36 Tuesday <strong>September</strong> <strong>19</strong> <strong>2017</strong> Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi Gardening SELWYN TIMES Striking and statuesque delphiniums • By Henri Ham BOLD: Fertiliser will help plants bloom. MAINSCAPE Garden Supplies Making your great outdoors greater SPRING SPECIAL Mushroom Compost $18 scoop Come and see our range of garden supplies FREE loan trailers available. OPEN 6 DAYS Mon-Fri 8am - 5pm, Sat 8am - 3pm 1543 Springs Rd Phone 021 241 7908 EFTPOS Available www.mainscapegardensupplies.co.nz Mainscape Garden Supplies TALL: Delphiniums will grow to 180cm. DELPHINIUMS ARE not the plant for every garden. If you have a small garden or like to grow things in pots, then delphiniums are probably not for you. But for the right garden they can look absolutely fantastic. And the right garden is one that can handle a bit of height. Delphiniums will grow to a whopping 180cm tall. They are beautiful and bold and look great in all sorts of different style gardens. Foxgloves and hollyhock are two other tall plants which look lovely grown with delphiniums. And they also make great cut flowers. Delphiniums are perfect for anyone wanting to fast-forward the pleasure they receive from their garden. When you’re ready to plant, choose a sunny, well-drained area with rich soil. Dig in a good quality compost and animal manure fertiliser and add plenty of mulch to stop weeds forming and retain soil moisture. Pea straw, is a favourite mulch of mine as it’s soft and will rot down over time and feed the soil. Plant each delphinium around 50cm apart from the next to give a bit of space. But don’t plant too far apart as they create a great visual effect if planted near each other and they will provide extra support. Delphiniums like a drink, so keep them well-watered and a bit of liquid fertiliser will help keep them blooming. If you notice the foliage start to yellow or the plant isn’t growing very well – it often means it needs more fertiliser. In around late spring (depending on whether you planted seedlings or established plants) you can expect to see your tall flowers blossom. As they’re short-lived perennials they will flower every year for around three to four years. Dead head your flowers (remove the dead flower heads) and this will help them flower again in late summer, early autumn. School Holiday GARDEN Fun With school holidays looming, and it being the perfect time of year for growing, why not plan some gardening activities for the kids! Here are a couple of ideas to get you started. • Plan and plant a flower garden. Add some colour to the place with some of the beautiful flowers that are out at the moment. Your local garden centre will be packed with choices. Make a day of it and get the kids to help you choose what to plant. • Raised veggie beds are a fun way to get kids into gardening, and there are a multitude of things that they can learn while they are at it. Plan out where you want them to go, don’t forget the plants will need sun! • Raise seeds into seedlings to plant into your raised beds. The kids will love to watch the process of them going from seeds to seedlings, and then into vegetables! Our Seed Raising Mix is available in a 35L bag. Got a question that you want answered? Send us an email to info@igro.co.nz or post it on our Facebook page! While you are on a roll, don’t stop there! Adding a layer of bark mulch to the garden now will help to protect your plants from the heat in the coming summer months. Intelligro has a wide range of barks available, so come down and have a look. By putting a layer of bark on, you will not only help to suppress the weeds, but you will also retain moisture in the soil, reducing the chances of your plants suffering due to drought. If bark isn’t your thing, we also have a great selection of stones and chips that add character to your garden as well. If your garden hasn’t had any compost added to it recently, it is a good idea to add this and mix through the soil prior to applying the bark or stones. LET’S GET GardEninG INTELLIGRO OFFERS: 3 Expert gardening advice 3 High quality products 3 South-Hort growing mixes 3 VIP rewards 3 Buy in-store and online 3 Handy delivery service For more information, check out our website: www.igro.co.nz or visit our facebook page: www.facebook.com/igro.co.nz NEW ENTRANCE: 261 Manion Road, Weedons Access to Intelligro from Manion Road is now available from both the Weedons Ross Road end, and Curraghs Road entrances. Manion Road is the new road built between Weedons Ross Road & Jones Rd www.igro.co.nz | Phone 03 347 9415
SELWYN TIMES Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi Tuesday <strong>September</strong> <strong>19</strong> <strong>2017</strong> 37 Breaking news, delivered to your pocket. Visit www.star.kiwi anytime, anywhere! Fire rages, homes at risk •news •CTV •sport •districts •schools •lifestyle •opinion •what’s on www.star.kiwi