Saturday 21st October, 2023
Hi
Stunning specimen trees looking gorgeous in Spring
It's not often that I don't work a Labour Day or, for that matter, any stat holiday, but when my cousin Chris invited me to do some walking at Banks Peninsula with herself and friends, I jumped at the chance. After all the nursery will be in good hands with the team for the entire weekend, and yes of course we are open 8.30 am to 5pm as usual on Monday being Labour Day.
Tony and I flew into Christchurch last night and wandered the city centre but were in awe of that long twilight. You know that it is a fact, but going from Hamilton to further south like that, well it was just so cool and that light is a little eerie especially after 8.30pm. Of course, I am always looking at trees and plants and just can't help myself but all of the trees seemed so much more advanced compared with ours at home. Take the
Pin Oaks or Quercus palustrus in the city centre, well their leaves were all out creating a canopy and had quite a good green shade going on, seemingly well ahead of the ones at home.
I had just assumed that they (being Christchurch) would be behind us in leafing up due to having a cooler climate. Maybe there is something in having a more distinct season than we do in the Waikato or perhaps the longer daylight hours being that pretty neat twilight and a shorter period of darkness. Whatever, I am sure there will be a proper horticultural reason. It could be that the trees in town are warmer due to the built-up areas and the pin oaks that I see are out in the country and our soils are saturated and may not have warmed as fast.
Trees that are suitable as street trees in urban or city landscapes usually tend to be totally tough and hardy and are also the more robust as choices for paddock trees or for those more exposed sites. Most Oaks would fit this bill and the pin oak is one of the more popular choices but you could equally use the classic
English oak being Robur. Then there are the red and scarlet oaks being
Rubra and
Coccinea which both colour beautifully in the Autumn and I know that you will all guess, are red.
The other cityscape trees that I have seen all leaved up here are the tulip trees or
Liriodendron tulipifera and the limes or
Tilias (those are Tilias behind the cottage in the garden centre). Both these make for pretty handsome and hardy shade trees and I used
Liriodendrons as my paddock trees. One because I know they are hardy and two, I love their yellow Autumn tones. I haven't mentioned the
elms or Ulmus and I need to as I have seen some pretty magnificent specimens of the
weeping elm here (oh the trees in Hagley park are just stunning esp if you like big trunks).
Golden elms and the
variegated version carpinifolia variegata also make awesome shade or specimen trees.
On another note, I always think that spring in the Waikato goes on for ages as we have all seen the first signs, what seems a month ago now, but the trees are now full on. It never ceases to amaze me at how fast the growth is once it all gets going and every morning I look at a maple outside the kitchen window which seems to open leaves exponentially. Four days ago, I was looking and struggling to see leaves and now, well, there is a flutter all around the outer perimeter full out but it still has a way to go.
I look at our other trees and hedges and they are all putting out the foliage right now as well and will soon fully expand that new growth. I always say wait for the new growth to fully expand before you think of starting to crown lift or trim. You will know as the colour of the growth will change from that fresh green to its normal colour, perhaps by the end of November usually, but plan some time in December to get everything back in shape before Christmas.
Rose Colour Themes .....Pick 5 and pay for 4
Rose beds could all be of individual colours or all the same colour but not necessarily all the same rose. It's all really down to what each of us all like in a garden. If you pick a bed of all the same rose then they will all be in flower at the same time but what say you pick a mix of yellow floribundas. They will all flower at slightly different times, you will have a mix of hues in the bed and your vase, and the flowering season may never stop unless you cut them all back at the same time.
YELLOW FLORIBUNDAS
RED FLORIBUNDAS
I went and looked up, out of our current range, some similar shades of the same types but you could easily mix floribundas with hybrids teas and so on. Possibilities are endless. Perhaps you could create a discord where you have yellow and purple together or even orange, maybe red with pink. Then there are the gardeners that like to theme and punctuate between colours with a cream or white to keep them separate. Finally, there are those that like a graduation of shades across the spectrum.
ORANGE HYBRID TEAS
PINK HYBRID TEAS
Pick 5 roses and pay for 4 get get the lowest price one free
We need some room to keep spacing the roses as they grow to keep them in the best condition and so its timely to offer a bit of a deal as they start to come into flower. Choose any 5
roses and you will just pay for four as the rose of the lowest value becomes free. If you are planning to put in a new bed of roses, or perhaps even a hedge as we chatted about last week, then this
deal may be for you. The roses are just looking stunning and every day more flowers start to come out. Buy
online or in store.
Proteas 25% off all remaining plants
If you are looking for some additions to the plants that you have for floral work then the team have marked these
proteas down to make room for more spring fluffies or, rather, colour. Remember that the
protea family like poor soil, that is well drained and full sun.
Tree Highlight for the week: Hawthorn
Hawthorn:
Crataegus laevigata. We have a couple of cultivars of these in the garden centre. I know this tree but haven't seen a named cultivar as a specimen in full flower until I spied these yesterday in Hagley Park and they looked stunning. They look pretty cool as a small tree and just covered in delightful rosebud like blossoms which will be followed by berries. Looking for a tough and hardy small tree? Then these may be a go.
Pink Hawthorn:
Crataegus Rosea Flore Pleno. Great masses of double, delightful, fragrant pink blooms put on a showy display in late spring. The flowers eventually turn into red berries in the autumn. In the meantime, you have an easily grown hardy specimen tree that can be used for shelter as it is wind tolerant.
English Hawthorn:
Crataegus Pauls Scarlet. A hardy and robust tree with dark green indented foliage and branches that are laden with little, deep rose red flowers in spring. The flowers are followed by red berries much loved by birds. Happiest in the sun. Deciduous.
Nursery news with what's just arrived
I caught up with Ang this morning and she told me that they were going to have a busy day today as it seems a lot of stock arrived last thing yesterday and I guess more will come today. They will be busy getting these into the garden centre for the weekend and online sales. Check out the
Salvias,
Bacopa,
Daisies,
Geraniums,
Armeria and
Fuchsia.
It seems that all the smaller grade of
Hostas arrived yesterday as well and so by the time you get this email they should all be out there in the garden centre making our range of Hosta's nearly as full as it's going to be for the year.
The
Sedum Blob range. These are totally new to me but once you see them you will know the original style. These have come out in quite the range of leaf shades if you can call them leaves. I imagine that these will be really cool in pots and the like. Check them out.
Labour weekend is the pointer that suggests that it's now warm enough to plant all your tender veges. Take it as a guide though as every year is different and seasons vary. Also, be wary as I think Labour weekend may be a week earlier this year. What I do know is that it's amazing planting weather for everything from shrubs to trees and everything in between. Again, we have seen some sun, the ground is drying out somewhat but still perfectly moist, and after all that wet year that we have had it is pleasant to be outside in the garden.
Note to self: don't forget those
garden festivals are looming over the next few weekends if you are planning to indulge yourself.
I think that it's looking to be an amazing weekend, especially since it's a three-dayer. So, whatever is on your agenda, have an awesome long weekend!
All the best from Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team.
