Remember those wildlife documentaries where a pride of lions slowly circle a herd of wildebeest picking off the oldest, youngest or sickest animals to hunt down and devour? Gardening can be a bit like that sometimes. Insects instinctively know when a plant is undernourished or dry, and target their attacks on weakened specimens. Sick plants…
In the Night Garden
Hot summer nights, some plants come into their own. Daytime flowers are bold and brash, relying on bright colours to attract pollinating insects; night-blooming flowers are more subtle, white or cream-coloured to glow in the dark. Often insignificant in looks, they announce their presence with blasts of powerful perfume. One such is Brugmansia, sometimes mistakenly…
Drinking the summer garden
December, for gardeners, is a month of lushness; plentiful rain, warm soil and still-lengthening days. Long twilights and early dawns pottering outdoors are my favourite antidote to the stresses of the silly season. December is also the season for cooling beverages. A few key plants can set you up for a summertime…
Smell the roses
To bury your nose in an old-fashioned rose is one of the garden’s most sensory pleasures. Their season can be short – some bloom for just a few weeks – so take time this November to stop and smell these roses. Around Wellington, collections of old roses grow in Bolton Street Memorial Park, Pauatahanui Burial…