Gardens

It can seem like a chore trying to keep your vege patch in order over winter, but for minimal effort and good gain, there are still things to be grown with relative ease.

This year, I couldn’t be bothered trying to grow broccoli or leeks, after a rather dismal attempt last year. But I did persevere with lettuces (cos has grown particularly well) spinach, and silver beet to keep all my hens in greens. I must confess that I did buy seedlings from the garden centre rather than grow my own as I would in winter, but it was worth it.

It’s also the perfect time to plant garlic right now, and mine is going in the ground this weekend. Traditionally garlic is planted on the shortest day of the year and dug up on the longest, but so long as you get it in the ground this month or next you’ll be fine. Just remember to plant the pointy end of the glove up, and only plant New Zealand garlic bulbs. Cheap Chinese grown garlic is treated and will not seed. The Koanga Institute have a wealth of information on the seed saving for the garlic and onion family, as well as a run down of the wide range of varieties available in New Zealand.

If you are prepared to make even more of an effort, fixing clear plastic over your raised bed will keep heat in and allow for many other vegetables to be grown. I’m going to try that trick with potatoes, as our summer harvest has almost run out.

If you’re not enthusiastic at all over the colder months, simply top up your plots with manure and/or pea straw, and wait until September!

Steinlager is putting up $100k in sponsorhip and prizes via their Pure Futures campaign, and we were taken by Emily Harris' vision of making Auckland's rooftops green. Put plainly it's a brilliant idea that will need a lot of support - she'll need rooftops to plant on, volunteer gardeners, planter boxes, gardening tools and soil. Check out the site, put your vote in for Emily and help her pick up the loot. And if you're a landlord or have access to a rooftop, open the area for a greener (and healthier) Auckland.

With the Ellerslie International Flower Show opening its doors this week in Christchurch we thought it would be the perfect time to spend an afternoon in Hagley Park.
Gold was awarded to Andy Ellis and Danny Kamo for their 'The Last Laugh' and to international gardens, 'Sei Sei Tei II' by Koji Ninomiya and 'An Englishmen's Retreat' by Chris Beardshaw. Beardshaw's exhibition garden covers just over 64 metres and features an impressive 10,000 plants, including 4500 annuals and 3000 prime herbaceous plants!

Local Christchurch designers Carl Pickens and Sandi McRae picked up Silver Distinction awards for their gardens. Pickens produced a striking garden drawing on the notion that "everything starts with a thought, and the more positive our thinking, the better we feel about ourselves and the world. 'Peace by Piece' is a garden of 1675 ideas for creating a better world, displayed in a garden room shaped in the form of a flower. It is a garden of hope, inspiration and ideas with visitors able to read the messages on the feature wall. The wall will be dismantled after the show to form 104 specially crafted wine racks (which can also be used as garden sculptures)!

McRae's 'Incredible Edibles' is a family garden which is both productive and beautiful, using entirely edible planting combinations. The garden provides shelter, food, fun and is a place for either quiet contemplation or play in an urban setting.

Another favourite of ours was 'My Little Corner Of The World' by Matt McIssac and Mat Ransom. With a circular focus to the garden it offered a contemplative and inviting space which encouraged relaxation.

Wandering around the vast space we were blown away by the level of detail and expansive work that is put into each and every garden. The talent was spectacular and a visit is well worth the cost; you certainly won't be disappointed.