Site Plan Creating a site plan for your fruit tree orchard is essential for effective management. A straightforward layout that indicates the location and type of each tree—such as apple, peach, pear, and plum—provides a clear reference for future care.The next step is to track harvest times and annotate this information on your plan. This … Read More
Many thanks to Portstone Garden Centre for this update. CHS Members enjoy a 15% discount at Portstone Garden Centre www.portstone.co.nz Plant of the Month Who likes nothing better than to pick and taste their home-grown tomatoes? Full of flavour and so many varieties to choose from. From cherry tomatoes to beef steak; … Read More
Outside In By Sean A Pritchard $75, Hardback (limited stock so get in quick!) In his debut book, garden designer Sean A Pritchard shows you how to plan a garden so that every month of the year there’s something to bring indoors and display in an engaging way. From the cheery joy of early … Read More
February heralds the beginning of peak harvest time for most of our fruit and vegetables that were planted in Spring and early Summer before Christmas. The flower garden will be blooming as the dahlias, begonias, perennials and Summer annuals reach their showy best.
Michael Coulter shares his Summer gardening tips on everything to do in the busy month of December including fruit trees, flowers and lawns. December heralds the start of Summer and a wonderful time in garden with the ripening of berry fruit and stone fruit not far behind. We have just received a good fall of … 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
Lemon Verbena (Lippia citrodoro or Aloysia citrodora) When brushing past the foliage of a Lemon Verbena shrub, you are surrounded by a most refreshing perfumed fragrance, redolent of lemons. The leaves are light green, thin and pointed with a slightly sticky feel and a wonderful citrus aroma. This versatile plant which originates from Chile, could … Read More
This is one of the busy times in the garden when many of the fruit trees will start to ripen their fruit. Berry fruits are well through their season so a tidy up of any branches that have finished fruiting will give room for new growth in preparation for next year’s fruit. Strawberry plants can look … 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
Rosemary The plant’s botanical name used to be called Rosmarinus officinalis but it was decided by the RHS in 2019, the plant is now to be called Salvia rosmarinus, following research that shows it’s a salvia (in the sage family). Rosemary is the herb of remembrance. The scent of the needle-like leaves seems somewhere between the tang of … Read More