After a typically wet Christmas, summer is just beginning. It’s not too late to plant those colourful flowering plants that will sizzle their way through the hottest months, well into autumn. If you want your flowers to stand out, steer clear of too many pastel shades. Summer’s hottest oranges, yellows and reds hold their own […]
Some gardeners may have been lucky enough to receive a glasshouse for Christmas. If so, congratulations, you are in for a lot of fun. I have been asked several times in the past for basic information about growing in a glasshouse so now is a good time to look at the subject. If you do […]
Worms are the most efficient method of recycling household waste into high value nutrients for the garden. Having your own worm farm is a great way to turn your kitchen scraps into liquid plant food and worm casts (virmicasts) which can then be incorporated into your gardens or containers.
Many beautiful gardens and public landscape plantings owe their success primarily to restricting the colours of flowers, fruits, stems and foliage within a limited, related range. This is sometimes known as colour themes. Some of the first examples of colour theme borders, especially of white flowers and grey and silvery foliage, were created in the […]
Conservation groups are reporting that 2009 is set to be a pivotal year in New Zealand’s sustainable revolution. Green living has now gone mainstream, and it’s everyday people that are leading it. 2008 was a sobering year for environmental news. In October, WWF’s Living Planet Report found that our use of natural resources per person […]
The Ministry of Health is reminding gardening enthusiasts about the dangers of using potting mix without taking the necessary precautions, following a sharp rise in the number of cases last month. 20 cases of legionellosis (also known as Legionnaire’s disease) were notified last month, compared to seven last November. At this stage, five cases are […]
Restricted water supplies could become mandatory in Christchurch by mid-century if population growth is realised and water consumption continues at the current rate. Therefore, the Christchurch City Council has developed a Draft Water Supply Strategy aimed at conserving our drinking water, which comes mainly from aquifers beneath the city and is among the highest quality […]
Long-awaited approval has been given for Hook of Maui and Receding Waters – a dramatic sculptural ‘gateway’ to central Wellington from the north.Wellington City Council’s Strategy and Policy Committee has agreed that the project, started in 2003, should proceed to the construction stage.
