We Kiwis love our gardens. Apparently, gardening itself is still one our most popular pastimes. However, despite surveys suggesting the contrary, more and more of us are opting for the ‘do-it-for-me’ approach. We want our homes to look as smart and stylish on the outside as they do indoors, and increasingly, we’re just as happy […]
Like one fabulous fling before we settle down to winter, autumn is the season for colour. Deciduous trees radiate fiery reds and golds, while late blooming perennials and hibiscus turn up the heat. After a long hot summer, perfect planting weather will soon be upon us and we’ll be inspired to get creative outdoors. When […]
Gardening, or more to the point, growing as many of your own fruit and vegetables as you can, is one way to off-set the times when your dollar has to stretch further. Most readers aged around their sixties will remember growing up at a time when our parents were very conscious of hard times. In […]
Now is the time to re-invent native planting. The 1980s saw what I like to call the ‘early period’ of native planting design. It was based on the ‘DoC Visitor Centre’ idiom – a bushy thicket of mixed vigorous shrubs and trees with a scattering of sedges or grasses at the edges – oh, and […]
On 11th of March the gates for the first Christchurch-hosted Ellerslie International Flower Show open, promising “the biggest and the best show” in Ellerslie’s 14-year-old history. With more than 80 horticultural exhibits, the stage is set to develop the Southern Hemisphere’s largest garden show into one of the top five garden shows in the world, […]
Hawke’s Bay to host New Zealand Soil Carbon Conference The international spotlight will be on Hawke’s Bay when the NZ Soil Carbon Conference is held in Napier in June. Featuring international experts, renowned scientists and industry leaders, the three day conference will focus on the reality of climate change, biological farming and the huge global […]
Conserving areas of bush and forest in cities is essential to the conservation of New Zealand’s wasp species, according to research from Victoria University. With more than 1,000 native species, wasps are an important part of New Zealand’s biodiversity says Dr Rudi Schnitzler. “Despite their fearsome reputation, very few wasps are capable of stinging humans; […]
Sustainability is a buzzword which permeates flower shows these days – and this year’s Ellerslie International Flower Show is no exception. Waterwise planting, water recycling, intelligent use of water, low-energy gardens and restoring soil nutrients are all key international garden trends and many of these concepts will be seen in two exhibition gardens at […]
