Cut Flowers, Cataracts, Covid and Mental Health Week

Today my first tulips of the season flowered, beautiful lilac purple “Anaconda” with “Balmoral Honey” and “Snowboard” white tulips hot on their heels. It is bright moments like these that shine through the difficulties of the past year and make me smile.

2022 has been a more challenging year than I’ve had for decades, with many personal issues throwing up road blocks to the creativity and passion for my dream job of landscape designing and managing a business.

Another year of Covid had passed, which got me in April after a trip to the North Island. The Covid illness creating a ripple effect of postponing a cataract operation, visiting my acutely unwell mother in hospital, and flaring up any of my pre-existing health conditions including Fibromyalgia and Dysthymia (a form of long term depression) . The cataract operation since has not been without complications, but thankfully I can see! Then, only a few weeks later, a long time of illness took my beautiful mother to her peaceful rest in July, and so it became a very difficult winter.

How did I get through to spring? Being grateful every day of the things I have; a warm dry house, firewood gifted to me, hot water in the tap and enough money to pay the power bills, and happy dogs! Most of all I followed my dreams, my passion of gardening and growing flowers.

Over the late autumn and winter months I have been obsessively digging up a paddock, setting up wind breaks, spreading delicious manures and also growing seeds on the dinner table. Dreaming night and day of flowers. These have been a wonderful distraction. The tiny beginnings of life turning into beautiful blooms in the garden now and in the coming months.

While cut-flowers are quite a different game to an easy-care style garden, the additional skills I am learning from the challenges faced are already being utilized for Leaf Landscape Design. I always love including seasonal colour and flowers in my designs and I am discovering new ways to do this without creating a lot of work in maintenance.

So I am excited to work through the last quarter of 2022, and develop my flower ideas, along with the new designs current and future. Every client and design is as unique as a flower I grow, and I am looking forward to seeing the many blooms coming to fruition.

Getting excited about outdoor living

We will be excited to start living outdoors again soon, when the warm weather comes! Surprisingly it will only be a matter of weeks away. Dunedin houses haven’t always been well designed for indoor-outdoor living.

However, many are being renovated to make the most of extending living into the outdoors. Alternatively, setting out an alluring space to look out upon, inviting you to spend more time outdoors. Most new houses are more considerate to outdoor living. Features include bifold doors opening onto a sunny deck, a large portico for covered outdoor entertaining or a private courtyard off the kitchen for family outdoor dining and barbeques.

What each of these features has in common, is cleverly extending the square metre living area of the house into beautiful, all-weather, outdoor rooms.

When designing these new areas for a client, I consider sun, shade, wind and view, at various times of the day. These are often conflicting elements which, in a new or established garden, need careful consideration. Easy access to the outdoor living space, and circulation around the property are also high on my list. The easier we make your outdoor rooms to use, the more you will utilize them.

Once a new landscape concept is ready, I can then add a planting plan. Within each garden, is a different microclimate, each home has an owner with specific desires for their new garden. Every Leaf landscape Design planting plan is bespoke to the house and the owner.

Above and below are two gorgeous outdoor living areas at the same property on the Taieri, designed by Leisa Browne, of Leaf Landscape Design.

Why we love to be surrounded by plants

During this quiet time of winter, I have been reflecting on why us beings on earth feel such a strong need to be surrounded by plants.  

For centuries there has been the knowledge of the essential need for plants as food, and the vital link they provide in the world’s food chain.  

There is also much talk of the impact plants have on climate change. All plants store carbon dioxide which prevent it going into the atmosphere. Also, most of our modern day medicines are derived from plants. Aspirin is one, made from Willowbark, used for centuries and still to this day. 

Look around you. The newspaper you read, the table, cotton curtains, building frames, many of your clothes,  are produced from plants.  

When we delve a little deeper, we consider the world’s water cycle. Transpiration from plants assists the water to return to the clouds to create rain and cools the earth.  Plants support other species, creating an incredible home of biodiversity. Plants create soil through decomposition and supporting hundreds of species in the processs. Plants also reduce erosion with their roots holding the soil together. 

