Friday 31st May, 2019
Hi
If you haven't been in lately...
We must be the only garden centre that says to its clients if looking for hedging... "they are down the hill".
Well down the hill is the lower level, just below the car park and the slope down to it is ... well quite a slope! Put it this way, it takes two of the team to get the plants down there on our larger work stations but easy enough for us to push the trolley's out.
There are a couple of sets of stairs that lead down to the area, one from the perennial area at the side of our shop and the other under the Claret Ash but this particular staircase had pretty much worn out and I decided it was time to upgrade and rebuild the steps and to retain our small wall that hosted a more gentle slope leading down to the area that has our
hedging,
native, and a selection of
landscape plants and sale trees.
The new track down is so much wider and smoother making it much gentler to get down with a trolley. I spotted Ange using it to the max yesterday, as she got more trees into the sales area there, using one of the trolleys.
It's Gypsy day tomorrow (for those not in the know, gypsy day is when all the share milkers and farmers stepping up take over their new projects) I believe it got it's name from the days when herds were walked down the road to their new farms. Gypsy day always reminds me of a client from years ago who on Gypsy Day dug up all of her precious roses and took them to her next farm job.
Digging up your roses should be easy at this time because your roses should be facing their dormancy period right now. I have always remembered this client and her plan to shift her roses as she came in to shop and buy some new varieties.
To all those that have spent the last week shifting house and farms all the very best. You too can take you roses and perhaps check out some new ones either online or here in the nursery.
While on the subject of roses, the potting is going like clock work... week two and the centre of the nursery is looking pretty full of new season roses now. I am still helping with the root pruning and labelling and this week Austins, or English roses, were richly in evidence. These always go out the door very quickly in comparison to other roses with some of the varieties already pre-sold before they arrive.
All your Austin favourites like:
We have 3 new release Austins that we are quite excited about which are still to arrive. We made sure we are getting plenty of these knowing there will likely be some demand for these. Don't forget that you can click the links under each rose to see more information on them and to buy online or order those that aren't yet here.
Many old favourites are still to arrive. It is always a good idea to order your Austin roses via our website to ensure you don't miss out as these are some of the most sought after roses. Many of these won't be available next year in the quantity we are used to getting them in as D and S Nursery were one of our main suppliers of Austins and they were licensed to grow good quantities of a large variety of Austin roses.
Old Favourites
Austin bush roses can be used as you would a shrub in the garden. Use them to fill an area with scent and colour for a good length of time, they are such prolific bloomers. Planted in groups of 3 close together will give a stunning, full display anywhere in the garden. They vary widely in form, growth, fragrance and habit meaning anything is possible when including Austins in your garden. It can be a little bit challenging when designing your rose garden or drawing up a planting scheme but it is hugely rewarding as well. The English call it a mixed boarder when you mix roses, perennials, annuals and shrubs together in a bed, we just call it a garden, but roses can be helped with insect control and earth issues by planting complimentary companion plants with them.
Time to get those cool season plants in the ground
Goodness, I cant believe that we are nearly at the shortest day again. Approx 3 weeks to go and then we are back on track to spring and summer... LOL somehow in that sentence I just missed winter, do you suppose it's wishful thinking?
If you haven't, but want to, then now is the time to plant
garlic which is traditionally focused around the shortest day... now its all good getting it in early as it will make good root growth prior to making those bulbs.
I have to fess up that I still haven't planted mine and I must get it into the ground. I'm keen to grow a years supply as its keeps, almost, until the following season.
Ange has bagged up 100g, 200g and 1kg quantities of
Printanor... once this stock is gone we won't be getting any more in this season.
Elephant garlic, we still have a few bags left and I may have left my run a bit late but have asked Ang to get some more in but if managed it also will be our last supply for this year.
Strawberries of the Camarosa variety are selling now and we still have plenty of bundles of bare rooted plants but at some point I will pot the balance. It does seem weird to be planting strawberries in the depth of the worst weather but they will thank you for being planted now... or rather reward you with strawberries in the spring.
Queens Birthday and another long weekend, well it seems a while since we all had a long weekend. It's meant to be a wet one but hey we need the rain.
Rain doesn't stop us here in the nursery so if you are looking for an outing you are welcome to come see our new stairs and retaining wall under the
Claret Ash, or check out the latest
roses all potted up and growing new roots or hit the website to plan your new rose strategy online and don't forget to check out our How To section on
growing roses for tips and help. All of you buying
new season roses should have a read to ensure you know how to handle your new season plants and what to expect.
However your long weekend evolves for you, please stay safe, drive carefully and enjoy the long weekend.
Have a fabulous weekend
Cheers
Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere Team
