Friday 11th September, 2026
Hi
I just about gave my husband a heart attack at the weekend as I came rushing in to tell him that I had found a patch of Asparagus in our vege garden. And I don't even like asparagus that much! Hopefully I will score some brownie points with the Mother-in-Law though. That's the exciting thing about a moving to a new garden in winter - you just don't know what is hiding under the soil waiting to burst forth. Now that the ground temperature has started to rise, we are seeing bulbs and dormant perennials coming into life and popping their heads up out of the ground.
It's one of the things that I love about gardening - no two days are exactly the same and there is always something happening which makes your heart soar. Love to see Tuis in our
Kowhai trees and have just planted a
Felix Jury cherry to bring them in too. Other new surprises: the dead rabbit on the lounge rug courtesy of our cat (yay!); and, the baby Pukekos on the lake at work, which run quickly into the swamp grasses when they see you. Spring is here, don't you love it?
Peonies - potted
Peonies deservedly rank among the most popular varieties of flower. They can be seen in ancient Chinese texts and so we know they have been cultivated for almost 4000 years. Now that September is here, we have just received a delivery of potted excitement for us to share with you and some of these are just delectable. According to Greek legend, Peon was a student of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing. Peon was such a gifted student he outshone his teacher and to save him from his teacher's jealously the King of the Gods (Zeus) transformed him into a beautiful flower. With a bit of time and poetic licence the name has morphed into Peony in English.
Another interesting fact about Peonies is that the pH of the soil (acidity) can affect the colour of the blooms. In acid soil they are more likely to tend towards rich pinks and red while in alkaline soil the colour will probably verge towards white or paler pinks. Peonies produce an abundance of nectar so are great to attract pollinators to your garden. Plant them in full sun, in a spot where they can be left undisturbed, and mulch well with plenty of organic matter. Your chances of a good display are better the further south (colder) you go.
Hostas
Another lovely summer favourite which is started to emerge from winters slumber are the
Hostas. These deciduous (which means falling-off or shedding) perennials are most at home in dappled shade, for example under trees or shrubs. The leaves of these plants come in a large variety of colours and textures from blue green, to cream and white edged with green (
Golden Tiara) to fresh green (
Jade Cascade). Some are pointed (
Hadspen Heron) some are rounded, some have puckered veins (
Nifty Fifty) and some are enormous (
Empress Wu). Add organic matter to the soil to keep them moist over summer and remember to keep those slugs and snails at bay.
Slugs and Snails
I know this is not the usual topic for the newsletter but I thought it was worth a couple of lines, bearing in mind that these guys are amongst gardeners' most natural enemies. I shudder when thinking about my neighbour whose kids used to go round collecting them and feeding them as 'pets'. Sorry, but I draw the line at gastropods when it comes to conservation. That name means 'Stomach foot', which I'm sure you get, but did you know that they have blue blood because they have copper in it? The copper carries the oxygen in their blood cells, in the same way that iron does in ours. Another fun fact is that snails are right-handed (Dextral) in that when you hold a snail shell with the pointed tip pointing upwards, and the opening facing you, the opening will be on the right hand side.
Slugs and snails have a narrow tongue called a radula which has up to 27,000 really tiny teeth. These act like sandpaper to shred their food. Ewwww. They can stretch their body up to 20 times its resting length to fit into small holes - so beware they can get in anywhere. The question you want to know of course is "how do I keep them away?" and there are definitely strategies you can adopt to help this. One is to water in the morning, so that by evening soil surfaces are drier, as this makes it harder for them to slither about. Keeping you garden tidy is also helpful - get rid of unused pots and remove weeds where they like to hide. Plant chives as they contain a compound which is toxic to slugs. Surround your vulnerable plants with grit, egg shells or coffee grounds as slugs and snails don't like to slide over these. Here is a
video with some more hints you may find useful.
Edible treats
Love them or not,
Tamarillos are a seasonal delicacy which can add a tang to your breakfast porridge or be used to make some delicious baking. Check out Al Brown's video with cooking suggestions for tamarillos
here. We have received our first delivery of these sub-tropical delights which love a warm frost-free location with good drainage. They prefer a sheltered spot and may require staking.
Passion fruit are in store now too. These also prefer those sunny spots away from the cold and wind. Remember to feed with a general garden fertiliser and watch for those pesky vine hoppers. If you love the acidic tang of
Mountain Pawpaw or haven't tried it, it might be time to give this a go. It likes fertile, free-draining soil and can cope with very light frost. The trees can grow 2-4 metres and the fruit (known as pawpaw or papaya) is produced from late winter until summer. Papaya can be eaten fresh when ripe and soft (they are delicious with a squeeze of lime juice) or cooked like a vegetable in stews and soups.
We are also bursting with new supplies of
Rhubarb which will make great desserts. Here's a
recipe for Rhubarb muffins from Lloyd's late Dad for you to enjoy. Add this to some other recent arrivals and you get an idea of the range of edible products that we have available. For cooks, we are the go-to place with
Lemongrass,
Bay trees and
Curry leaf (Murraya Koenigii) plants to help with your culinary prowess, as well as our wide selection of
Herbs.
Roses
Speaking of new discoveries, I spied the first buds on our roses this week when I was wandering through. Some varieties are raring to go and have burst into lots of vigorous growth and others are not so quick off the mark. Below are images of some special varieties which you will be able to spot in flower in the nursery soon.
If you haven't already done so, now is the time to give your roses a feed and to check for die back or any issues after your pruning in July. Spraying now will also prevent any problems down the track. Downy mildew can also be a problem in spring and autumn and appears as purple blotches on the upper leaf surface and a mildew appearance on the underside of the leaf. This can be prevalent in cool moist conditions and good air circulation will help - this means preventing plants growing too close to your roses. Sprays can be alternated between various products - I recommend using
Spectrum or
Super Shield and another product for insect control e.g.
Neem Oil or
Success. Spray 14 days apart and alternate. However, if my roses get an infection then I spray closer together than 14 days, to bring it under control. Bear in mind with timing that if rain is imminent, it is better to spray the roses than to leave them.
That's all for today. Happy gardening everyone, regards, Tracy.
Cheers from Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team.
