Selwyn Times: October 16, 2019

32 Wednesday October 16 2019
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
SELWYN TIMES
Gardening
Learn, experiment and grow
GARDEN BOX is providing
$5000 of premium organic
compost to the wider
Christchurch early childhood
and primary schools community
to assist programmes where
children get to learn, experiment
and grow with their own
gardens.
As the new owners of Garden
Box (previously Parkhouse Garden
Supplies) Janine and Jaimie
McNabb wanted to give back to
their community while encouraging
children to enjoy their own
gardens.
They feel getting kids involved
with planting, caring and eating
vegetables at a young age is a
great way for them to appreciate
where food comes from and
form great life habits.
Last year over 50 schools and
early childhood centres received
INVOLVEMENT:
Encourage
children to get
into the garden.
a share of Garden Box plus
compost to the vlaue of $5000
for their gardens. Garden Box
is repeating this, giving away a
full truck and trailer load of their
signature compost.
To enter, a representative of the
school or early childhood centre,
ie staff, board member or PTA
member, can complete a form
through the Garden Box website
www.gardenbox.co.nz
Get outside and go potty
GARDENING IN pots is a
spectacularly rewarding and low
labour hobby.
Instead of battling the elements,
treating tired old soil,
weeding and digging frantically,
you simply tip the prepared
perfect potting mix into the
container, follow it up with the
plants, water and wait. It’s hard
to go wrong.
You just move the pot around
until you’ve found the perfect
sunny or shady spot, without
disturbing the root system,
because a container garden is
portable.
You can move it about your
home, patio or garden to fill
bare spots at any time of year.
And best of all, when you move
house, you don’t have to leave
your cherished garden behind –
they all shift with the furniture.
Furthermore, container gardens
look great anywhere – as
hanging baskets on terraces and
pergolas, half round containers
spilling colour down a wall or
fence, or simply sitting on paved
areas, decks and steps. For best
effect, plan your planter by
height as well as colour.
You can mix annuals with
a central perennial until the
perennial gets well established,
and in the meantime, enjoy a
miniature garden rather than a
miniature plant surrounded by
bare earth.
You can dispense with the annuals
when the perennial takes
over.
Container gardeners can
pretty much give up weeding
altogether. But you don’t need
to do a bit of soil maintenance
from time to time, because the
plants aren’t in a self renewing
envi- ronment – they’re relying
on you to give them nutrition
and moisture.
Potted plants can dry out
fast. Some will need watering
up to twice a day in the hotter
months, particularly those in
terracotta and other porous
pots.
PATIOS - OUTDOOR AREAS - CAR PORTS
Shadecraft is a locally owned company who specialise in shade and weather
protection products to enhance your homes design and use of outdoor areas.
SHADE SAILS – UMBRELLAS – ALL WEATHER CANOPIES
ShadeCraft (SI) Ltd
0800 742332 • Cell 0274 981239 • www.shadecraft.co.nz
Lawn Time
Build Maintain Refresh
Garden Box has all the products you
need plus great advice.
✔ Top Soil Screened
✔ Lawn Construction Mix
✔ Lawn Topdressing
✔ Lawn Seeds etc
03 348 2915 www.gardenbox.co.nz
57 Lunns Road, Middleton (off Curletts Road)
MAINSCAPE
Garden Supplies
Making your great outdoors greater
20-40mm
CRAWFORD
HILL SCHIST
Check out the rest of our landscape supplies online
www.mainscapegardensupplies.co.nz
Call us now
WAS $99
nOW $79
peR SCOOp
While stocks last
021 241 7908
1543 Springs Rd Lincoln
Needing Landscaping?
• Landscape Design
• Decks/Pergolas/Paving
• Irrigation Systems
• Plant Supply & Planting
• Ready/Hydro/Artificial Lawn
• Digger & Truck Hire
The Landscape Specialists
Prompt and professional service by experienced staff
Phone: 03 349 4363
Email: greenscapes@xtra.co.nz
www.greenscapes.co.nz