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Friday 30th November, 2018



Hi  

Revisiting a well learned skill...and it's not about how to prune a standard!

The other weekend it was raining and I had this random thought to make a batch of scones and take them down to the guys in the garden centre for their morning tea. Well I haven't made scones since I was 20 and in my teen years I made them a lot as my dad loved scones with his coffee. If I do say so myself I was a pretty dab hand at making a decent scone in those days and learnt a few little tricks to make them really good. One; mix them with just enough milk to have a wet dough, two; don't handle the scone mix too much just pat them into shape, cut them into squares, and three; put into quite a hot oven and cook em fast.
So out came the flour (self rising was in the cupboard) butter, milk, I didn't even need a recipe as the process must have been so ingrained, grated cheese, finely chopped onion, salt and pepper and away I went and I have to say that first go after 30 years wasn't too bad... well they got eaten and that is usually a good sign.
I was out at dinner the other night boasting about my scones when a friend Grant told me about his fool proof version using lemonade and cream and I have to say that he will be a lad that knows a thing or two... I know what you must be thinking ... LOL out to dinner swapping scone recipes... Really!!!!  Yip and Grant says that he will give me his version, not that I really have plans to make scones on such a regular basis but I will have to give it a go and compare.
Salvia
                
Amistad              Amore                 Glare                  Sallyfun Sky Blue    Sallyfun Blue Emotion
It's the last day of November and then we are on that chaotic wind up to Christmas that seems to send the whole country into a spin and then all of NZ seems to take a huge sigh or, LOL, collapse and then nothing happens for the next two to four weeks.  The moral seems to be if you need something done get it done now otherwise it will almost have to wait until February. Don't worry about your garden though as we will be open all the way through as we still have to do the watering and make sure that all is well... the garden will be open too if you just want to come for a wander. (It's a great place to hide from all the hustle and bustle if you just want a break)

New in stock this week and pretty neat stuff too

Bougainvillea standards... we have never had these before and the are looking just stunning in full flower. Bougainvilleas just love the sun, heat and dry and so suit being pot plant subjects ... check these ones out on facebook. Get your order in as there are only 10.

Star jasmine as standards How cool could these be ... well star jasmine is a very useful plant and can be used as everything from a ground cover to climbing on wires and trellis. I have even seen it clipped as a hedge but these are the first standards that I have seen. It would be great as a pot plant feature but keep it well staked until the stem thickens up and the head will need to be kept clipped.
Coned Loropetalums,  these are the best that we have had in stock great plant for clipping evergreen and the best coloured foliage.

Callas or Zantedeschia have just arrived too... awesome addition to the picking garden and these last well in the vase choose from some some exciting shade and colours.

Salvia Sallyfun series, how they got that name could be an interesting story but amazing colour in the garden 

Zantedeschia
                
Black Jack          Crystal Blush        Hot Cherry          Picasso                Red Sox
Christmas gift ideas .... just some thoughts 

I know how difficult it can be to shop for pressies, well actually I don't as we have a huge Christmas brunch for extended families and that is usually my gift to all, otherwise I tend to buy something throughout the year if it suits. I thought that it might be handy to put together a list of tools, pots and products other than plants of course that could be used as stocking fillers or just a great present. For instance the ARS tool range are just the best quality tools and I find that the secateurs are second to none... we use them in the nursery all of the time and if someone was given a set of any of these tools I'm sure they would be over the moon. Hand trowels and forks are made of stainless steel and nice wooden handles, a pair of these would make an excellent present. 
Japanese hand hoes, everyone swears by them and so would make an awesome addition to a garden friends tool kit and don't forget that we have pots that are 50% off and so maybe a plant and a pot could be the way to go. I had the list put on our website so check it out. It's in the shop menu and is called Vouchers & Gift Ideas.

30% of labelled price
We have a few end of year specials that are happening too just to clear out some stock and keep watching, as there will be more, but at this point we have reduced all Apricots, Peaches, Nectarines and all the Rhododendrons that we have left...  come on out and find some fruit tree to add to your orchard.

Get your Kumara slips into the ground this weekend!!

Kumara - Orange, Gold and Red

We will have the normal red Kumara in store for this weekend and nice plants too. Gold is on its way and we have a few more orange coming too but it would probably pay to book or pre-order these as there not many more to be had. This is the first time ever that we have had orange and gold Kumara available.

I don't know about you but we have had the most brilliant drop of rain and so just perfect for planting kumara slips, well anything really... just don't forget that you need to keep those newly planted slips watered in case it suddenly gets dry otherwise they may not strike.. they are particularly sensitive until they get away.  Check out our How To page for info on growing these beauties.

        

Ever thought of having a living Christmas tree

There is nothing like having a real tree to put all those pressies underneath and then you get to choose what to do with the tree afterwards... you could choose to keep it as a pot plant and keep it trimmed to stay as a compact Christmas tree..  or you could let it continue to grow naturally in the pot..  or you may have a spot where you could plant it out in the garden. Remember what ever you choose that trees that have been grown outdoors don't transfer well to being indoor plants so only keep it inside for a short period then you can have it again on a deck or courtyard.

