Selwyn_Times: May 17, 2023
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Wednesday <strong>May</strong> <strong>17</strong> <strong>2023</strong> <strong>Selwyn</strong> <strong>Times</strong><br />
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz<br />
GARDENING 27<br />
Pots a quick way to brighten the home<br />
As the days grow<br />
shorter, it’s a good<br />
time to get creative<br />
with your approach to<br />
gardening<br />
Fill pots and baskets with<br />
colour<br />
All the more compelling in<br />
late autumn and early winter,<br />
a colourful display of pots and<br />
plants is a quick and easy way<br />
to cheer up an entranceway or<br />
outdoor living space.<br />
Container gardening is an<br />
enjoyable any-weather activity,<br />
preferable to digging wet winter<br />
soil. The extra warmth and<br />
drainage in a pot or tub of good<br />
quality potting mix means plants<br />
establish more quickly than they<br />
do in cold, wet ground.<br />
Fill pots with polyanthus,<br />
Cyclamen or pansies for instant<br />
colour or plant for the longer<br />
term in big pots.<br />
Tough, tolerant and longflowering<br />
Flower Carpet roses<br />
are among the best roses for pots,<br />
as even when not in flower they<br />
have good shape and attractive<br />
foliage.<br />
Avoid small porous pots,<br />
which dry out too quickly<br />
and feed them with controlled<br />
release fertiliser for extra prolific<br />
flowering.<br />
Grasses and grass-like plants<br />
GOING POTTY: A colourful display of pots cheers up outdoor living spaces during the cooler months.<br />
look fabulous in pots, especially<br />
colourful varieties such as Carex<br />
trifida Rekohu Sunrise (green and<br />
gold) and cordyline Red Fountain<br />
(sparkling plum-burgundy).<br />
For a bold tropical look in<br />
large containers, consider Canna<br />
Tropicanna or Tropicanna Gold.<br />
They look wonderful in pairs<br />
straddling an entrance with their<br />
large colourful striped leaves<br />
(best cut back in winter) and<br />
vibrant late-summer flowers.<br />
Another stunning tropical plant<br />
for containers, indoors or out,<br />
is cordyline Caruba Black with<br />
shiny, dark purple-black leaves<br />
and bushy upright growth.<br />
Start a herb garden<br />
A good supply of culinary<br />
herbs can be grown in just a few<br />
pots. Locate them in a sunny<br />
place, as close to the kitchen as<br />
possible. Parsley, chives, mint,<br />
thyme, oregano and rosemary are<br />
all very easy to grow in pots.<br />
Plant a fragrant garden<br />
There’s nothing like a waft of<br />
garden perfume to lift winter<br />
spirits.<br />
Some of the most evocative<br />
scents come in winter and early<br />
spring from old-fashioned<br />
daphne, wintersweet, luculia,<br />
boronia, hyacinths, daffodils and<br />
jonquils.<br />
Bring the garden indoors<br />
Filling a vase with treasures<br />
picked from the garden is a<br />
satisfying and creative way<br />
to spend a day. Take your<br />
imagination for a walk outdoors<br />
PHOTOS: GETTY<br />
and you might be surprised at<br />
what you find. Twigs and seed<br />
heads look lovely as indoor<br />
decoration. Berries and fruit<br />
with their glossy, colourful<br />
glow make fabulous longlasting<br />
arrangements. Evergreen<br />
magnolias, puriri, puka and flax<br />
provide magnificent vase foliage<br />
any time of year.<br />
New Zealand natives with<br />
wonderful foliage are griselinia,<br />
corokia, coprosma, and ferns,<br />
great as a contrasting mix of<br />
textures and colours. – ODT<br />
Garden<br />
In the<br />
Making your great outdoors greater<br />
with intelligro<br />
Benefits of using our compost:<br />
• Improves moisture retention,<br />
especially during the summer<br />
• Adds vital nutrients to the<br />
soil, creating a healthy growing<br />
environment<br />
• Improves and stabilises pH<br />
• Improves drainage and reduces<br />
erosion and run-off<br />
• Safe for use on all plants as a<br />
soil conditioner<br />
Autumn...<br />
Is a great time to mix our Organic Compost through<br />
new and existing gardens. It is BioGro certified as an<br />
‘Input for Organics’ and is blended from sustainable and<br />
natural products, using a variety of materials that are<br />
sourced locally from trusted suppliers. Digging compost<br />
through your soil will boost nutrients in a natural way,<br />
condition and rectify poor soil, and remove pollutants<br />
from previous plantings. Due to its organic properties,<br />
you can feel safe knowing that there is nothing harmful<br />
in this product.<br />
If growing garlic<br />
is on the agenda<br />
Prepare your area now<br />
ready for planting anytime<br />
from now through to the<br />
shortest day. Add plenty of organic compost to<br />
garden beds if you are planting in the ground, and<br />
for pots or planters make sure you grab a quality<br />
growing mix suitable for pots such as Patio Plus or<br />
All Purpose Potting Mix.<br />
DRY<br />
SCREENED<br />
TOPSOIL<br />
Free<br />
delivery<br />
Check out our all new website www.mainscapegardensupplies.co.nz<br />
Contact Us<br />
1543 Springs Road, Lincoln 021 241 7908 sales@mainscape.co.nz<br />
Mon - Fri 8:00am - 5:00pm Sat 8:00am - 3:00pm<br />
<strong>May</strong>, June & July Store Hours:<br />
Mon – Sat 8.00am – 5.00pm, Sun 9.00am – 4.00pm<br />
www.igro.nz /igro.co.nz /intelligro_nz<br />
261 Manion Road, Weedons 7677 | P: 03 347 9012 | E: info@igro.co.nz<br />
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