garden tips | Gardening

Getting some garden tips from the pros

Sue and Colin McLean in the garden they designed in Upland Rd, Remuera. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Aucklanders will be able to waltz into some of the city’s best-looking backyards this weekend and get tips from the gardeners who designed them.

Twenty-five private gardens will be open to the public today and tomorrow in Western Springs, Balmoral, Bayswater, One Tree Hill and St Heliers as part of the Auckland Garden DesignFest.

Launched to showcase local landscape talent, the festival will see each property hosted by the garden’s designer, allowing keen gardeners to get tips from some of the best landscapers in the city.

Sue and Colin McLean, who run a professional landscape, consultant and design business, have one of their creations showing this weekend.

The large family garden, at a home in Remuera, even has a honey-producing beehive.

Mrs McLean said the festival offered a great opportunity for amateur gardeners to see how the professionals do it.

“Whether you’ve got green fingers and are a really keen gardener or whether you are just interested and passionate about the environment and gardens, there are so many different places [gardens].”

Mrs McLean, who helped organise the event, said the variety of gardens was a major drawcard.

There were “quirky, funky” gardens in Freemans Bay, one near Takapuna Beach and one on a mountain side.

“There’s something for everyone to enjoy and be inspired by and stimulated by,” said Mrs McLean.

Money raised from the festival will go towards charity.

The festival runs from 10am to 4pm today and Sunday.

Those attending can either choose to drive to the properties or book a place on a special bus service.

Tickets are $50, which includes both days, and are available at www.iticket.co.nz.

More information can be found at www.gardendesignfest.co.nz.

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How to delay Christmas cactus blooms

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As soon as I brought my Christmas cactus indoors, it budded. It has finished blooming before Thanksgiving! How can I slow it down next year?

Night temperatures of 50-55 degrees initiate bud formation on this jungle cactus, also known as Thanksgiving cactus, Easter cactus, and Claw cactus. Next year, bring it in before nights get cool — late summer or very early fall. Those grown indoors year-round or brought in for the winter can be encouraged to bloom by giving them about 13 hours of darkness nightly. Ordinarily this means keeping them in a room where lights are not left on all evening.

I want to give my sister a shrub as a Thanksgiving hostess gift. Will she still be able to plant it outside after Thanksgiving or should she keep it indoors?

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Plant of the week

If her gift is a shrub that is normally grown outdoors — such as a viburnum or yew — it will do best if she plants it in the ground. Planting can continue through fall and into winter as long as the ground is not frozen. This is true for trees and perennials as well.

Plant of the week

Rugosa Rose

Rosa rugosa

When planning the multiseason garden, an unusual choice is rugosa rose, with leaves puckered like seersucker, summer flower show, fall color and, to top it off, red rose hips. These hips (seed capsules) are substantial enough to stand out in the landscape. Like all roses, look for a highly disease-resistant cultivar. “Frau Dagmar Hastrup” produces a profusion of fragrant, light pink single flowers and plenty of big red hips that are showy from summer onwards. Plant in full sun with good air circulation and well-drained, slightly acid soil with some organic matter. Rugosa rose is highly salt-tolerant, suckers into clumps, and so robust it can naturalize. Rose hips can be used in soups, jam, teas and as a vitamin C supplement. — Ellen Nibali

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Tips for using leaves in the garden

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Don’t send leaves to the landfill if you can help it. They will break down into something great for the garden. Photos by Doug Oster

Living on four acres in a forest of oak, maple, hickory, sassafras and other trees can be great for three seasons of the year.

Right now…not so much.

Out in the woods it’s not a problem, but on the lawn, garden, driveway and patio the leaves need to be removed.

The forest floor is covered in leaves, they will decompose and feed the soil. As gardeners, we can use those leaves in the same way.

There are lots of ways to compost leaves and in my landscape I deal with them using several techniques.

The easiest is feeding the leaf pile off the edge of a hill around the house. Since 1939, when the house was built, people have been raking leaves off the edge and into the woods. In the summer when I run out of compost I dig through the first few layers of fresh leaves to reveal black, crumbly leaf mold. It’s a great compost which provides everything the plants need.

When the leaves rot down, they become pH neutral, just what we want in the garden.

It takes years for the leaves to break down, but in other areas they are shredded first and will decompose quicker. Everything which once was living will eventually become compost. The smaller the material is at the beginning of the process, the faster they become compost. Shredded leaves also take up less space. Usually ten times less than those left to rot without shredding.

As I feed my three compost bins with fresh green scraps from the kitchen and garden, I always add a few handfuls of shredded leaves kept next to the piles. It’s a great way to cover the food waste and it helps make a balanced compost pile.

It’s important to get leaves off the lawn. Some gardeners can get away with running the lawnmower over a thin layer and letting them rot on the lawn. A thick layer of oak leaves on the other hand will kill the grass and needs to be cleared.

Another important job at my place is to get those leaves off paths and the driveway. Wet leaves are almost as slippery as snow!

Keep as many leaves as you can around the garden and let them work for you.

I’ll be raking and blowing leaves until Christmas and then again in the early spring.

That’s the downside to living in the woods.

