Officially Winter by just 4 days but then I imagine some would say that it properly begins from the the 21st of June being the Winter solstice. The sun will rise at 7.33am and set at 5.11pm giving us a days length of just 9.37 hours... then it's a gradual climb back to the summer solstice when we will have 5 hours and 4 minutes more daylight to do stuff. It's tricky to do the extra stuff in the garden especially given that there is no light once we all get home from work ahh... but then there are the weekends and this one gives us all an extra day being Queens Birthday. Confession time - I still haven't planted my garlic!!!

Last weekend was a tad stormy, if I recollect, so not so much incentive to be outside. In the nursery we had torrential rain showers, followed by deafening  thunder and a good hit of hail which kept us all under cover for a short while.  Tony says he saw a lightening strike hit the water, in the pond in the garden, from his office window. I'm hoping this weekend will be great for us gardeners, or for those getting away for a last long weekend, as its probably a while before the next long weekend.

When it comes to all things plants I am always looking and observing and it never ceases to amaze me at how long the seasons are...  well here in the Tron anyways. I imagine that in a colder clime, where they are more distinct, that it all happens much more quickly... my point is that it's officially Winter, albeit in 17 more days, and the trees are still loosing their leaves. In my home garden the prunus Awanui have long since lost their leaves and so has the nearby Maple but the Prunus Felix Jury is still almost fully clothed, though they have definitely coloured and looking as it they are on the way to dropping now. 

Then there are other trees like the hornbeam hedge which will hang onto its leaves for almost the entire winter and push them off just before the new leaves. The guys in the garden centre notice it too as the Awanui and Accolade have long lost their leaves and had them raked up while the Idesia (aka wonder tree with its stunning grape like bunches of red berries) and Magnolia Star Wars are just seriously dropping theirs now... Clearing fallen leaves is just like house work, always more to do!

Winter roses are coming up to flowering time and, if you managed to remove all the old leaves a few months back, you will now have these lush fresh leaves and lots of the now proud flower buds emerging ready to deliver a stunning display of Winter colour. We have a mass planting of white hellebores, under some plane trees, at the top of our driveway and they are going to look amazing. Just have to keep the falling leaves off them otherwise they tend to get covered up.

These cool flowers belong to the buttercup family and you can see this in the shape of the flowers. These perennials like a semi shaded position and, if mass planted, are almost like an all year round ground cover.  Contrast the leaves with strappy foliage of Liriopes, Mondo grass, Renga Renga lilies and the soft texture of the Hen and Chicken fern so that you get a great, all year round, look in the shaded garden. I have highlighted just a few below but there are so many more... best go to the link and check them all out as there are now many stunning new cultivars. I've thrown some pics on facebook as well to get the inspiration flowing.

Flash Gordon. every one loves the deep dark colours and Flash Gordon is pretty awesome in tones of the deepest wine red 

Ice N Roses Red, gorgeous burgundy red, outward facing blooms

Ice N Roses Rose so pretty in pink even the back of the flower is gorgeous in shades of rose pink

Ice N Roses White... If you are into the whites then this could be the one for you pure pristine white 

Ice Queen is another goodie in icy white

Lily and this one everyone will just love.  Lily is a stunning, new, double hellebore with white petals dramatically detailed with luscious raspberry pink. Each petal has a central flare down the middle with spreading veins, a picotee edge, and beautifully veined reverses.

In my book you can beat Sasanqua Camellias for hedging.. Long lived, tolerant of constantly being cut into shape and form, will actually grown most places including sun and shade, then of course there is the bonus of the flowers in the Autumn. There is always an all year round evergreen structure of a good classic green to screen neighbours, sheds and fences. 

Plant at 70 cm spacing but no further than 1 metre apart for a good hedge. Prepare the area properly by skimming the grass, or weeds, and making the equivalent of a garden bed approx. 70 cm wide. Plant your Camellias at measured centres, along a string line, and it will look fab from day one. Don't forget to mulch the area to suppress the weeds and give it a good sharp edge so that it looks smart. Use tree tablets at planting to get them off to a good start, remembering to put a good spade of dirt between the tablet and the plant, don't plant any deeper, mulch included, than the plant was in the pot. Side dress twice a year with Camellia fertiliser and keep the space weed free. Tip or light trim as it grows to form a good structure.

Sasanqua Camellias will actually grow and form a hedge up to three metres  given enough time but I always think that 1.5m to 1.8m is a height that is the easiest to trim and maintain. Trim back to shape two to three times a year. I find that trimming regularly like this makes each trimming less difficult. If you just cut once a year then its just takes that much more effort as the hedge is woodier and of course there are more trimmings to pick up. 

I have listed just a couple of great cultivars below but there are so many to choose from. They don't just have to be for hedging as they make for great topiary, espalier, shrub or even a small evergreen tree... you choose.

Setsugekka is a classic choice with reasonably large single white flowers and yellow stamens with a typical dark green leaf of the sasanquas. Plants for hedging start from just $16.99 each and they are nice plants too, the bee's cant be wrong, they love them.

Early pearly would be one of everyone's favourite with its double formal white flower. Similar foliage to Setsugekka and just a really good hedge choice. Again there is a really good grade of plants starting from just $16.99

And while I'm chatting about hedges I noticed we have a good quantity of  Cryptomeria Egmont which is not your average seedling grown cryptomeria but a cloned version that has a gorgeous emerald green colour. These make a superb hedge especially if you are wanting a tall slender hedge with good colour.

Rhododendrons comprise a vast group of plants that includes their smaller cousins Azaleas and subtropical Vireyas. As with any plant it is their flower that gives this away. Rhodo's, as they are often called, can be classed as either a shrub or small tree depending on the variety. On our site you will find them all in the Shrub menu, along with Azaleas which we have kept separated to make it easier for you. Vireyas are a sub menu from the Rhodododendron page.

We have an amazing collection of Rhododendrons and Azaleas in stock at this time of year as this is a great time to plant them. The Rhodo's are soon to bloom and many of the Azaleas already are. I have put a selection of blue flowered varieties below but the colours of pink, red, white, blue, purple and yellow are many combinations of these are now available. Enjoy perusing the collection of Rhodo's here and the Azaleas here, just remember that some azaleas are deciduous so if you are looking for evergreen ones only then click the Evergreen sub menu to separate them. If you are wanting a low flowering hedge then the Azalea Kirin or Peach Kirin are a great place to start.

Even the best of plans don't always go the way one wants. That is how it has been with getting the roses potted and into the garden centre this year. It's no mean feat coordinating different growers of roses to get their roses here on a certain week to get potted. Weather, getting staff and transport logistics are all things that can hold up deliveries and of course a long weekend cuts back into freight options. Well plan A didn't happen so Plan B is to get some of the winter tree stocks in earlier to fill the gaps and keep our team on the roll.. so it's a race to make room for some soon to arrive fruit and ornamental trees. Don't worry though, the roses are still coming, just not this week for the ones we were expecting. Plenty more due the following week and there after. For those of you who have placed orders, be assured, we will send out emails when your plants are available. 

If you are staying home to garden over the long weekend, hopefully the weather will turn on a good one for a fab long weekend. Stay safe on the roads if you are travelling and don't forget to turn your lights on if it is foggy, we are getting a lot of that in the mornings here at the moment. 

Cheers Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team