What about the direct and personal effect of plants on ourselves? Plants give us oxygen, essential to our existence. We feel connected to nature when surrounded by plants. Even to nurture and grow one plant gives us an incredible sense of achievement and love for that plant.  

Our connection with plants improves our mental health, reducing stress and anxiety. This is called Biophilia “the innate human instinct to connect with nature and other living beings”. Plants can also improve concentration and productivity by up to 15%. 

So there is little wonder why we feel so good looking out the window to the garden or the distant hills and trees. Why we are uplifted with joy by the ability to keep one houseplant thriving and burst with pride when we grow a tiny seed into and beautiful flower or vegetable. And why every house I visit as a landscape designer, wants a garden! 

A long weekend, thank you to our Queen.

Leaf Landscapes is closed tomorrow to celebrate our beautiful Queen Elizabeth II’s, special day. What an amazing woman. 70 years leading not only a family, but a country and commonwealth. Still ruling at 96, plus she always wears a stunning colour suit to her outings, that her fashion designer surely takes inspiration from the beautiful colours of the garden!

It is also a prime time to tidy up the garden and get some mulch on there before the chill sets in, if you haven’t managed to do it already. My apologies, this is not quite so exciting as the Queen visiting Chelsea Gardens. It’s best to leave the roses with their spent-flowers on until late July-August. Also no Chelsea-chop for the many other perennials’ browned foliage. If you can leave the dried seedheads for the birds, and let the natural process of the past-season’s foliage protect the delicate plants from frosts, you will be rewarded with stronger plants next season. Embrace the stunning shapes and seed pods of a more wild look in your garden - it’s all the rage at Chelsea this year.

I’ve been recovering from a wee bout of Covid this last week. It has been so frustrating to spend so much time at home, with gorgeous weather, and no energy to do anything! Thankfully I am on the mend now but it is taking wild horses to hold be back from doing too much at this usually very busy time in the garden.

I am also busier than usual this autumn at my property, as I am in the middle of a conversion. Nota sheep to beef conversion, but from vegetables - to flowers. Don’t worry, I will always have a (smaller) corner for my vegetables. However the tomatoes in the tunnelhouse might have to make way for seed raising this time round.

It’s a good job that the days are short now, so I will still have long, late afternoons and evenings to continue working on your garden plans in the office (…as long as I do not replace the lightbulb in the headlamp😏)

So, I am sorry if I do not get back to you tomorrow, but please leave me a message and we can work on your garden solutions after tomorrow. I hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Autumn food crops in the south

I had a friend ask me what to plant in the vegetable garden now that Autumn is here. We will still have more warm days come and go for the next few weeks, so lets take advantage of them and get some veges growing!

Don't bother with starting from seed at this time of year, buy baby plants.  Asian veges, broad beans, frilly leaf lettuce, spinach, silverbeet, leeks.

Watch out for slugs and snails - 'Quash' pellets are pet/bird friendly to sprinkle around your new plants. Also a lemonade bottle with the bottom cut off is an easy and recycling way to make a mini cloche to press in the soil over each of your new plants and keeps the slugs away, plus the plants will grow faster. Water around it so the water soaks down to the roots. 

Microgreens are another quick and easy crop to grow in containers on your windowsill or sunny part of the garden. Try peas, beans, mustard, beetroot. See my previous blog on growing microgreens back in our first Covid lockdown in 2020. Spread the seeds fairly thickly across the container of seed raising mix and cover in a light layer of the mix. Dampen then cover with a couple old pages of newspaper.  They will sprout in a matter of days! Take the paper off when they sprout. Snip off what you need to liven up your meals, and let them continue to put on new growth to snip again in a week. Keep well watered.

 Happy gardening and stay healthy - with your own grown leafy greens and veges :-)

Easy Flower Gardens

A flower garden is ridiculously easy to look after if you choose the right plants, and with a little good advice.

At almost every garden visit I go to, the owner asks for an “easy care garden’, however many have given up on the idea of having both an easy care, and a blooming-beautiful flower garden.

