Greetings!
With only a few more sleeps til Christmas, we wish you and your family a very merry Christmas and a happy 2009. This month has seen our Dahlia "Mystic" series hit the garden centres by storm with their wonderful dark foliage and spectacular blooms. Looking stunning at the nursery and in garden centres this month is the striking Cotinus 'Royal Purple' (or smoke bush) and the dark foliage of Euphorbia 'Tui'. | |
Plant Of The Month
Dahlia "Mystic" Series
Bred by New Zealand's own Dr Keith Hammett, four recent arrivals on the gardening scene are proving to be winners. Dahlia 'Mystic Desire', Dahlia 'Mystic Illusion', Dahlia 'Mystic Dreamer' and Dahlia 'Mystic Spirit' will liven even the dullest of gardens with their stunning deep mahogany black foliage topped with vivid blooms of colour. Oozing with lushness and sophistication, these beauties are complimentary amongst even low maintenance native gardens as impact colour spots. Your hardest choice will be whether to choose the rich red flower of Dahlia 'Mystic Desire', the vivid yellow of 'Mystic Illusion', the candy stripe pink of 'Mystic Dreamer' or the peachy tones of 'Mystic Spirit'.
For contrasting foliage, plant with natives such as the silvery Astelia Silver Spear or the deep red of Phormium Evening Glow. For drama and a riot of colour, group a few together in a pot or container. These Dahila's will form a clump 80cm tall by 60cm wide and they like rich, moisture retentive soil in a sunny spot. Cold winters are no problem as they die down and then burst on the scene again in spring.
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Wanting Flowering Fragrance?
For a fantastic flowering vine look no further than Trachelospermum jasminoides or commonly known as the Star Jasmine. A Chinese native, this is one vine that will dominate your garden throughout the summer months with its flowers and fragrance. Evergreen in nature, Star Jasmine's thick glossy leaves provide a wonderful backdrop for the abundance of little star shaped white flowers that smother the vine. A climber by nature, it requires minimal maintenance whilst scrambling up trellis, verandah posts, along a fence or even that old garden shed that has become an eyesore. It also makes for a wonderful ground cover with any wayward tendrils pinned to the ground or grown over a small structure. Pots and urns will contain this one to the confines of your courtyard or deck for urban dwellings.
Preferring a free draining soil in full sun/part shade, Star Jasmine will eventually spread to a height of 3 metres by 3 metres if desired or train to size and shape. For nourishment, try dressing with a general garden fertilizer in late autumn.
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And In London .............
Well I have only been back a week and already it feels like I have been back for months. In just three and half weeks on the otherside of the world, I managed to get lost in Athens, very cold in Prague (minus 7 degrees), buy chocolate in Belgium and shop til exhaustion in London.
If I could be given a dollar for every Cordyline 'Redstar' I saw in London - I would be a wealthy girl. Everywhere I looked, in planter boxes, front gardens, back gardens, window boxes and even hotel gardens, Cordyline 'Redstar' featured. From formal plantings with boxed buxus hedges to just singular plantings in a feature pot at a front door, Cordyline 'Redstar' seems to be the winter attraction for avid gardeners in London.
In Hong Kong, I spotted one of my personal favourites - Loropetalum 'China Pink' planted at the base of the 2008 Olympic Torch in Kowloon and then it was used again at the base of an unusual sculpture in Kowloon Park. As a feature at the base of this sculpture, someone had certainly gone to town, training and clipping it to an almost ball like shape - something I now might add to my - must try this at home list!
Now at home, I am truly inspired to design some window boxes for our house - beautifully planted window boxes in London seemed to brighten even the dullest of days and houses! |
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Our Winners
Our NZ Gardener readers who won a Coprosma 'Karo Red' plant last month were Claire Huggins, Fiona Rayner, J Giles, James Macilquham and Jane Hodgson. The Otago Daily Times plant of the month winners were Nola Parsons, Gill Campbell and Heather Abernethy and they each won a Choisya 'Mexican Orange Blossom". Finally, the winners of the bags of Tui Super Sheep Pellets are David Sedgewick, Claire Hedgley, Angela Biggar, Kenn Cox and Valerie Gwilliams.
This month we have two GARDENING SOLUTIONZ CAPS to give away so remember to click on the competition section of this newsletter to be in with a chance. It could be you winning a Gardening Solutionz cap this month. | |
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Next time (February 2009) - introducing colour spots in your garden, the heat is on with tips on sun loving plants for your garden and I'll show you what I found at the base of the Acropolis in Athens, plus more chances to win .... |
From the team at Gardening Solutionz
www.gardeningsolutionz.co.nz
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Competition!
If you would like to win a Gardening Solutionz Cap - WE HAVE TWO CAPS TO GIVE AWAY, Simply enter here to go in the draw
TO WIN
(Terms and Conditions apply) |
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Gardening
'Solutionz'
If you have any gardening questions you would like answered - please contact us. This week's question is:
Question: I have just purchased a Mexican Orange Blossom and was just wondering how much care it is going to require.
Thanks Mary-Anne
Answer: Hi Mary-Anne
Well done on your choice of a Mexican Orange Blossom or Choisya Ternata. This plant is relatively trouble free and will tolerate any moderately fertile, well drained soil. For best results, position in sun/moderate shade. Mexican Orange Blossom is very easy to grow and will generally take care of itself. Prune when young to form a bushy framework and then only prune to remove damaged shoots.
We hope you enjoy your wonderful fragrant shrub!
From the team at gardeningsolutionz.co.nz |
For care of your Gardening Solutionz plants we recommend Tui garden care products. For more information click here
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