You may have seen one on a garden makeover show or heard their words of wisdom on the radio, or even had your garden transformed by one… landscape designers , whilst diverse in their individual styles and in the way they present their ideas, have a shared passion for plants, landscapes and the people who […]
Timing is one of the most important aspects of gardening if you wish to have fresh vegetables to eat straight from the garden during winter and colourful flower displays in your borders and containers. Timing requires that you plant about now, seeds or seedlings that will just about reach maturity as winter sets in. If […]
Weeds are both a boon and a curse to gardeners. You may ask what advantage is there in having weeds? Two aspects immediately spring to mind, weeds are a free source of organic matter for composting and mulching but must be cut and harvested before they set seeds. The second advantage is a much more […]
Calcium is a vital element to all life forms on the planet. For us humans it builds and maintains bones and teeth; regulates heart rhythm; helps regulate the passage of nutrients in & out of the cell walls; assists in normal blood clotting; eases insomnia; maintains proper nerve and muscle function; lowers blood pressure; important […]
This hot, dry summer brings many insect pests into our gardens and onto the plants. There are beetles chewing on the foliage at night (often we don’t see what is doing the damage when we inspect during the day, as they are away hiding). Leaf hoppers and whitefly that flit all around when we disturb […]
It is March already, first month of autumn and only 4 weeks till daylight savings ends. Daylight savings gives us a perception that the days are still long, with a good amount of time in the early evening to do a few jobs outside as well as water. We run by the clock on the […]
Cherry trees in blossom herald the beginning of spring, not only in New Zealand but in many parts of the world. In Japan there is a believable legend that each spring a fairy maiden hovers low in the warm sky, wakening the sleeping Cherry trees to life with her delicate breath. We can divide the […]
A question that I am often asked is about the need to sterilise soil in areas where a crop is grown each year, such as tomatoes or potatoes. The reason that a number of gardeners wish to sterilise the soil in a given area is because they believe that the process will clean up pathogens […]