The trick is to start in the beginning of your garden-making, from the soil level, and work up. A healthy soil grows healthy flowering plants with less problems. If you have poor soil, raise your garden edges about 200mm and add a new soil and compost blend.

Secondly, and very importantly, barricade out the weeds. If your neighbor has a lovely crop of Convulvulus and Clover on the other side of the fence, you will need to put a ‘root barrier’ along the boundary to prevent the weeds creeping into your garden.

Next, choose your plants wisely and plant closely. When your lovely flowering plants are grown, you need them to be snuggled in together to block out any weed intrusions. Then mulch with a degradable material like pea-straw, compost or oat-husk. These mulches are low cost and add to your soil.

Consider a small hedge in front of your flowering shrubs. This is a fabulous solution to keep your garden tidy and presentable during all seasons, also shelters plants creating a cosy microclimate in your garden.

For top, easy-care flowers I like to go for evergreen shrubs like Federation Daisies or Perennial Wallflowers that flower persistently through the year. You might like the bright yellow on silver of Euryops daisy, Braccyglottis ‘Sunshine’ or Lavender Cotton. The evergreen NZ Hebes also now have so many varieties and are all the rage overseas for their bee-attracting blooms. Another favourite of mine are Pelargoniums, they are dense in foliage, with more flowers and hardiness than geraniums.

For deciduous plants, the hot trend now is Hydrangea paniculata with her longer and more pointed blooms and relaxed, spreading habit. Plus there has never been a better time than to give roses a go. Carpet roses far outperform most other garden shrubs throughout summer and only require a trim with hedge clippers once or twice a year! Iceburg roses have a light scent, are thornless with apple green stems and have a very long show of flowers. Adding to these are the David Austin roses which were bred for their tenacity and delicious perfume of a 2000 year lineage old rose, and crossed with the repeat flowering capacity, colours modern shrub roses. Do not be too fussy with pruning your roses in winter, it is more important to follow the initial steps, as previously stated, of developing a healthy growing environment, and to keep the water up to all your flowers with an automatic watering system - and they will never fail you.

Email me via the contacts page, if you would like some guidance on setting up your easy-care flower garden.

Cut-Flower Gardens - A New Trend in NZ

Take your enjoyment of your garden to a whole new level by starting a cut-flower garden.

 While many flowering shrubs and perennials you may already have growing,  will give you great pleasure to look upon, it is often a shame to cut the flowers to bring indoors or give as a bouquet to a friend. Another aspect of a designated cut-flower garden is so you can cut the flowers when they are in the very early stages of opening, lasting so much longer in the vase. It can be cheaper and more rewarding to grow your own plants from seeds or cuttings, however, it will take time and good planning.

 Before you choose a place for your cut-flower garden, check out the growing conditions of the flowers you want to grow. Some species, like Peonies,  need full sun to flower, or Hydrangeas who like some shade.  Most importantly, it is the quality of your soil that will feed your plants, so take the time to continuously improve the soil through composting, aged manures, mulching and look into easy techniques such as green crops and permaculture. Remember, this doesn’t have to be a show garden, just a very healthy one!

 Choose a place sheltered from the wind, and consider raising the garden to allow easier maintenance, and to build up the soil with plenty of compost, manure and mulches. Many taller varieties of flowers will need to have support, and ensure there is access to water so it is easy to keep the garden well irrigated.

 Plan, plan, plan! Do your homework on the best season for each flower. Select a couple for each season to start with and keep a journal of when you planted and your successes and fails, so you can learn for next year.

 Here are some suitable flowers for cutting to try. Spring: Tulip, Peony, Sweet Peas. Summer: Lily, Rose, Gladioli, Statice. Autumn: Rudbeckia, Dahlia, Chrysanthemum. Winter: Hellebore, Japanese Anemone, Camellia japonica, Leucadendron.

 If you would like any landscape design or garden preparation advice, please call Leaf Landscape Design on 0274 156555 or turn to the contacts page to email your request.

Top five plants for difficult gardens.