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Tips for organizing attics and basements

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Posted: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 8:01 am
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Updated: 8:03 am, Tue Nov 12, 2013.

Tips for organizing attics and basements

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Attics and basements are the obvious places to store seasonal, overflow and keepsake items. But before you shove a bunch of cardboard boxes into the dark attic or damp basement, consider how and where to store your items so they’ll be in good condition and easy to find.

Excess and access

First, take a few minutes to determine whether the items you’re storing are things you definitely need and want. Don’t put off making a tough decision; you’ll regret it later. Next, figure out how frequently you’ll use the items. Reserve easy-access areas for those things you will need occasionally, not keepsakes that you can’t part with but rarely use.

Think vertically

If there’s room, use shelving to maximize and organize the space. Shelving in storage rooms does not need to be beautiful, but it does need to be sturdy. There are many good shelving options out there, but I recommend using something adjustable so you’re able to move things around as necessary without wasting space. The Container Store’s InterMetro shelving is a popular choice for basements. Neatly organized shelves will also make it easier to see things and group like items together.

Protection from the elements

Using shelves for basement storage is also a good idea because it keeps valuables off the floor, safeguarding them against possible water damage. Even the most secure basements are susceptible to water, so it’s better to be safe than sorry. Attics obviously are less vulnerable to water damage, assuming your roof is in good shape, but things stored up there need to be resistant to extreme temperature changes. Artwork, photographs and records from the ’80s will be damaged if they get too hot.

Clear containers

Clear plastic containers with secure tops are ideal for storing Halloween costumes, paperwork and more. People frequently gravitate to very large bins, but beware the 32-gallon bin filled with collectibles; it will be very heavy. It is better to go with a manageable size that won’t break your back as you lug it up and down the stairs or ladder.

You shouldn’t need a flashlight

If you feel like you’re heading into a cave every time you go searching for your favorite holiday decorations or the hammer you’ll need to hang them, you’re not going to be happy. So make sure that your basement and attic storage spaces are well lighted. You don’t need pretty or expensive fixtures, but you do need adequate lighting to make the space feel at least a little welcoming and, more important, functional.

Labeling is crucial

Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ll remember where you put last year’s winter boots or your favorite holiday serving platter. Take a few minutes to list the contents of each bin on the outside with a piece of masking tape and a permanent marker. You also can go beyond that and create an electronic map or list of the contents of your attic and basement. It’s a good way to remind you and your family where things are kept, but it also can be important for insurance purposes.

Keep the cobwebs away

Take a look around your basement and attic once or twice per year to take inventory and clear out anything you haven’t used or no longer want. Continually adding items to your storage spaces without also purging or sorting regularly will make a manageable task much more overwhelming later.

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Tuesday, November 12, 2013 8:01 am.

Updated: 8:03 am.

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Mark Cullen: Tips to winterize your garden

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Just when you thought you had battened down the hatches and were settling in for a long winters nap, I am here to tell you that there some legitimate excuses for outdoor activity in the garden. I call it ‘winterizing’ and your investment in garden plant will be protected if you follow my advice.

1. Uprighting evergreens like cedars and junipers should be wrapped with two layers of burlap. It does two things – one it prevents wind damage and second it prevents sun damage. Evergreens that are open to the north / west prevailing winds are particularly susceptible.

2. Hill up your roses with triple mix or clean, weed free top soil. The idea is not so much to prevent freezing as ground frost will occur in most parts of Canada without the hilling: rather, you are preventing damage to tender rose bushes from the freeze/thaw cycles that occur in most of the country.

3. Apply liquid Wiltpruf on all of your broad-leafed evergreens. Taxus (yews), boxwood, euonymus and of course rhododendrons all benefit from the insulating value of this effective anti-desiccant. It is the drying effects of our winter that wreaks havoc here.

As for indoor plants -there is work to done there too. More on that later.

www.markcullen.com

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Mark Cullen: Tips to winterize your garden

Winter garden prep: Follow these tips in winter for a successful garden come …

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Even though gardening season is over for the year, there are plenty of things that you can do in the cold winter months to prepare your garden for spring planting.

“If it’s still nice outside in November, you can go ahead and prune shrubs and clean out your garden, getting rid of any old vines and plants,” says Beth Preston, co-owner of The Plant Lady in Cape Girardeau. “You can also put organic compost, manure, or leave mulch in the garden area now, as that will give it time to break down into the soil during winter.”

If you are finished harvesting crops from your garden, a cover crop is a good choice to plant in November.

“Plant a cover crop like annual rye now, and then next spring, till it into the soil,” says Paul Schnare, owner of Sunny Hill Gardens and Florist in Cape Girardeau. “This will increase the amount of organic matter in the soil.”

“My advice during the cold winter months is to read some inspirational gardening magazines or books and dream of spring!” says Preston.

This is also a good time to make new paths or walls in your garden and to purchase some hardscaping at a bargain price.

“Rocks, statues and other objects of interest as well as many other gardening supplies are always marked down when the season is over,” says Preston.

December is also a good time to apply gypsum to your garden space.

“Applying gypsum will break down the clay and make the soil more tillable,” says Schnare. “That should be done in the wintertime.”

