Landscape Designer Blog New Zealand

Sunset at Mt. Atkins. Titirangi, Auckland. Landscape photos NZLANDSCAPES.COM.

Watering gardens on a frosty morning may seem like the most unusual thing to do in your garden, it will in fact save your more fragile plants from extreme cellular damage. When the sun reaches your plants surface, the sun will infact defrost your more suseptible plants entirely and turn them to mush. By watering all your plants that are at risk, lightly with a fine mist, covering the entire plant with the mist. Water early in the morning (before the sun hits foliage) so frost damage can be avoided. In some cases the damage may already have been done and you may need to introduce frost cloth to your more favoured plants.

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Astelia 'Silver Spear' is a hardy, clump-forming perennial with elegant silvery spear-shaped leaves. In very cold winters in exposed areas plants may suffer frost damage and may benefit from protection. This plant can make a dramatic feature in the garden especially when planted close to purple-foliage plants such as Heuchera' Chocolate Ruffles . It makes an unusual alternative to Phormium tenax (New Zealand common flax).

Astelia chathamica'Silver Spear' This plant is found growing nowdays in most areas of New Zealand and is seen more frequently throughout Auckland city as a landscape feature plant. Astelia is an attractive silver green leaf plant usefull for many landscaping situations. Placed in feature pots to accenuate colour and texture, or in larger garden beds for dramatic plant foliage and colour. Also versatile as night time plantings for evening gardens with stunning effects achieved while using Astelia under landscape lighting. Able to withstand varying climates Astelia are found to grow in dry to moist free draining soils in part shade to full sun positioning. Plants can be divided carefully by splitting the plant at the base or smaller plantlets can be propagated from the mother plants when they are showing.

Winter is the best time of year to plant your roses. Whether bare rooted, bagged or potted roses, this time of year is the prime time to select new roses for your garden or transplant existing roses within your garden. During the winter the rose slows down in growth. Planting roses at this time will encourage new root growth ready for new buds to swell and burst into growth in spring. Plant your roses into prepared garden beds or locations within your garden where you have added plenty of organic matter or compost into the soil. Incorporate plenty of compost into a deeply dug hole, usually 2-3 spades deep. The addition of seaweed to the base of your planting hole has been recommended by a rose grower growing in the Waikato region of New Zealand. She also recommends shredded banana skins spread around the base of your roses during the flowering period, helping to produce sensational award winning rose blooms.

A simple mixture or solution for an oil spray to control insects during winter is: - 1 cup vegetable oil - 2 tablespoons liquid soap/ dishwashing liquid - 4 liters of water Mixing- Combine the soap and oil and blend thoroughly, add the water a bit at a time, stirring as you go, the mixture does not always combine well, the soap will help there. Pour mixture into garden sprayer. Spray a coat of the mixture over the entire plant. Shake sprayer frequently as you are spraying to keep mixture combined. 4 liters will cover a mature fruit tree as an example.