When you need to buy plants, the costs quickly add up. So you will want every single one to grow well. It’s important to get good advice when you are selecting your plant to make sure they will thrive in the place you want them to grow.

 Before planting, ensure the ground work is done first. Dig out all weeds ensuring as many roots are removed as possible. Add compost. Moisten the area the day before planting. Have some organic plant fertilizer ready, this is available in liquid or pellet form. Always mix pellet fertilisers through the soil so it does not burn the roots of your new plants. Make sure the top of the root ball is near the top of your soil, and give your new plants a good soaking. Ideally, mulch around new plants to reduce weeds and this also keeps the soil damp and at even temperatures. To steady any taller plants in the wind, use a small stake carefully tied to the main stem.

 Here are my top five favourite smaller shrubs and perennials for some of the more difficult microclimates we find around Dunedin:

 Plants for clay soil and sun: Brighteyes (Braccyglottis greyii ‘Sunshine’),  Federation Daisy (Argyranthemum frutescens) , Rosa rugosa, Echium, African Daisy (Gazania), Mountain Flax (Phormium cookianum).

 Plants for dry, sandy soil and sun: Pelargonium, Purple or Red House Leek (Aeonium), Perennial Wallflowers (Erysimum x linifolium), Lavender, Dwarf Toetoe (Chionochloa flavicans)

 Plants for shade: Rengarenga Lily (Arthropodium cirratum), Chatham Island Forgetmenot (Mysotidium hortensa), Bishop’s Hat (Epimedium x versicolor), Hosta, Sweet Box (Sarcococca ruscifolia),

 Plants for wet, almost boggy areas:  Hydrangea, Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’  (Siberian Dogwood), Tractor Seat Plant (Ligularia reniformis), Siberian Iris (Iris siberica), Cardinal Flower (lobelia cardinalis)

 If you would like any planting or garden preparation advice, get in touch with me at Leaf Landscape Design so we can have a chat about the best preparation and plantings for your own unique microclimate.

Encourage nature to work for you in the garden.

A subject close to my heart is simple and natural garden techniques, to build a deliciously healthy soil and plant environment around your home. This interview on RNZ with organic gardener Kath Irvine, is wonderful if you have a few minutes to listen in.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018813814/kath-irvine-practical-tips-from-hau-s-organic-gardener

A number of years ago I relocated to a new house with an amazing collection of already established flowers, trees and shrubs. However I was quite surprised at the lack of bees, birds and butterflies in the garden. I set about a plan to not use chemicals in my new garden and over the course of 2 years this suburban section became a hive of activity. Bumble bees, honeybees, hoverflies, lacewings, ladybugs and butterflies. Along with these came birds - waxeyes, sparrows, tui, bellbirds. It was difficult in the beginning, especially when my lovely roses were covered in aphids! But this only lasted a couple of weeks then suddenly there were hardly any pests, as nature kicked-in and brought back the right balance of friendly vs foe.

Using a permaculture technique of leaving as much organic matter on the soil as possible, adding worm friendly mulches such as oat husk or pea-straw, and also banning the chemical fertilizers, created a wonderful deep loamy soil. Areas that used to dry out quickly in summer where plants wilted and became diseased, were transformed into self managing, with the improved soil.

It is easier than you might imagine, to encourage nature to do the work you in your garden.

Images from Leaf Landscape Design and www.gardeningknowhow.com

Make improvements and love spending more time at home.

Photo by Arno Smit on Unsplash

It’s the beginning of spring in 2021 and in this Covid world, we are now all realizing that we may need to learn to spend more time with this virus close to our shores, for our nearest and dearest future. How can we claim back control? Let’s focus on what we can do, and what we can do now.

With our freedom of movement that is now returning, let’s continue to embrace what is most special to us. Our time with family, the world within our ‘bubble’ and how that looks. Now we have the opportunity to make the improvements that means we don’t mind spending more time at home, if need be.

Being a landscape designer, of course I am going to focus on our outdoor spaces, but I am also concerned with how this links to our indoor rooms. No matter what the season is, or how long we have to spend indoors, it is important to let nature in and that we feel linked to the outdoors.

