Flower Garden Carry on with bulb planting. Remember many bulbs do just as well in pots. Plant Spring flowering plants such as polyanthus, primulas, pansies, poppies and forget-me-nots. Lift dahlias and begonias after frosts, cut back the tops and store in a cool dark place. Cut back by about 1/3 chrysanthemums as the flowers finish. … Read More
Looks and tastes like an apple but has the skin and texture of a pear. A NZ bred hybrid of European and Asian pears with stunning almost fluorescent pinkish-red skin. Sweeter and more complex flavours than traditional nashi with the same juiciness. This plant was released in small numbers last year and was a hit … Read More
Flower Garden As summer flowers pass their best remove them and prepare the ground for planting for Winter/Spring flowers like pansy, wall flowers, polyanthus and violas. Now is bulb planting time. Choose good firm unblemished bulbs and plant as soon as possible so they get a good start. Sow sweet peas now in good deep … Read More
Mother of Herbs (Plectranthus amboinicus) Common Names: Indian borage, Spanish thyme or Cuban oregano. This is an exciting new herb to add to our already extensive range and is used in traditional Indian medicine for its soporific qualities among other things. If you have trouble sleeping try adding one leaf to a cup of boiling … Read More
Blueberry ‘Swirl’ Exclusive for CHS Members Blueberries are considered a wonder food and are a fantastic addition to the garden, whether grown as a specimen plant in a container, or as a low hedge. New for 2014 and exclusive to Oderings is Blueberry ‘Swirl’. This delicious treat is a busy ‘rabbit eye’ type and is … Read More
My first day in shorts. It has been a marvelous spring. Things are earlier than usual. Don’t go putting in warm loving plants just yet. Put tomatoes in a warm corner, but not outside. It’s still too early. The nor’ easter is a most limiting wind. The NIWA weather outlook: September 2013 was characterised by much … Read More
Fruit Tree Pruning Demonstration 10am, Saturday 6 July [highlight type=”light”]FREE [/highlight] Up your skills with a FREE pruning demonstration by the experts from the CHS & Fruit Trees in Schools Project. Bring the family and enjoy a sausage sizzle. West Spreydon School, Lyttelton Street Contact the CHS for further details or cancellations: CHS tel: (03) … Read More
JUNE ALL ABOUT GARDENING With Michael Coulter Winters here. NIWA has said that what we got the last few weeks is basically what we’ll get all through June. May was cold. Hate winter. Hate cold. Overall, temperatures for winter 2013 (June – August) are very likely to be above average across the entire country. However, … Read More
MAY 2013 ALL ABOUT GARDENING With Alan Jolliffe Michael is away on chrysanthemum duties so I’m in the hot seat this month. The only reason I have a laptop with me is that I’ve left my papers at home. In your garden – autumn. ‘What a mess’ This is the time to think…….what did I like … Read More
Many of our members are establishing new gardens on old sites post-earthquake. This might pose some problems so look out for: Interference from surroundings such as established big trees over the fence that might take all the nutrients and moisture from the soil. You will need to compensate for this at least until your new … Read More