It’s been a fulfilling gardening year and the best is yet to be. We look forward to more gardening next year, trying different companion herbs & flowers & new vegetables. January is the peak of summer in New Zealand and many gardeners are enjoying their harvest. Tomatoes, garlic, zucchinis, basil, beans and chillies, potatoes, capsicums, beans, eggplants, cucumbers, celery, corn, pumpkins fill our gardens. Impressive flowers surround us - petunias, impatiens, roses, geraniums, sweet willie, marigolds, lavender, sunflowers, lupins are the key bloomers this season. Stunning, towering hollyhocks are putting on a show.
As we enjoy harvesting and picking flowers, there's also a few things to do in the garden.
Garden Maintenance
Keep deadheading spent flowers to keep them producing more.
It's time to trim your older hedges.
Keep weeding.
Keep an eye out for blossom rot, aphids, and powdery mildew. Remove the affected fruits.
Consider different preservation tips for excess produce.
Vegetable and Herb Garden
Preserving is a keyword this season. Try pickling garlic in good olive oil. Chillies can be dried. Onions can be pickled with pepper and dill. Keep picking herbs & vegetables to encourage them to fruit more. Trim the lower leaves of adult/fruiting tomato plants to help conserve resources and reduce risk of disease. Vegetable baskets can be great gifts for loved ones and friends if you have an excess. Create wonderful bouquets as gifts. Try planting new varieties, bittermelon, cape gooseberry, chicory, passionfruit, radicchio or celeriac.
Always plant herbs in your garden as they can be natural pest killers. Plus they offer wonderful flavours to meals. You may also let your herbs bloom to attract more pollinators. Oregano, sage, thyme, and basil have surprisingly wonderful flowers that add another layer to your garden.
Summer is a good time to plant basil, thyme, coriander, sage, chives, mint and rosemary. Lemongrass loves the warm weather and summer is a good time to add it in your garden. Rosemary is now ready for planting but note that it can't handle very cold (negative temperatures) and needs protection from the frost. Once established, rosemary is a hardy perennial and can be grown into a wonderful hedge.
We suggest adding chillies, beans, beetroot, sweetcorn, lettuces, spinach, silverbeet, leek in your vegetable garden. Planting the onion, celery & carrot combination will enable you to harvest vegetables that form into a classic & great soup base when combined.
Flower Garden
Remember to plant annual and perennial flowers to add colour and bring pollinators to the garden until autumn. It's a great time to plant gazania, cosmos, marigold, alyssum, lobelia, lavender, aster, catmint, echinacea, impatiens, petunia, geranium, daisies, scabiosa, portulaca, phlox and zinnias. These plants are available at Awapuni Nurseries during the summer months. To keep plants healthy during the hot summer months, it is important to water regularly, use mulch, and remove the competing weeds.
Natives
NZ natives can be planted all throughout the year. If you are planning to create a native garden, you may want to consider established native carex grasses and hebes. Awapuni Nurseries has several hebe varieties that produce delightful purple, pink and lilac flowers. It is important to make sure the plants are well-watered during the establishment phase.
