Selwyn Times: November 24, 2021

Laying pavers is easy
PAVING PART of your garden will
create an extra “room” for your
barbecue, a couple of sun loungers,
or a table and chairs.
Work out where you want the
paving stones. An area with a bit
of slope is good for drainage, but
make sure it does not slope towards
the house.
Measure the area, in square metres,
so you can calculate how many
pavers you will need. Allow five per
cent more for those you will have to
cut to fit odd spots.
Dig the area and level it. Don’t
recess it too much as the paving
stones should be above the ground
to stop water pooling. About 10
or 12cm is the right depth for foot
traffic.
Build a thick base of gravel or
stone chip by putting one thin layer
over another compacting each time
with a large rubber hammer.
Put in edging restraints (buy
concrete edging from hardware
stores) to hold up a free edge of
stones.
Put down about 3cm of sand
on the top of your base layer of
gravel.
Lay the paving stones in the sand
and use the hammer to settle them.
Wear earmuffs and safety glasses.
Sweep sand over the paved area to
fill in gaps.
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
NEAT: Use paving stones to transform your outdoor
living area.
GARDENING 31
Don’t battle the
elements, plant in pots
Wednesday November 24 2021 Selwyn Times
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 peren-
MINIATURE: Gardens can
be grown in containers and
pots.
nial 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 environment
– they’re relying on you to give
them nutrition and moisture.
Looking for
some backyard
inspiration?
We’ve got the scoop.
Speak to us for quality landscaping supplies,
expert advice and superior service.
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Sunday/Public Holidays: 8.30am – 4.30pm
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P: 03 347 9012 | www.igro.co.nz
@igro.co.nz
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