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The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never any use to oneself. Oscar Wilde.
Spring, sprang, sprung. Are we able to presume that it is here? It has
come with a bit of a rush on the few really glorious days that we have
had, but spring used to slowly unfold. Didn’t it?
This time of the year is really the princely time for perfume, much to
the misery of those who get hay fever. Top of the pops for shrubs with
spring perfume would be members of the viburnum family. The scented
members of this large family of hardy, easy care shrubs are a pure joy and used to be particularly useful to Milady for interior decoration.
The Duncan Davies catalogue listed no less than seven different varieties of the viburnum family, Palmers five. Varieties included Burkwoodii, Bitchiuense, Bodnatense, Carlcephalum, Carlesii, Fragrans, Juddii and Candidissimum. There are more, but some of them you would have to bring in as seed. It is ridiculous that these glorious shrubs are so hard to find but that is due solely to lack of demand.
Part of the blame may be placed at the door of landscapers who do home plans. They are very good at spaces, access etc but usually have a limited knowledge of plant varieties and tend to stick to the same old same old. Consequently propagators and knowledgeable nurserymen shut up shop and that is all lost. The other possibility for loss of variety is the actual lack of interest in shrubs and trees by the public. Garden centres sell diddly poohs and posh but useless gumboots. Do they provide a 'shopping experience' now, rather than good solid advice and variety?
Other shrubs to think of would be the Snowball Tree, Viburnum opulus sterile, any of the evergreen viburnums, Viburnum tinus Emerald Beauty, Flowering Currant, Forsythia (but watch it for suckering), orange blossom, Philadelphus, deciduous azaleas. Go for a walk at this time of the year in the Botanic Gardens or Mona Vale where you will be amazed at the variety. Then ask for the shrubs of choice so that good propagators do not turn into artifacts.
While you are in the gardens check out the rhododendrons. Then keep an eye on the Press or the community papers for notice of the spring and specific flower shows. The annual Orchid Show is a treat. If you do not get the Press then phone the Horticultural Society in Hagley Park and ask them about their coming programme.
Work
By the law of averages, gardening preparation should be in full swing, but it keeps precipitating on us. Watch however for the garden getting dry very quickly after so much rain. It can go from soggy to dryzabone in a short time due to the top soil being packed hard. If possible keep the top few centimetres loose by hoeing and it would be a very good idea to give your garden a good dressing of gypsum to assist drainage.
Apply lawn fertilizer now after mowing so that it has a good chance to dissolve before you mow again. If you do have a drainage problem with the lawn spike holes all over with a crow bar or heavy fork and fill the holes with gypsum and sand. An alternative would be to scatter gypsum then follow with fertilizer.
Apply a good fertilizer to the entire garden. With the sky rocketing price for chemical fertilizer, sheep pellets at $8 per 8kg are a good buy. Nitrophoska has jumped $10 per 8kg. Sheep pellets and blood and bone are better for the soil and hopefully home grown. Unlike superphosphate which is now imported from North Africa, as Nauru has been mined out.
Dead head your bulbs and, please, do not tie the leaves up tight in those stupid knots so beloved by those who must have everything tidy. Just ignore the leaves and they will be gone by Xmas. Watch your spring planted pots and hanging baskets for drying out. As the roots expand to give you great flowers there is less soil to hold the water. Liquid feeding is good. Phostrogen, Nitrosol or your own brew.
It is over to you when you want to start planting vegetables and bedding plants for summer display and food. Everyone has a theory about micro climates, planting early and so on. It all depends on how much fussing you want to do and whether you want good crops and flowers or just passable. A good test of how cold it still is would be to go outside at 2.32 am, take all your clothes off and stand there for five minutes! Now that is chilly for plants.
Good plant results also depend on lengthening sunshine hours. The time for this does not change just because we put our clocks forward on 28 September. So do what you like, what makes you happy, but you may get better results by not planting frost tender plants before Labour weekend and having all summer crops in by Show weekend.
Sow parsnip seed by the end of October; always use fresh seed, Leek plants also at this time. Plant leeks close by dropping deeply into a pencil sized hole then thin and use the thinnings. Plant a row of carrots now but the main crop goes in early January. These suggested times have never changed so long as vegetables and flowers have been grown in the area. Way back when these dates were worked out people had to have good crops as they needed the food. If you experimented too much and the crop failed it could be a long hard winter.
Flowers are the same. Check out when the competition gardens are planted. Those folk cannot afford a late frost. Try to think of a different annual plant to use for the summer garden. Salpiglossis, Nicotiana, Cosmos, Larkspur, Love’n a Mist, Nigella.
For excellent vegetables, herbs and a great range of tomato plants at a great price, grown by someone who knows how to grow and uses proper potting mix, go to Clovelly Gardens in Hume Street near the Waltham Pool. He also has a range of annual flower plants and fantastic Oriental poppies. If you want to grow some of the older heritage tomatoes, and did not get your seed from Kings in time, there used to be a grower selling at the Riccarton Market on Sundays.
Interested in planting by the moon?
Sow and plant all crops that produce above ground, beans, lettuce etc plus flower seed and plants from 4 to 12 October. Remember frost or chill intolerant plants as above. All root crops on 18 and 19 October, plus the 25 and 26. Really good for fishing between 25 October and 12 November.
Check this out and you will know more about carrots than you possibly need to www.carrotmuseum.co.uk.
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. The Niwashi really is the best garden tool ever and you will never regret your purchase. It may cost a bit but you only get what you pay for.
One of the indictments of civilisations is that happiness and intelligence are so rarely found in the same person. William Feather.
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