Saturday 8th February, 2025
Hi
From your Valentine ????....... Friday Feb 14th
There are many stories surrounding the beginnings and naming of Valentine's day. Apparently the Catholic church recognises three different saints by that name. One versions suggests Valentine was a priest who defied a ruling of Emperor Claudius II that young men couldn't marry (apparently because single men make better soldiers) and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret, and for this, was put to death. Another version suggests Saint Valentine of Terni, a bishop, is the true namesake. He was beheaded by the same Emperor.
Other stories suggest that a Christian Priest named Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help other Christians escape from harsh Roman prisons, but before his death and whilst in prison, he fell in love and sent the first Valentine greeting signed.... From Your Valentine...
Some believe that Valentines day is celebrated in the middle of Feb to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial but this month and date has been celebrated since almost time began. The pagan festival of Lupercalia was celebrated on February 15th and was associated with fertility, agriculture and the Roman founders Romulus and Remus who are said to have been raised by a she-wolf or 'Lupa'.
Thankfully today it's a tad more circumspect and Valentine's day has become a time when many will celebrate their relationships with flowers or gestures or a perhaps a surprise gift and note...From your Valentine ... which just might just leave you guessing???
There are quite a few roses that celebrate love and romance and we still have in stock many roses with the word Love involved and I have listed them below. So whether it's still your
First Love or
Lasting love or
With Love or just for a laugh
Love bug and so on... have fun with the names
On that note, now is also a good time to scroll through the roses on our web site and start making selections for the new season's plants that will arrive in June. Check out the new selections, add to your collection of perhaps the
Austins. I'm sure that there will be something for all the rose buffs out there. Wait list them in case numbers are limited, so that you don't miss out.
With love Floribunda - Gorgeous pink-apricot blooms that continue to appear throughout the summer. and into autumn. Set against deep green foliage and releasing a wonderful fragrance this rose makes a stunning long-lasting gift for not only special occasions, but simply just because.
Lasting Love Hybrid Tea. Put the power of love into your garden with this drop dead gorgeous rose. The dusky red buds open to showy dark blooms in tones of magenta red. The fragrance is powerful and alluring. Disease resistant glossy foliage. Should definitely be on the must have list.
Forever Yours. If you don't think your true-love has space for a large rose, then how about this little Shrub Rose? Small cupped single mid pink flowers provide a dainty and pretty effect on this compact modern shrub bush. Seldom without a bloom. Looks wonderful in a container or used as 'en masse' as a border rose.
Love Bug Floribunda. Dark cardinal red blooms forming clusters which contrast beautifully with the dark, very glossy foliage. It has a subtle fragrance and good disease resistance. Winner of the Gold Star of the South Pacific 2017 award. Bred by Rob Somerfield, released 2019.
Love Heart Hybrid Tea. An award winning rose, this was also bred in NZ by Rob Somerfield. Sumptuous double blooms shaded vibrant red on long stems perfect for picking. Lightly scented. Tall upright growth habit, few thorns and disease resistant. A lovely rose that would make an ideal gift to express affection. 2009.
Arrived in this week
Some
Echinaceas have just arrived in the nursery; you may know them under their common name
Coneflowers. This name is probably due to the fact that they have a prominent cone shape in the centre of their daisy-like flower, and this is surrounding by (usually) brightly coloured petals. These plants are true perennials and are looking their best as late summer flowering colour in the garden. Like all that belong to the daisy family, they will do best in full sun and soil that drains well.
Also just in: a collection of selected Pohutakawa and Rata
Pohutakawa is the name that we all use very loosely. If you want to be a tad more botanical, these plants belong in the genus
Metrosideros and the family of myrtles or Myrtaceae. Just for reference,
Pohutakawa and
Rata are quite closely related and other well known members of this family would be our very delicious
Feijoas,
Guavas, native
Tea tree (Leptospermum) and
Bottle brush (Callistemon). Typically all these worship the sun and like well drained growing conditions.
Metrosideros Tahiti is quite the small one growing to just around one metre high. It has the silvery green leaves and bright red flowers typical of the this group of plants.
Metrosideros Maungapiko is an erect excelsa variety with shiny, pointed, dark green foliage. This looks stunning in the hot months of Summer with beautiful red-scarlet flowers en-mass.
Metrosideros Moonlight A Southern rata cultivar. A stunning NZ native with a bright green and yellow variegated foliage and scarlet flowers in Summer. Looks lovely in a pot or in the garden. Very slow growing. Prefers moist soils and colder environments but full sun.
Metrosideros Maori Princess An excellent form of NZ's 'Christmas Tree' that grows with a clean straight trunk and has few aerial roots making it highly suitable for street planting or the home garden. Another selected form of excelsa.
Metrosideros Scarlet Pimpernel This variety was new to us in 2024 and is yet another selected form of our classic coastal pohutakawa species excelsa. Smaller growing upright tree with dark green leaves and deep scarlet flowers from early summer. Ideal for coastal situations in full sun and well drained soil.
Metrosideros Perforata - white rata vine. Perforata is a climber growing up to 15m high but will grow as a bushy shrub if it has nothing to climb. Usually found flowering at the top of trees in our native bush. In mid summer it has masses of white flowers from white buds.
What to do in Feb
If you haven't already, get all your
Hedges trimmed. We still have a couple to go and the ones that we did before Christmas almost need to have another quick trim just to keep them looking sharp.
Roses can be cut back to bring on a new flush.
Perennials that have finished flowering can be cut back so that they will flush again in the Autumn... It's the hot month and growth will resume once we get some regular rain.
Keep the water going on your lawn, at least enough to keep it going as when you get dead spots that is when the weeds get to sneak in and establish. It's worth knowing that the summer grasses will just disappear when the days get shorter and cooler.
There are some plants that thrive and look their best in Summer, and there's no reason not to plant these bright little sun-worshippers such as
Salvias and
Portulacas right now.
Look at your garden objectively. After every spring season all the trees tend to hang lower and may need lifting or having the lower branches removed to let in more light to the gardens beneath. I think it's all about layers and they need to be maintained so that you see the borders, then the middle layer and then finally the backdrop of the specimen trees.
In my experience, gardens tend to need a bit of a make over around that 7 to 10 year time frame so this Autumn may be the time to redo areas or to create new hedges and borders. Right now is a fab time to be planning that as Autumn is not that far away. I note that the mornings aren't quite as light as they used to be. Autumn (March, April and May) when the rains come is the traditional time to get new hedges planted.
Sasanqua Camellias make for some of the best long-term hedges in my opinion and so it's worth looking at the cultivars that are coming into stock mid March and April.
For example I have plants to go into my wetland restoration project but there is no access for water and so I have to wait until the rain starts again. I am also actively looking for more
Native trees to go in there as I plan how the project will continue.. meanwhile we are using the time to keep gaining more weed control.
It's all good to plant right now, but just remember that you will need to water what you plant.
It's a real summer this year, lovely and warm, and I say make the most of it. Perfect for outdoor entertaining, Barbeques and to spend as much time as you can in your beautiful gardens. This is why we create them as extensions to our homes. There is nothing nicer than throwing all the doors and windows open and it all becoming one.
Friday again, and so another fabulous weekend of settled fine weather to enjoy being outside. Have a great few days.
Cheers from Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team.