Both Preston and Schnare agree that January (or anytime during the cold winter months) is a good time to get a soil analysis done on your garden spot.

“If you are using the same garden spot year after year, or if you have moved to a new location, you should get a soil analysis,” says Preston.

The Missouri Extension will provide the analysis, and details are available online.

“By sending in the soil sample, you can see if the soil needs lime or other nutrients applied,” says Schnare.

By February, green thumb enthusiasts can begin gardening again!

“If the weather is warm enough, many people are starting their gardens around February,” says Schnare. “You can usually plant thing like lettuces and leafy vegetables then. Cole [cold season] crops like broccoli, cauliflower and kale can be started in your basement in February, and then planted in the ground in late February or early March.”

In February, Preston encourages gardeners to start looking at catalogs for seeds and plants that they wish to plant in their spring gardens.

“The catalogs will start coming out after the first of the year,” says Preston. “Just follow the instructions [regarding planting] on whatever your order.”

Gardeners need to remember that this area is zone six when they are ordering seeds and plants.

“The United States is divided into [planting] zones based on things like when it frosts, when spring comes and how low the temperatures get in winter,” says Preston.

Preston also advises keeping a gardening journal each year.

“Whether you do it online or in a spiral notebook, keep a record of what’s been successful and unsuccessful for you,” says Preston.

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Broomfield Enterprise Gardening Nov. 10: Winter survival tips for perennials

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Many of the gardening questions people ask master gardeners in autumn deal with perennial plants and tend to start with the words “when,” “which ones” and “how much.”

The leaves and stems of perennials die back during the winter, but the crown and roots remain alive. It is from these tissues that the plant starts growing in the spring, when the weather is more hospitable. Typically the dead top growth is not an asset during the winter months and the majority of it should be removed.

Plants with attractive or nutritious seed heads are an exception. They can provide winter interest in the garden and food for wildlife. Leaving a small amount of stem — 3 to 6 inches — when cutting back perennials can be a benefit in areas such as ours that don’t receive a lot of consistent snow cover. When it does snow, these short bunches of stems catch and hold the snow, increasing the chance that the plant will get the moisture it needs during the winter.

If the foliage that has died back has any sign of disease, it should be put into the trash rather than composted. Iris or hosta leaves with spots, hawthorn tree leaves with rust spots, lilac leaves, phlox or monarda that succumbed to powdery mildew all fall into this category. Peonies also benefit from fall sanitation practices to prevent diseases.

In summer, organic mulches are used to reduce evaporation. If the mulch applied during earlier months has broken down or has been raked or blown away, an application of mulch for the winter is in order. As during summer, a layer of mulch helps reduce evaporation during warm, dry spells and from drying winds. It also insulates the soil and helps maintain a more stable soil temperature. The winter freeze-thaw cycles are especially hard on newly planted perennials, shrubs, trees and bulbs. In extreme cases the crown of the plant can be heaved from the soil. More often, the expansion and contraction of the soil damages the tender root hairs that take up water for the plant. When layering on mulch for the winter, it should be applied after the ground freezes.

Winter watering is important in successful overwintering of plants. Snow acts as an insulator in the garden. Unfortunately there are often extended periods of time where the Front Range does not have snow cover, and the soil is exposed to drying winds and sun. A good rule of thumb is to water every four to six weeks when there is no snow cover or precipitation. Water on days when the temperatures rise above 40 degrees and the ground can accept the moisture.

Colorado State University Extension in the City and County of Broomfield provides unbiased, research-based information about 4-H youth development, family and consumer issues, gardening, horticulture and natural resources. As part of a nationwide system, Extension brings the research and resources of the university to the community. The Broomfield County Extension office is at 1 DesCombes Drive, Broomfield, 80020. For information, call 720-887-2286.

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Water-wise garden tips

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Apart from using up scarce fresh water, excessive irrigation can cause shallow root systems to develop and fungal growth on your plants.

Rather give them more water less often, instead of a little every day: this stimulates their roots to grow deeper, making them better able to access soil moisture and endure dry spells.

This summer, remember also to water in the early morning or evening, preferably when it’s still; evaporation is highest in the heat of the day and when the wind blows. Water down near the ground surface to further minimise evaporation.

Your local nursery or botanical garden can help advise you about the best water-wise plants for your area.

More water-saving tips:

Save water: eat less meat. Diets high in meat and dairy products are draining the planet dry.

Leaky toilets waste water. A leaking toilet can waste up to 100 000 litres of water a year. Use this trick to find out if yours has a leak.

Don’t be a drip. A dripping tap can waste 30-60 litres per day or even more, and according to several bylaws it’s illegal not to fix obvious leaks.

Let it mellow… You may have seen this immortal poem pasted above an environmentally aware toilet, or had it chanted at you by persons of school-going age

Reclaim the sponge bath. A shower beats a bath energy-wise and water-wise, but a sponge bath beats both, using only a fraction the hot water.

Got a good green tip to share? Email me at oroseinn@sa.24.com or post on the EnviroHealth Forum – if it’s a planet-saver, we’ll publish it.

– Olivia Rose-Innes, EnviroHealth Editor
@ORoseInn

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