Selwyn Times: March 21, 2018

30 Wednesday March 21 2018
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
SELWYN TIMES
Gardening
Grow some cool season treats in your
If you haven’t already ousted them from the
greenhouse, summer plants such as tomatoes,
capsicums and cucumbers will soon be ready for
the compost. When you do finally give them the
heave-ho, a whole new growing space presents
itself. So let’s go on a cool-season growing spree
says Diana Noonan
Mediterranean herbs
If there’s one thing that livens up
winter dishes, it’s fresh herbs.
While the dried variety will
do the trick, fresh flavour adds
pizzazz to root vegetables and
comfort foods such as pizza and
soup.
Some of the tastiest herbs
are those in the Mediterranean
category – the ones that prefer a
dry, hot climate. Coaxing them
into performing over the colder
months is almost impossible,
especially for the likes of
oregano, which is downright
deciduous in the coldest parts of
the country, so this is where the
greenhouse comes into its own.
The best part about growing
Mediterranean herbs indoors
is that even if your undercover
summer plants have experienced
disease, the soil they grew in
won’t bother these herbs.
There’s not even the need
to replenish spent soil as
Mediterranean herbs thrive
in poor ground. And if you’re
heading away on an autumn
or winter holiday, water can
wait – thyme, oregano, sage and
rosemary won’t thank
you for wet feet and will
happily wait (within reason)
for moisture until you return.
Once your greenhouse
summer plants have been
removed, gather up any dead
foliage from the ground, give
the greenhouse a good clean
down, inside and out, with a
window brush or water blaster,
and cut back any foliage that has
encroached over summer (this
will help let in as much light as
possible). Finally, loosen the
ground to help aerate it.
If you’ve potted-up herb
cuttings over spring and
summer, good for you. If not,
head to the garden centre for
potted fresh herbs and be sure
to buy several of each variety as
growth will not be as strong over
the colder months as it would be
if planting outdoors
in spring and summer. If you’re
KEEP DRY: Sage is no lover of wet conditions. Bring it in from
the rain and grow it in the dry warmth of the greenhouse over
the off-season.
in regions that experience mild
autumns and winters, you can
include basils in your purchases
but those of you living in colder
climes would be best to leave
these off the list.
Pop your little plants into the
soil closer to each other than
you would if planting into the
garden. Water the soil for the
first week after planting to help
roots establish, but hold back
on the moisture after that. Water
only when the ground to a
finger’s depth feels dry. Harvest
your herbs carefully, snipping
a few leaves off each and, while
you’re at it, revel in the fragrance
of the Mediterranean at a time
when the sun can seem very far
away.
When it comes time to prepare
the greenhouse for spring, your
indoor herb plants will be easy to
remove. Not having put on
a lot of root growth, they can
be lifted with a trowel and
popped straight into the garden
or, better still, placed in pretty
pots and grown-on ready to
give away as Christmas gifts.
Winter fragrance
Colour and fragrance lifts
the spirits like nothing else,
especially in winter. The natural
way to achieve this is to press
an otherwise empty greenhouse
into service so that you can fill
the house with inexpensive,
season-defying homegrown
bulbs that bloom in the coldest
months. Sheltered from wind
and rain and driving sleet,
greenhouse-grown bulbs lack
all the imperfections we find in
those grown outdoors and, better
still, you bring them into the
house only when they are about
to burst into flower.
LANDSCAPING IN
CANTERBURY FOR
OVER 30 YEARS
We design gardens
DESIGN IT from a blank canvas and
transform outdoor living
areas into pleasing, relaxing spaces for the client
to enjoy year after year.
Our design skills extend also to large lifestyle
properties, making the most of the extensive
land to fit perfectly with the client's needs.
WE DO:
Decking
Paving
Driveways
Irrigation
Fencing
Excavation
Pizza Ovens
Lawns
Retaining
walls
Planter
boxes
Ponds
At Evergreen Landscapes,
BUILD IT our staff are specialists in
their areas of expertise; we
have experts in excavation, paving, building,
irrigation, planting, maintenance.
We offer a professional standard of service with
friendly staff who understand the importance of
starting and finishing jobs to a very high level.
PLANT IT
Evergreen Nursery is our large tree and shrub
nursery that can supply all your garden needs.
If you prefer, we can do the tasks of planting,
composting and mulching with our skilled
labour teams.
We have planted out many reserves, parks,
swales and street trees: we have years of
experience in quality tree and shrub planting.
WE HAVE:
Tree Nursery
Diggers
Loaders
Tip trucks
EVERGREEN LANDSCAPES LTD
60 Ivey Road, Templeton, Christchurch
Nursery Enquiries Ph 027 312 4406
Ph: 03 349 2929, Mob: 027 559 2929, E: design@egn.co.nz
Open: Mon to Fri, 8:30am - 4:30pm
w w w . e g n . c o . n z
WE SUPPLY:
Design services
Trees / shrubs
Bark / soil
Decorative stone
Landscaping
from Residential,
to Lifestyle, to
Commercial Sites
Autumn is
a fantastic
time of year
The temperatures are
dropping so get new lawns
down, and tend to your
existing one as well.
For more information: www.igro.co.nz
Visit our facebook: www.facebook.com/igro.co.nz
261 Manion Road, Weedons
Access to Intelligro from Manion Road is now available from both the
Weedons Ross Road end, and Curraghs Road entrances.
Whether you are starting a
new lawn from scratch, or
giving your existing lawn
a spruce up, we have the
products you need to get the
job done. Come in to our shop
and check out all our fantastic
lawn products in our display,
or have a look online and type
“lawn” in the search bar.
www.igro.co.nz | Phone 03 347 9415