Friday 29th November, 2019
Hi
We were chatting about Black Friday at brekkie this morning...
Where has this Black Friday come from?... have I just had my head in the sand as I have always known Black Friday as being Friday the 13th and here we are November 29 and today, apparently, its black Friday! It just seems like it's a new thing here but maybe its not, a quick google reveals that its originally American marketing.
Black Friday is the name given to the shopping day after Thanksgiving. It was originally called Black Friday because the huge volume of shoppers created traffic accidents and sometimes even violence. In the 1950's people began calling in sick the day after Thanksgiving to give themselves a four-day weekend.
A tad more from google... Herald business suggests that its been available to us in NZ online, more so than actual physical retail shopping but it would seem that the retailers are going to run with this. 2015 major retailers, some of the big box stores, offered Black Friday sales and from 2018 were joined by many more.
OMG I think that the whole Christmas Hype is almost enough for me and lets not forget the boxing day sales... How many more special marketing days do we need???? LOL I said this to Cathie, and she laughed, said "Everyday is a special marketing day"!
Climbers
Papi Delbard Lady Barbara Blackberry Nip Leaping Salmon Albertine
I'm looking at all the hedges we have around here and am thinking that, this week or next, we will need to get onto them so that they are all looking good for Christmas. Know that when you cut your
Buxus hedges, after a couple of days in this full sun, it will get a tad sun burnt. It will take a least 2 to 3 weeks for the hedge to start to flush and look nice and green again.
If you are planning to have your garden looking fab for the big day then maybe cut them a couple of days before so they look nice and sharp, otherwise you want to get onto the task this weekend. All things going well they will have re-flushed but they may need some water to help the process.
While I'm thinking about watering, don't forget those pots, make sure they are kept watered at this time of year. The amount of water will depend on the plant and how long it has been in the container. A new plant in a container may not use the water so fast compared to something more root bound that will use all the water you can give.
Plant type also has a factor like roses which have a huge water requirement, when in leaf and flower, compared to, say more dry tolerant plants like, conifers, Hollies and the like. Succulents and cacti may still need to be watered but sparingly.
Pot plants need to be fed but remember to only use fertiliser formulated for pots and not the instant stuff which will go straight into solution and burn those feeder roots.
The other point to remember about watering of pots plants is to water thoroughly every now and then so the water flows right through the pots and thus flushes excess soluble salts away.
Christmas trees should be up and decorated by now as I understand it they should be up a month prior to Chrissy and down fairly soon after. Of course with a live tree in a pot you can easily decorate it and pop it inside for a few short weeks then out again after Christmas. Easy to take the deco's off and enjoy it as a focal point on a deck or patio or pop it into the garden in the pot and enjoy the added structure it brings by being evergreen and shaped. Some trees that work well for this in pots are Picea, Pinea and Sequoia.
I have seen Ilex topiary balls used as table ornaments with deco's on them and they look great as side ornaments to your living Xmas tree too.
I think I have been set up by Cathie, in fact I'm sure of it listening to her chuckling to herself. I have entered into the Xmas spirit by entering a $200 voucher for
The Breeze radio station Xmas Pairs game that is about to start on Monday. The whole idea was sounding great until Cathie pointed out that I would have to do a voice recording stating what reward we were offering for the winner who could find the 2 doors with our prize behind it. She even wrote a script out to make it easy for me to do but said I had to slow down how I said it or no one would be able to understand it on radio. Well lets just say I didn't nail it the first time. You will just have to listen to The Breeze to see if I got it nailed at all.
I love taking pics of the rose flowers, if you watch our facebook page you probably know this already, and there are so many gorgeous roses to capture right now. Some that I grabbed pics of this morning, just before the sun became too harsh, have been posted to facebook or instagram so check them out. Don't be scared to make comment, it is great reading the comments that people make and of course there is always a link posted that will take you to the website if you want to know more about each plant and for online purchasing if you are wanting to grab one. I have to say it surprises me that so many people don't realise we send our plants around New Zealand and that they can book any we have online via the website.
Some of the roses I captured today, these links will take you to the facebook pics but you can get to the website by clicking the links in the posts.
Papi Delbard Clg -
ruffled 'old world' blooms of a beautiful blend of peach, apricot, pink and yellow with a delightful fragrance.
