Amid the emerging crackle and tangle of my fading autumnal garden, there are still a few plants that have retained their vigour and even blooms. While it’s hard to tear my eyes away from the delightful soft fans of the grasses (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’ and Calamagrostis brachytricha) that have risen to the occasion of the season, kudos must be given to the gaura (Oenothora lindheimeri) which has only just started to lose its fluttering little petals, having held court in the garden since early December. At the height of summer, it overwhelmed all its neighbours and I planned to pull ..read more

I have notebooks stacked on my desk packed with ideas to investigate for this column, at least five have been filled up over the last few years. Once the pages are full, I transfer to a new one, carrying over any topics I haven’t yet covered. There are a handful of topics that slide between the books like sinkers around my neck, remaining unaddressed as they feel too intimidating or too big a beast for my baby gardening mind to unravel and offer to you with clarity. These include when/how/what to use for mass weed control beyond actual physical weeding (a rather loaded subject), an investiga ..read more

Late last year I held an open day in my urban Christchurch garden. This was less about presenting a pristine example of an ornamental planting (something that is virtually out of reach as I am too good at turning a blind eye to the problem areas) and more about demonstrating the satisfying and rapid results of utilising perennials. I was so surprised at the fullness of my first season’s beds that I wanted to share them as an encouraging example for others who might be finding the development of a garden a tad tedious. The day went well with five interested groups booking in for 55 minutes of ..read more

With the projected shift to an El Niño cycle on the horizon, spelling hot dry winds for my own garden, I have been thinking a lot about the make-up and position of my planting, considering ideas to safeguard it should we find ourselves very hot and dry next summer. In the years since I began my gardening adventure, I have come to realise that a good watering practice is all very well but tends to be a reaction to the season as opposed to getting ahead of challenging dry periods through good planting and preparation. When I contemplate drought-resilient gardens, I immediately think of my friend ..read more

While beloved gardens have a knack of meeting many emotional and practical needs throughout the year, I hadn’t really considered the potential of my planted patch when it came to the festive period. Recently we hosted a pre-Christmas family get-together. My husband, the cook in our household, quite relished the prospect of hosting, with the multiple trips to Banks Peninsula for crayfish-gathering, and studying of YouTube for tips on meat prep for his smoker. I, on the other hand, stared bleakly at my dirty window panes which exposed low-level adulting, and fled to the garden centre instead. D ..read more

My ‘vege’ garden which has seen mostly flowers until this year. My pathway into gardening was very much visual. My interest was lured away from interiors by the potential of creating beautiful, naturally powered outdoor environments. As a designer, I was keenly aware of the impact spaces can have on a person’s state of well-being and my eyes were opened to the possibilities of experimenting with this outside. Initially, I was led by an obsessive attraction to airy, flower-focused planting above all else, something I am happy to report is now broadened by a healthy respect for trees, shrubs an ..read more

I have noticed more than once in this gardening adventure that I can be thoroughly blind to a plant, and then whammo – I tune in, and it’s everywhere! After four days spent roaming the gardens of the Hurunui Garden Festival recently, I can say that I now firmly have my spotlight trained on euphorbia in all its wonderful, zesty forms. Not only had I lacked awareness of it, I also totally underestimated the energy it brings to the mid-spring show. Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii at Flaxmere Garden Euphorbia is an enormous and diverse plant family that is commonly referred to as ‘spurge’ wit ..read more

Finally, we have returned to the time of year when the garden begs for multiple visits a day. If the sun is out, and I leave my desk or studio for a drink /lunch/loo, my normal track through the house is extended to enjoy a loop of the garden too. There is so much to see back there and the rapid new growth charges up every part of my existence. Even the odd unseasonal sea-level snow can’t stop me from grabbing at every inch of spring! My garden in early October 2022. As the season develops, I have been extra interested to see lush patches of annual Orlaya grandiflora popping up. Also known as ..read more

Even though I didn’t stay up to watch the Queen’s funeral this week, it wasn’t long before I caught the chatter about the beautiful flowers that adorned her coffin. To gardeners, her funeral wreath was obviously more than simply decorative with the featuring of many humble and familiar garden plants that perhaps wouldn’t normally be used in occasions of such pageantry. There were winding limbs of rosemary, a symbol of remembrance and English Oak in the representation of strength. Cut from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Highgrove were garden roses, sedum, dahlias, scabious ..read more

The one sure thing I have learned in my gardening adventure is that my most valuable sources of information and inspiration have been found in other people’s gardens. I’ve keenly investigated planted spaces belonging to both my family and friends as well as those created by deeply invested gardeners who open their spaces to the public. Within this latter group are gardeners that have decided to undertake the challenges involved in assessment to be a rated member of the New Zealand Gardens Trust. The NZGT was created in 2004 under the umbrella of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture ..read more