I HAVE just returned from another trip to New Zealand. I find it a lovely place, still with some old world charm about it. The shops all close at 5pm and town centres can be deserted after that time. Restaurants serve up superb meals but quite early and it is not exceptional to find the kitchens closed around 8 or 9 o’clock. The evening meal is still referred to as ‘tea’, a relic of the first settlers I suppose. All these early evenings no doubt give more time to work outside, for New Zealand is certainly the place to go for lovely gardens.
While I was there this time New Zealand’s big flower show, the Ellerslie Flower Show, ‘bought’ by the southern garden city of Christchurch from Auckland last year, was in full swing. It didn’t quite match up to regional flower shows in the UK but it was a showcase for up and coming designers, some still at horticultural college. They threw a breath of fresh air into the arena with their ecological thoughts and ways to combat global warming and water shortages. Some had to be explained to visitors though, like the rooftop garden and one created in a rubbish skip. Overall though, there was great use of space and many displays of native plants, some of which we see here now in our garden centres. New Zealand, spread over two islands, has a sub-tropical climate at the top of North Island, while the nearest landmass to the bottom of South Island is Antarctica! So there are lots of different micro-climates.
Generally, gardens were full of colour even as summer faded into autumn, and some of the trees were already beginning to show autumn hues. Roses and dahlias were to be found in every garden in a kaleidoscope of colours, while the huge seed heads of agapanthus and crocosmia were in abundance by the sides of the road, with a certain beauty of their own. It is a lovely place to pitch your tent but such a long way away!
Back home gardens are racing away. Not a moment to spare for selecting new plants and settling them in before the big heat. The garden centres are full of temptations so keep your hand on your purse or you could be returning home with far too many ‘must have’ plants. The weather can still be variable at this time of year so watch out and be aware of low night temperatures still, which can burn soft growth.
WHAT TO DO IN THE GARDEN THIS MONTH
WITH THE advent of longer days and warmer temperatures, growth can be alarming. Hedges may need a haircut right away, as all that rain earlier helped to send out new shoots everywhere. Topiaries can easily lose their shape if they are not regularly trimmed but special topiary shears are ideal for that job.
The early spring bulbs are over so cut off any dead flower heads and consign them to the compost bin. You will have to be patient and let the leaves die down naturally, even if they look unsightly at this stage. When they turn brown or yellow then you can gently pull them off. If you are tempted to cut them down now, then you are denying the plant the means to regenerate and produce lovely flowers for next season. Some people tie them in a loose knot but this breaks the pumping system which feeds the plants and you will end up with blind plants next time. If bulbs have not had flowers this year then it may be time to dig them up but if the bulbs look big and wholesome then replant them or store until the autumn in a dry place. Sometimes though they have just had their lifespan.
All the sudden warmth means that there are lots of bugs about. Black fly and especially greenfly love soft new growth, of which there is a lot on trees and bushes at this time of year. Left unchecked, the bugs can create untold damage to leaves and flower buds so deal with them as you spot them. The well-tried remedy is to use a drop of washing up liquid in water and spray often. Someone in New Zealand told me to use baking powder in water but I haven’t tried that yet. Those horrid red beetles have been around chewing my daffodils to death and the only way I have found to deal with them is to shake the flower and stamp on them – the beetles not the flowers! There have been lots of puddles in which mosquitoes can lay their eggs, so don’t let water stagnate anywhere or you could have masses of young mozzies just ready to annoy you. It only takes 10 days from the laying of eggs to adult flies. Of course, our old enemies, the snails have had a field day this winter with all that earlier rain and I have seen many more slugs about this year than before. If you live adjacent to farmland or green areas then you will probably have been inundated. Just keep checking under plant trays or plant pot rims where they cluster. You could go out at night with a torch and a bucket to collect them – someone told me that he had picked up over 100 in one night – then you have to get rid of them en masse!
Summer salad plugs are in all the nurseries and make growing your own so much easier than sowing seeds and waiting for them to appear. Some things have to sown directly in the ground, like beetroot, carrots and peas, but beans come in little plugs to add to our summer menus. Don’t buy plugs if they are dry and crusted, as it is unlikely that they will be able to take up water again. Get them home as soon as possible and if you cannot plant them straight away, then give them a drink and keep them in the shade until you can. Remember to leave space among the rows to let them expand and grow. Sometimes sparrows peck away at lettuce seedlings, they are attracted to the bright green leaves but as the plants grow they leave them alone.
Tie in any loose stems of roses and jasmines and other climbing plants and take off deadheads as the flowers fade. Other plants that are just glorious at the moment are osteospermums in such a variety of colours. I have a pretty cream-flowered one with variegated leaves, which is quite enormous this year. Check osteospermums every day while the sun is out, so that you only remove the dead heads. Cut the stems back to a leaf axis down the stem where new leaves and flowers will soon emerge. Give them a feed every three or four weeks. Liquid Phostrogen, a capful in 10 litres of water, will feed several plants.
The first roses of the season are bursting into bloom. One of my favourites, Rosa banksia is looking lovely now scrambling along a hedge line, and has benefited from being fed from February onwards. The damascena roses will be next. You may well have had roses in your garden all winter, but rose bushes do benefit from a rest, as we all do. Don’t work too hard!
Plant of the Month April Nicandra ‘Cream Splash’
THIS PRETTY plant, known as the Shoo-fly plant or Apple of Peru, is regarded as a weed in some parts of the world. Originally it came from Peru, hence one of its names. It belongs to the Nightshade family and therefore all parts are poisonous if ingested. Nevertheless it is a welcome addition to the garden, where its very unusual flowers attract butterflies and bees. It is supposed to be a natural insect repellent and if the sap is mixed with milk, it is said to attract flies that drink it and then die! If only it was so!
Nicandra likes to grow in full sun or part shade but does need some watering in the heat of the summer or it will droop. The leaves of Nicandra ‘Cream Splash’ are flecked with cream but the original plant had all green leaves. So if you plant seeds then you will probably get a mixture of green and flecked leaves.
It is regarded as an annual, which means that you sow the seeds in spring, the plants flower, make seeds in the autumn and then die. However, in areas where winters are mild it may lose its top-most leaves to lower night temperatures but will regenerate lower down the main stem. The bell-shaped flowers, which are attractive, can be light blue or mauve with a white centre and about 4.5cm across. These are followed by mauve and green, lantern-like seed pods. Plants can reach up to 90cm in height in favourable conditions. Propagation is by seed which can be obtained from www.plant-world-seeds.com.
