Gardening

The sight of tender, new leaves gracing bared boned trees, roses and climbers and the first freesias, erlicheer, magnolias, bluebells, jasmine and first spring blossoms just lift the spirit, don't they? If you can't wait to get outside and enjoy the garde

This column I will talk a bit about fertilising roses and what you need to do to have great roses. Fertilising roses is like pruning, it needs to be done to get the best results but if you are a week or two late, it is not the end of the world.

This column, I will talk about some of the common diseases that affect roses and some of the ways you can minimise their appearance in your garden.

Show some love to the garden this winter by digging it over, giving it some compost and anything else that inspires you to improve its overall soil quality in time for spring planting.

In my last column, I covered a few basics on why and how you should prune your roses and also covered how to prune those tricky climbers which can cause a few problems.

July and August are the two main months in New Zealand for pruning roses so my column this time will go over a few general basics plus tell you how to tackle climbing roses.

Use logs to make a rustic garden bed that both looks good and offers many advantages for your garden.

As I write this, it is Queens Birthday weekend, the last long weekend for some time but also an important part of any rose lover's calendar.

Whether you are an avid vegetable gardener, a beginning herb gardener or just like to have a pretty yard, these tips may help you save a little money!

Right now, depending on how drought-stricken your area is, the elements are still kind enough to help them establish. The longer you leave planting now, the more likely it is your young seedlings will struggle.