The Land Gardeners – Cut Flowers Bridget Elworthy and Henrietta Courtauld 9781760761738 | $55.00 Review by Scorpio Books New edition by popular demand! HEALING OUR SOILS, HEALING OUR PLANTS, HEALING OUR PLANET The Land Gardeners show you how to establish organic garden beds and sow, grow and harvest over 100 varieties of cut flowers. In … Read More
Grow – Wāhine Finding Connection Through Food Sophie Merkens 9780995142367 | $59.99 Review by Scorpio Books ‘Grow’ follows Sophie Merkens – a photographer and food writer – as she travels the length of Aotearoa seeking stories from women who have special connections with place and community through food. From divers and hunters to chefs, foragers, … Read More
Soil: The incredible story of what keeps the earth, and us, healthy By Matthew Evans 9781922351418 $36.99 Review by Charlotte Nicholl from Scorpio Books What we do to the soil, we do to ourselves. Soil is a joyful, magical book by farmer, cook and environmental warrior Matthew Evans. It tells the unlikely story of our … Read More
Sweet Basil Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum) When we think of basil, chances are that we have Italian Genovese basil in mind, which is often used in pesto and tomato-based dishes. It has shiny dark leaves, and is very aromatic with a sharp, strong taste that compliments the sweet-tangy taste of vine-ripened tomatoes. Other species and hybrids of … Read More
December is a very busy time in the garden! Berry fruit are ripening, plants are growing fast and the first of the stone fruit are ready. Regular weeding and watering are most important at this stage if we expect to get the best from our flowers and vegetables. Once the tops of the spring bulbs … Read More
Edible Flowers With spring blooms starting to colour our gardens after winter, and many of us planting seeds for the coming season, I am excited to propagate a very special set of edibles in my garden – flowers. Edible flowers have seen a revival in interest in recent years as celebrity chefs and home cooks … Read More
It is that time when overwintering pests are starting to venture out. One pest that is not affected by seasons is the common indoor plant annoyance, the sciarid fly or more commonly known as, a fungus gnat.
July is better spent indoors and is certainly not the time to undertake any big outdoor projects! The recent rain will recharge the ground water, hopefully we’ll continue to get more before the spring work starts.
As the ground is now very wet it’s important to avoid digging or planting until the moisture in the soil dries out a little. This prevents damaging the structure of the soil.
April is the real month of autumn when the trees put on their spectacle of coloured leaves. Although we are approaching the end of the growing season for summer fruit, vegetables and flowers, we still have time to prepare the ground for the autumn planting of trees and shrubs.
This is a busy month for bulb planting and for winter annuals such as pansies, violas, polyanthus, primulas, wall flowers, forget-me-nots and poppies.
This month is the transition from summer to autumn and a very busy time in the garden. Nights are cooler and morning dew is on the grass.
Pip fruit harvest time is here with apples and pears at their very best. Choose only the very best, sound fruit for storage over the winter and the second quality fruit for now, or to make into sauces or jelly.