This month is the start of the Summer fruit season with berry fruits at their peak and stone fruit starting to ripen. With longer days and the warmer temperatures these fruits will ripen quickly so they must be looked at each day and are best picked in the cooler mornings before they get too hot. … Read More
Secret Gardens of Aotearoa: Field notes and practical wisdom by Jane Mahoney & Sophie Bannan ISBN: 9781991006240 | $49.99 Secret Gardens of Aotearoa is a beautiful book that showcases twelve intriguing and unique gardens and the people who tend to them, along with advice, guides, and plenty of stunning photography. Written and photographed by … Read More
As the Summer weather arrives many gardeners will be looking to navigate water restrictions and charges. Maximising the effectiveness of hand watering is crucial. In the past I’ve used NovaFlow drainage pipes, these can be buried near trees and shrubs and filled on permitted days or with collected rainwater. This is an efficient way to … Read More
Soil to Table: The Land Gardeners Bridget Elworthy & Henrietta Courtauld ISBN: 9781760762636 | $89.99 The Land Gardeners – Bridget Elworthy and Henrietta Courtauld – are gardeners and healthy soil researchers and advocates based in the UK. Their first book, Cut Flowers, focused on the role of healthy soil in growing beautiful blooms. Soil … Read More
The Natural Garden: Landscape Ideas for New Zealand Gardens Xanthe White ISBN: 9781776950584 | 59.99 Available for pre order from 3 October 2023 Xanthe White is a garden designer based in Auckland, who for nearly three decades has worked as the lead designer of her studio on a broad range of projects both in … Read More
This month the growing season is well underway. Daylight saving has started and the Spring weather is so far, warmer than usual and the monthly rainfall, below average. This year the fruit set on my stone fruit looks very good, I’ll be maintaining my spray programme to keep pests and diseases under control. The apple … Read More
Spring has arrived at last with the longer days and warmer sun. The ground is drying out and warming up so let the growing season begin! The lawns will now respond to fertilisers as the grass begins to grow. After the grass has been cut two or three times I like to de-thatch the lawn … Read More
Around the World in 50 Plants Jonathan Drori, illustrated by Lucille Clerc ISBN: 9781399610698 | $37.99 After the incredible success of Around the World in 80 Trees, Jonathan Drori has returned for another trip around the world – this time with plants as the focus. Around the World in 80 Plants has recently been … Read More
The Everyday Herbalist The Essential Guide to Growing & Using Herbs in Aotearoa Jane Wrigglesworth ISBN: 9781991006165 | $49.99 The Everyday Herbalist is a comprehensive and timely guide to herbs and their uses in Aotearoa. Author Jane Wrigglesworth has written for publications like NZ Gardener and Lifestyle Block for many years, with a focus … Read More
August Winter Gardening Tips from Michael Coulter August is the month that divides some gardeners; is it Spring, or is it Winter? There are many reasons to say that it is mostly Winter, but we do see the signs of Spring around the garden and in the greenhouse. Early daffodils and many other Spring bulbs … Read More