Lady Barbara Clg A beautiful rose with blended soft apricot-orange, hybrid tea shaped blooms that have a warm yellow reverse and a lovely fragrance.
Blackberry Nip Clg gives seductively scented, long stemmed, deep purple blooms that are perfect to pick. Available in bush, climbing and standard forms.
Leaping salmon Clg large, deep, salmon-pink almost double flowers that are deliciously fragrant and excellent for picking.
Wisley 2008 Fireball Akaroa Bulls Red Nahema
Belle Poitevine is an old fashioned rose with scented semi-double flowers of rich magenta pink. Leaves are typical rugosa deep green and deep veined.
Wisley 2008 has exceptional delicacy and charm with shallow cupped rosettes of bloom in a soft pink shade. The blooms are very fragrant.
Gold n Glory creamy yellow blooms open from gorgeous long buds.
Akaroa blooms display a range of colour tones as the flowers mature from soft pink to strong cherry to cerise with a white reverse, displayed in abundance and covering a compact bush.
Avalanche is certainly the right name for this free flowering white rose.
Amber Flush An elegant rose with richly coloured (unfading) blooms that are shades of warm apricot and amber. Long, strong stems hold the flowers well and are perfect for picking. Soft fragrance and an upright and bushy habit.
Hans Christian A lovely dark red floribunda with semi-double, ruffled blooms produced in regular clusters.
Best Wishes a vigorous, healthy f
loribunda. Amazingly generous displays of deep rich yellow flowers through out the season.
Big Purple Hybrid Tea. Bred in NZ this sturdy rose has large, very fragrant blooms of deep rich purple. Blooms continuously through to autumn.
The
Canna collection has grown at last, including the
Kneehigh series that have been bred for their lush foliage, vibrant colours and low compact growth. Cannas are excellent for colour anywhere in the boarder flowering for many months. Clumps can be so thick that weeds just don't get a chance to grow. Cut back just before new season growth starts to enjoy the lushness of these tropical looking plants.
Dwarf Tall
Yellow Scarlet Bronze Salmon Orange King Hambert Mango
Our Pressie list ideas for gardening friends and family
It seems to me that most have all that they need making choosing presents for our nearest and dearest more difficult... if you ask me personally, damn near impossible... but here are a few thoughts that could be cool for your gardening friend or family.
Top of the range
ARS tools including secateurs, shears, saws and snips.
Tools... Wooden handled hoes, trowels, forks and steel rakes.
Make a Gardeners gift basket and include
fertilsers, tools and plants
Pot up a plant... soooo many options on this one, if you are local you could check out the discounted pot range. (We don't mail out the pottery products... too easy to break)
Copy and pasted cause it's important
Mail orders and dispatch.
Couriers get frantically busy at this time of year so if you are thinking to get plants delivered then do it early as it can take longer due to the overload. The week starting 9th of December will be our last full week of dispatch!!! Tue 17th of December will be our last day dispatching for North Island deliveries for the year and Mon 16th December will be the last day for dispatches to the South Island so have your order in and paid for before that weekend as we will cut off early so all goods to get to their destination.
There will be no dispatch during the short weeks of Christmas and new year and will resume the first full week in January being Monday 6th.
Truck deliveries always start later due to the trucking companies taking advantage of the slower period and having a break and are generally back on deck the last week of Jan or beginning of Feb.
Our vouchers expire after 12 months so if you received one last Xmas and you haven't used it yet then now is the time to spend it to avoid it becoming invalid. You can use your vouchers online or in store so lets use them before time runs out on them. (If the worse comes to the worst then at least get them re-issued)
But we are open 24/7 from 8.30 am to 5 pm except for Christmas Day.
Cathie tells me off for going on about the weather but as lovely as the weather is right now, its time for a tad more rain... just to keep the grass and my veges growing.
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Hopefully if you have done the Black Friday sale thing, you have managed to fill your present list and can sit back and enjoy the fact all your Chrissie shopping is done, but if not, at least you still have some time to get it done. Of course plants are always a welcome gift or you can check out the tools section, always some welcomed items there for gifting. What ever you do please remember the sun protection if you are in the garden or out and about.
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Have a great weekend
Cheers
Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere Team