Table top christmas tree ideas

Picea albertiana glauca conica... is the biggest name for the tiniest tree, but so the cutest and so well suited for a pot... this one is only about 20cm high and would suit being in a small pot and with a few minute decorations would look cool as a table top feature for your Christmas table.

Pinus mugo... again a dwarf and this one is a dwarf pine tree. Could be suited to a new hobby of bonsai hehe... again a small pot and a few decs and suitable as a table top feature.

Pinus pinea we have some new ones of these in again being the pine nut pine tree... you could use these temporarily as a table top Christmas tree with the plan to plant them out later or just grow it in a pot until it gets bigger.

Picea abies is a spruce. It's branches typically droop and it gets the largest cones. Currently a good table top size.

Picea Smithiana currently small enough for a table top tree but gets big so would be a good bonsai option if you want to keep it in a pot. If you have the room to plant this then you will have a beautiful Christmas tree for years to come.

Some bigger subjects for a potted floor Christmas tree 

Picea Sitchensis a bit big for the table now but great in a corner of the room for a few days over Christmas. 

Cedrus Deodara has a slightly different leaf texture to the pinus and picea trees giving a different texture. 

Pseudotsuga Menziesii or Douglas Fir has the classic cone Christmas tree shape especially as a mature tree, will be suitable for container growing for a few years. This is a very popular living Xmas tree.

What about our own native Pohutakawa, Metrosiderous Vibrance which is usually flowering around Christmas time and looks gorgeous with all the Chrissie decos on.  

                

Picea Abies         Pinus Mugo    Pseudotsuga Menziesii   Cedrus Deodora    Picea Smithiana
Correction from last week, many thanks to Terry for spotting this and letting us know.
In your newsletter you call Pseudotsuga Menzeisii "Redwood".  That botanical name actually applies to Douglas Fir or Oregon Pine and not to what is commonly called Redwood. This was an oversight when editing and we do apologise.

All the trees mentioned here are linked to our website so you can check out their current heights but also what height they will attain in the next 10 years to help make your tree selection. Just click the highlighted word links.

Christmas housekeeping

Time is flying by so fast and we all have to be organised and to that end if you need to get any plants delivered, then by my reckoning, there are just four weeks left before those short weeks.

Our last days for dispatch by courier will be the last full week prior to Christmas being the Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th of December. We don't like to leave this to the last minute as the courier services are pushed to the max in that last week so may even cut off on the Monday... Nobody likes to get dried plants delivered after the holidays LOL

There will be no deliveries at all during the two short weeks of Christmas and New Year and delivery by courier will commence again Tue 7th or Wed 8th of Jan depending on the volume of orders. 

Delivery by truck will commence sometime later in January as the truckers tend to take some well earned rest over this period. 

We are placing our indent orders with our growers, getting them to graft out trees and roses so if you have any requests for large number of the same tree for a drive way tree line or want to make a long row of trees of the same type then place your backorder now for next year. Backorders help us plan what number of plants we may need to have grown in order to supply your needs.

Hey guys I have to go and mow the lawns again before it rains. As always I wish you good weather for a lovely weekend so you can get some of the rush jobs done, 

have the most fabulous weekend.

cheers 

Lloyd, Harry and the Wairere Team

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2018 Newsletters...

Feb already (3rd February, 2018)

Gardening friends (9th February, 2018)

fabulous feb (16th February, 2018)

Grapes and Art deco in Napier (2nd March, 2018)

About Ferns (10th March, 2018)

out with willow and in with Camellias (27th March, 2018)

Paddock Trees (25th March, 2018)

Trees for Big Spaces (27th March, 2018)

Sasanquas take 2 (30th March, 2018)

Brrr Autumn is here (14th April, 2018)

Garlic and Winter Roses (21st April, 2018)

Friday Again (5th May, 2018)

Espaliered (12th May, 2018)

always a project (18th May, 2018)

Power Outages and Proteas (31st May, 2018)

Rose time again (8th June, 2018)

Aussie Natives (19th June, 2018)

Roses Abounding! (23rd June, 2018)

Ornamentals (7th July, 2018)

High, Low or Cascading (13th July, 2018)

Daphne time (20th July, 2018)

Spring in four days (27th July, 2018)

Let the blossoms begin (3rd August, 2018)

Tamarillos (10th August, 2018)

Magnolias3 (17th August, 2018)

Bloom time not gloom time (28th August, 2018)

Is it September Already? (31st August, 2018)

Nuts abounding (7th September, 2018)

Its all in the name... seriously (14th September, 2018)

Blossom bloom again (21st September, 2018)

Fabulous Friday 28 (28th September, 2018)

Fluffies and Pretties (5th October, 2018)

October rain with 22mm (12th October, 2018)

Blue October (19th October, 2018)

Its all about roses this week (26th October, 2018)

what about this (2nd November, 2018)

Rose show 2018 this weekend (9th November, 2018)

The running of the balls sequel 1 (16th November, 2018)

Orange Kumara 1 (23rd November, 2018)

..... scones

Hydrangeas (8th December, 2018)

French Tarragon Hmmm (14th December, 2018)

Happy Holidays (21st December, 2018)



Wairere Nursery
826 Gordonton Road, R D 1, Hamilton 3281 Ph: (07) 824 3430 Email: