I can’t believe it’s October already. Preparations
for the Ellerslie Flower Show are now in full swing
and I’m already getting the feeling that there
aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything
ready for our exhibition garden. But a lot of
capable people are involved so it should be OK.
Actually, it will be brilliant. If you’re in
Auckland around 14-19 November, you would be mad
to
miss out.
In this week’s issue of Groundwork I want to
introduce you to some of the excellent landscaping
suppliers we’ll be using for our Ellerslie
exhibition garden. We’ll have stone pathways from
Watersedge Stoneweavers, solid fences from
PanelRok,
and macrocarpa from MacDirect.
Stone pathways
Here’s one from the ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ files.
There are some great landscaping products coming
out
of New Zealand’s wild West Coast, and the garden
will feature prefabricated stone pathways from
Water’s Edge Stoneweavers in Hokitika. These
pathways are amazing – they’re made from genuine
West Coast stones that get washed down from the
Southern Alps and eventually get handpicked from a
tiny beach. The stones are then fixed to a
galvanised, welded wire mesh which can be laid on
the ground in interlocking sections to form a
beautiful, natural pathway. It’s instant and easy.
And the stones are very easy to keep clean too -
some warm soapy water is all you need.
The walls of our garden will be made of PanelRok, a
revolutionary solid fencing system.
If they ever decided to build the Berlin Wall again,
they would probably use PanelRok. It’s a virtually
indestructible wall made from the latest advanced
resins developed for the marine industry, and the
finish is very contemporary – it’s similar to the
sponge concrete used on new houses. There’s no
timber so there’s no rotting, cracking or splitting,
and the base of the fence can be buried, without
leaving an unsightly gap at the bottom of the fence.
Installation is very quick (usually taking just one
day) - which suits us perfectly because we’re going
to be in a mad rush at Ellerslie! And once it’s
installed, Panelrok allows easy access for heavy
equipment if you’re doing a landscaping project on
your section. If you need to get a Bobcat onto your
front lawn, you can just slide one of the fencing
panels up (actually, the designers of the Berlin
Wall might not have liked that feature).
I love Macrocarpa. It’s probably my favourite wood.
Who could resist the lustrous, honey brown colour
and the wonderful scent of the freshly cut timber?
But there’s much more to macrocarpa than its sensual
appeal. It’s naturally resistant to fungus and
insect attack, it doesn’t shrink, and it provides
great structural strength.
In short, it’s the ideal timber for landscaping
projects. It’s strong, it looks good, and it lasts
forever. So I’m using macrocarpa from macDIRECT to
construct an ‘outdoor room’ for the Ellerslie
exhibition garden. macDIRECT is New Zealand’s
leading supplier of top-quality macrocarpa timber.
A good way to enhance your outdoor area is to add a
shade umbrella. It’s especially important as the
summertime comes around and those nasty UV rays
get
more intense. As well as protecting you and your
family and friends, a good umbrella will protect
your outdoor furniture from the elements.
Shademakers is an innovative Auckland company that
is leading the way in shade umbrella design. They
can make your house and garden look like a five-star
resort - some of their designs need to be seen to be
believed.
Shademakers was the winner of a competition we held
last month in which we encouraged our members to
update the content of their listings. As a result,
they’ve got a spot on the front page of the
landscapedesign.co.nz site. We normally charge
$2000 for that sort of exposure. That’s a pretty good
result for them, isn’t it?
You too could be a winner if you list your business
with www.landscapedesign.co.nz.
Wally Richards’ latest columns
Companion planting and bee problems
One of the things I like about gardening is that
it’s a lifelong hobby and you never stop learning,
and someone we can all learn a lot from is Wally
Richards. He is truly a guru of the garden and his
knowledge is both deep and broad.
Wally's most recent columns focus on the issues of
companion planting and bees. I urge you to read them
- it just blows my mind how knowledegeable this guy
is!
It's official - September was our biggest month ever.
Unique visitors to the website have increased by
400% since January of this year. Every week several
thousand kiwis visit to look for advice
and inspiration, and to search for people with the
products and skills to help create their ultimate
outdoor landscapes.
And with over 1,900 businesses listed in our
nationwide directory there is plenty of help on hand.
