What
fantastic weather – let’s hope
it continues…….
CHRISTMAS
is coming up fast, so here are just a few
ideas to keep your garden looking great and
easy to manage, as well as some rather special
news!
As you may know, HEATHER
and family, after much soul searching, are
leaving to live in Auckland. She will be sorely
missed here of course, but the Garden Centre
will go on as usual (except you will see more
of my face than you may have in the past few
years). We are insisting she visit us regularly!
Sunday this weekend is her last Sunday at
the garden centre. So, put on your gardening
shoes and come in and farewell Heather.
Now to the gardening …………………
In this edition:
ROSES, ROSES,
ROSES - planting
now…
We still have some great varieties
in perfect condition, bursting into bloom.
It’s never too late and
they are ready to plant straight from their
pots straight into the garden. To help them
get a really good start, dig a hole about
twice the size of the pot, fill with water
and, once the hole’s drained put a Gro-tab
in the bottom.
Plunge the rose into a bucket
of water and once the bubbles have stopped,
plant the rose, backfilling with soil mixed
with compost. Firm in well, mulch and give
a good soaking twice a week over summer. Your
roses will reward you well!
Iceberg roses
Fresh stocks of standard Iceberg roses are
arriving December. Fantastic for jujuing the
garden for Christmas, they sell fast, so contact
us as soon as and we can hold for you.
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PERENNIALS
TO GRACE YOUR GARDEN
* Delphiniums
never lose their romance. We have several
grades available including large, instant
plants in flower.
You can plant them in
their buckets now for instant gratification
but remember to remove the pots and plant
properly in autumn!
* Another great line
is the small ‘Delphy’s
which we have in dark and sky blue. They have
multiple heads of flowers and grow to only
30-40cm.
* Perennial verbenas
respond well in sunny well-drained
parts of the garden. You’re spoilt for
choice with our ten colours in the Colourwave
selection which include groundcovers (border
or hanging baskets).
And we have the upright
verbenas which are great for pots and the
“Passion” series with delicate
dense foliage and smaller flowers.
Another favourite is
the species Verbena tenuisecta –
a prostrate form with bright lavender flowers
for months over summer, spreading 80cm.
Our very favourite is
Verbena bonariensis. This upright
form with its purple summer flowers from summer
to autumn seeds readily. It is a great curtain
plant, with an open-branched, transparent
quality and looks especially well in ‘prairie
style’ borders.
* Hostas
are available in many varieties right now.
Lighten up a dark corner with Hosta ‘Frosted
Jade’ – a very large variety with
grey green leaves and a strong white margin.
For chartreuse and lime try a combination
of Hosta ‘Guacamole’, ‘June’
and ‘Sum and Substance’.
* Beautiful
astilbes are ready
for the shade. Their
beautiful ferny foliage with sprays of flowers
are ideal for picking. Use rich red ‘Fanal’
and white ‘Professor van der Weilen’
added to flowers at Christmas. Try cohabiting
hostas and astilbes in shady areas with moist
soil for a lovely combination.
* Hydrangeas
are another summer classic. They are so easy
to grow and bloom all summer long giving maximum
colour for minimum effort. We’ve got
a wide range of both mophead and lacecaps.
The smaller types such as ‘Snowball’
(white of course), ‘Leuchfleur’
(rose pink’ ) and ‘Blaumeise’
(deep blue lacecap).
For instant effect we
have large buckets of the creamy white mophead,
‘Madame Emile Mouillere’. This
is fabulous grown in tubs and pots in the
shade as it has a rather lax habit. Feed up
with Seasol liquid fertiliser for even larger
flowers.
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BEST
GARDENING TIPS AND DEALS
Mulch – it’s
so important for nourishing and protect your
soil. It’s vital for moisture retention,
and also helps keep your soil cooler in summer
(and warmer in winter)!
Come in and get our great deal, on till end
of November – three bags of Mulchpost
for $20.00. Mulchpost
is a combination of compost and bark which
helps protect your garden through the summer.
It’s really important to give your soil
a good soaking first before mulching of course.
Tui Pea Straw Pelletised
Mulch is also available again.
100% weed free organic mulch the pellets are
clean and easy to apply and expand to four
times their size when watered. Each bag makes
approximately 54 litres of mulch.
Protect plants with mulch mats
– ideal for keeping in moisture during
dry weather. Just wrap around the base of
your plant (remember to water first to maximise
moisture retention).
Make spraying easier -
Rose Spray and Fungus Gun in a trigger bottle
all ready to grab and whip out and deal to
those nasties.
Vegetables - some great news.
One of our clients brought in a cauli she
had grown from our punnets. Here is a photo,
just to prove you CAN grow lovely vegetables
yourself! And there is still time to plant
your tomatoes, zuchinni, chillis, sweetcorn
and peppers.
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STOP
PRESS
We have two items under Stop Press. The first
related to the Unsolicited Electronic Messages
Act 2007 which came into force during September,
as you may be aware. This regulates the kinds
of electronic messages you can be sent and
means we must have your permission to send
such messages or newsletters.
Most of you have already given us permission
to send you our newsletter and, of course,
we would like to be able to continue to do
so.
However, if you do not wish to go on receiving
them, you can unsubscribe by contacting us.
If you're still happy to receive our newsletter
and other promotions from us via email you
don't need to do anything at all.
The second item is of GREAT importance:
Don’t forget to come and say goodbye
to Heather on Sunday, her last day……
Till next time
Anne
