Articles

Container Gardening on the Patio - January 2011

Hello again to all our keen gardeners! I hope you have had a great Xmas / New year and are now enjoying the fruits of the work you did earlier in the spring in your garden. Today I am going to touch on how to get plants to perform in containers on your patio and some good options. Many gardeners get dissapointed when they purchase a plant for a pot they have at home and the plant fails to live up to their expectations. Either the plant doesnt look happy, fails to flower, or the plant dries out and the foliage goes brown. There are lots of reasons that can contribute to unsuccessful performance of plants in containers, but you can help the odds to be more in your favour by following ... Continue reading

Wednesday, September 05, 2012 13:39

Stars for a Summer Garden - 15 December 2010

Today I want to talk about plants that perform over the hot summer months. As you well know, over the last two months we have been experiencing little rain and day after day of hot summer weather, which can take its toll on your garden. There are some very good plants avaliable, that can handle the weather conditions we are currently experiencing, and so if you look to using some of these in your garden, it will considerably help with keeping a lovely garden over the summer, and needing little maintenance. As the local council starts to bring in stricter conditions for water useage, then it becomes more important for us that we have plants that will stand up to having less water. A... Continue reading

Wednesday, September 05, 2012 13:35

Exciting outdoor living areas - 9 November 2010

It's definitely the time of year we all like to get outside as much as possible. It's warmer and you now have plenty of time in the evenings after work to have a relaxing meal in your outdoor patio area . What does your outdoor patio look like? Exciting? Welcoming? Relaxing? Tranquil? All, some or none of these? Whatever style you would like your outdoor area to be, it's honestly very easy to design an outdoor room to meet these requirements. PLANTS Try and use plants that you like the look of, and that complement the garden area whatever your favourite style, and plants that will help to soften any solid structures like concrete walls, paving etc. The best i... Continue reading

Wednesday, September 05, 2012 13:31

Client Open Day - Nov 2010

Once again in November, Graeme’s landscape clients were treated to a lovely afternoon at the Rukuhia Homestead Gardens. For many, it was their first time visiting the beautiful grounds where Graeme and his wife Val have spent the last six years developing the eight different-themed gardens, set amongst some of the most beautiful, mature trees in the Waikato. The gardens are a showroom for Graeme’s clients, to get ideas and inspiration for their own gardens. ... Continue reading

Wednesday, September 05, 2012 09:48

A sense of style - 7 October 2010

Hello once again to all keen gardeners, The weather last weekend was a wonderful tonic, making everyone feel happy in the sunshine and it got them out on mass into their gardens again.My wife and i spent two full days in our patch of earth, bringing it all up to scratch again ready for Christmas and the outdoor enter- taining that comes with that time of the year. Its time to trim what needs doing, feed all your gardens with a slow release fertiliser, mulch where you want to keep the weeds to a minimum, and generally get every- thing in shape for the time of year for growth and lots of blooming. DEVELOPING A GARDEN STYLE If you need some more plants for an existing garden or y... Continue reading

Wednesday, September 05, 2012 13:23

Citrus suit many situations - 16 September 2010

There are a range of benefits/ virtues that citrus trees can bring to your garden. As a landscaper, I find them extremely rewarding plants to deal with because: They can easily produce you bucketfulls of beautiful tasty fresh citrus fruit for a large period of the year. In spring they are covered in masses of sweetly fragrant white flowers and produce a very pleasant tropical type fragrance . Citrus trees grown in a large pot/container are the perfect plant for a very small urban patio and are just as accommodating on a Kiwi quarter acre site in the back garden. Evergreen, shiny dark green foliage, looking attractive all year round and needing very little main- tenan... Continue reading

Wednesday, September 05, 2012 13:09

Keeping the weeds away can be easy if you plan - 17 August 2010

Every week I get asked by people "What is a good groundcover that I can plant in my garden to keep away the weeds?". It won't be long now before all the trees and shrubs in your garden will start to come to life and want to grow, but unfortunately so will those awful weeds! It will soon be that time of the year when you turn your back from the garden for just a week, and when you return the weeds will have germinated and be growing through their lifecycle as quickly as possible. Whatever you do, try to deal to these weeds BEFORE they have a chance to go through their full cycle and set and scatter their seed everywhere. Because if you get rid of them after they have scattered their seed... Continue reading

Wednesday, September 05, 2012 08:48

Plants Guaranteed to dazzle - 22 July 2010

Hello to all keen gardeners and non gardeners in the Te Awamutu Courier region.I am going to be putting together a monthly article for your local newspaper, writing about aspects of landscaping that I am sure will help you to have a lovely garden and still have the time to pursue your favourite activities.I have been actively involved in the New Zealand nursery industry for 35 years and in this time I have gained a wealth of knowledge about plants, gardening and landscaping that I would like to share with Courier readers.I currently live in Rukuhia and my origins are definitely from the Te Awamutu region _ 30 years ago the Burton family was a household name in gardening in the Te Awamutu a... Continue reading

Wednesday, September 05, 2012 08:36

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