Wednesday, October 21, 2009

spring garden highlights

Some lovely snaps from around our garden. Amazing colour coming out at the moment, even with just the nz native plantings.

This is my favourite flowering manuka, it is called Leptospernum 'Crimson Glory', grows 1 -2m tall and flowers for a long time in spring with gorgeous double red flowers.


Another favourite is the Renga Renga lily or Arthropodium cirratum 'Matapouri Bay'. It grows around 60cm tall and is excellent for dry shade.



Quite a rare plant in shops now a days is the variegated Karo, Pittosporum crassifolium 'Variegata'. It grows to around 2.5m a lot smaller that the standard Karo. It's lovely white varigation is perfect for lifting a shady corner and it grows reasonably slow so can be planted easily in a small garden.


This is an area of garden that was totally cleared out and replanted two summers ago. It had too many roses planted in poor clay soil that looked quite old, it was in need of a restoration. The plants have established well and look quite good. The white mass of flowers are Hebe 'Wiri Mist' 50cm which is one of the better lasting hebes it keeps it shape well and is less inclined to go leggy. Behind the hebes is Muelenbeckia astonii another of my favourites, it is a very hardy divaricating plant which handles dry summers very well ( I while post a close up soon). To improve the clay soil I spread Gypsum and blood and bone around to help break up the soil and improve drainage. The blood and bone attracts worms which are essential to soil health.

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