Kowhai Thompson provides some simple tips for a garden renovation One question we face when we purchase a property or when we have lived in the same place for some time is: how do we update this garden? What do we keep? What do we remove? How do we tie this whole garden together? Gardens … Read More
MEDIA RELEASE From: Canterbury Horticultural Society Date: 7 March 2017 From Emerald City to Amazon Rainforest – prepare to be enchanted this weekend at the 3rd Oderings School Gardens Show as the children explore the theme of “once upon a time….” Presented by the Canterbury Horticultural Society (CHS), the Oderings School Gardens Show opens on … Read More
Kowhai Thompson’s first landscape design instalment Mass Planting One way to create a ‘tied together’ look in your home garden is to add areas of mass plantings. This works both for brand new gardens and for established gardens. Think of purchasing 5 or 10 identical plants at a time of the same variety/colour at a … Read More
I love the non-stop flower power which Calibrachoas have to offer. They start flowering from early Spring, and with a little haircut in early Summer they come away with even more flushes of flowers which will continue until frosts. These callies are perennials, and as long as they don’t get too wet in Winter, they … Read More
From Michael Coulter January has been a month of real challenges in the garden this Summer with winds, hot days followed by cool days and some rain. Despite this I have had plenty of good growth and fruit to harvest although some plants are running a little later than usual. Much of the work to … Read More
Swan plants are in hot demand this Summer, everyone wants the happiness of watching a caterpillar turning into a beautiful butterfly especially children, there’s something so fascinating about it and not to mention is very educational as well.
From Michael Coulter December is the start of the Summer weather and plants are now well into their rapid growth with many of the Spring-planted crops ready for harvest. Many of the pest and diseases that attack our plants will also begin to appear so we will need to take action to mitigate the damage … Read More
From Michael Coulter Spring weather has at last given us some rain so the top soil now has some good moisture but the sub soil is still dry, this means that we will still have to water our gardens to keep the moisture up where the plants are growing. The warmer temperatures plus humidity from … Read More
From Michael Coulter Spring is well and truly here. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom and the city is clothed in a kaleidoscope of Spring flowers of all colours and types. We are still in need of rain to get the soil moisture up to a good level for the coming growing season. I … Read More
From Michael Coulter September, the start of the very busy time in the Spring garden. As I write this it is raining, I hope that we get a good amount as we really need some to give the soil a moisture boost to start the season off. I have noticed that some of the Spring … Read More