mr-otter-river/

Hawk’s Valley Sculpture Gallery

190 Williams Road, Tasman Open most days. A call is appreciated. 021 267 1127 laurenkitts.co.nz

Belinda Wilson

15 South Street, Nelson Open every Saturday 10am - 2pm and by appointment. 021 731 007 belindawilson.co.nz

ATELIER Studio | Gallery

329 Trafalgar Square 021 166 8327 Tues - Fri 10am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 1pm

atelier.org.nz

The Suter Art Gallery

208 Bridge Street, Nelson Open 7 days 9.30am -4.30pm 03-548 4699 thesuter.org.nz

Lynette Graham Fabric Design + Artist

125 Mapua Drive, Mapua. 021 731 737 or see online shop. Lynettegraham.co.nz

Purpose Gallery

5 Iwa St, Mapua Thurs – Mon, 11am - 5pm, open to public. Tues – Wed, by private appointment. purpose.gallery

Michael MacMillan Sculptor & Country Homeware

252 Neudorf Rd, Upper Moutere Fri, Sat, Sun and Mon 10am – 4pm and Tues – Thurs by appt. 021 069 1401 michaelmacmillan.co.nz

The Artist Goldsmith

Christine Hafermalz-Wheeler Central Nelson. By appointment 021 817 209 TheArtistGoldsmith.com

Cathy Jones 4 Art

027 546 9499 1/47A Washington Rd. Open Wednesdays 12-5pm, and by appointment.

Michael MacMillan and Jackie Crow look forward to welcoming you at their Sculpture and Country Homeware store.

Creativity a way of life

The Upper Moutere has become a destination for locals and visitors to the Nelson region with its wealth of artists and artisan producers. Throughout the last fourteen years Michael MacMillan and partner Jackie Crow have created their own boutique destination, Sculpture & Country Homeware, a combination of two gallery spaces showcasing Michael’s exquisite sculpture along with items made from traditional French oak barrels, photography, painting, jewellery and country homewares.

Housed in a rusticated barn with beautiful bricked courtyard, it is a place where visitors can also enjoy a coffee while appreciating the surrounding views and outdoor sculpture. Originally a potter, Michael discovered a love of sculpture early in his creative career and his pieces are made from wood, bronze, concrete and corten steel. They range in scale from indoor coffee table sized to large outdoor pieces and are making their artistic impression throughout New Zealand and overseas.

Most popular as gifts are the modern rustic barrel platters, cheeseboards and French-style rolling pins. Michael prefers using the timber from traditional French oak barrels because it has a tight and attractive grain and is extremely durable. The timber is harvested and left to age before being turned into wine barrels. After five to seven years of use it is retired and becomes the perfect resource for his creations. “By the time I get it the wine is infused in the wood, giving off a delicious aroma,” he says. The first layer is scraped off, popped into tins and sold as wine-infused woodchips, a perfect addition to BBQs or smokers. The store and gallery walls are a backdrop for Jackie’s distinctive photography set in stylish contemporary ply frames along with art by several local artists including Helena Morris, Kerry Fenton-Johns, Candy Clarke and Sally Burton. Other local artisans contribute mushrooms, black garlic, olive oil and honey to add to the local flavour. Michael and Jackie particularly enjoy the interaction they have with visitors. “We love the reaction we get when people come for the first time,” says Jackie. “They are so surprised by all the things that are created here by our family, daughter Poppy included, along with the French feel. Some of them have heard of our famous grapevine Christmas trees and wreaths but have no idea of the variety of other things on offer”. “We are noticing increasingly that buyers are moving away from throwaway items”, adds Michael. “They want pieces that are going to last and have a story to them.” Whether undertaking commissions, designing corporate awards, making sculpture or fashioning homewares, every single item is made to an exceptionally high standard with a whole lot of love added in. A relatively short and lovely drive from most places in the region, Michael and Jackie’s Gallery is a must to visit. You’ll be delighted you made the effort.

Michael MacMillan Sculptor & Country Homeware 252 Neudorf Road, Nelson 03 543 2252 michaelmacmillan.co.nz