A wonderful trend many of us are enjoying is bringing plants into our homes. There is no secret that the indoor plant industry is booming, and what a wonderful thing. I have a passion for plants, and to be surrounded with plants indoors and outdoors is truly special.

When I am considering ways to enhance a client’s garden, I always look at each unique season we experience here in New Zealand. During the cooler and wetter days, we need to still have that connection with the outdoors. Damp soggy grass is not inviting, so I like to link the house with an all weather space of decking or patio that can be used at any time of the year.

When we add more ‘hard’ surfaces like paving or deck, I like to break it up with planting borders and built in raised planters to soften the space with luscious and bold plant textures. This is an opportunity to surround ourselves with loving nature. Some additional attractive pots placed within your home’s window views, planted with bold leaved plants, and some seasonal flowers, will pull your outdoor view into your indoors.

A clever trick is to use the same style or colour pots for both inside and outside, with different sizing to suit each space. The same goes with your colour scheme inside the house. If you can echo some of this colour into the outdoors, all will feel in harmony with each other.

I hope you enjoy playing with plants and colour around your home this summer. And I am only a phone call away if you need a little help.

Borrowed views; to progress and change is human

Having repeatedly heard of dilemmas facing property owners over changes to their views as their neighborhood progresses and changes through the decades, I thought it timely to write about the ‘borrowed vista’ (or borrowed view) that enhances so many properties.

In our beautiful country, so many properties look beyond the borders of their space which we call a borrowed vista.

If you are lucky enough to have a distant view, it will also help pull the on-looker towards the horizon and at the same time expanding the view from the property boundaries.  Even a short-distance view to a neighbor’s lovely collection of trees will create a trickery that your garden appears much larger than it actually is, playing with perspective.

The way to capitalize on a borrowed view is called framing. A common device in garden design, it involves deciding on what element you want to feature, then blocking the surrounding scenery to focus on just that view. For example, an archway cut into a tall hedge or a two bold trees either side of an attractive distant scene.

The dilemma comes with the view, when it changes significantly over time. This can even lead to the home owner deciding to leave the property!

If the situation arises where you feel that way, and it cannot be resolved through discussion with the other property owner, or local council, there is the option to talk with your legal representative.  You may be able to make an application under the Property Law Act 2007, asking the Court to consider your dilemma.

Make careful consideration of “what would happen if this view wasn’t there anymore?”. A landscape designer will be able to consider other options for you, if you want a fresh pair of eyes to enhance your views from the house and the garden, if a need arises. It may mean looking further within the bounds of your garden to create your own beautiful vista’s. There may be opportunities to effectively screen a less desirable view and shift the focus closer to the house. Establishing an attractive small tree, or placing a beautiful statue or pot can become a new focus for the garden. Mirrors are also a clever design trick, to reflect the sky or other foliage and enhance the view in this way.

When on one hand, the garden’s constant evolution is an exciting factor, this also means that the owner needs to be prepared for probable fine tuning as the years go by. Gardens and outdoor spaces may become used differently as the owner matures, neighboring property uses become changed, trees and shrubs that are not within your boundary may become a menace. In 10 years, the lovely farm view you have could quite possibly be the next subdivision… The best solution is to constantly be prepared to make the changes as they arise. No garden is static, and to progress and change is only human, as it is to gardens!

This beautiful Dunedin garden was designed by Leisa Browne of Leaf Landscape Design, back in 2003. The copper beech was spared from removal and became the main central garden feature. The remaining garden cleverly uses the borrowed view of the golf course beyond. The large tread steps are cloaked in grass to blend the house lawn and the links together as one. A clipped evergreen hedge and classic urn on each side gives a simple but elegant frame to the view.

Keep a watch for diseases

It is my favorite time of year in the garden when I am currently working through a list of clients’ roses winter care regime. It is a time for me to also do a health check and I always ask my lovely clients, '“how have your roses performed this year?”. Some times this simple question reports some unusual performances in the plants and an opportunity for me to advise them how to get the best out of these long-living shrubs and climbers for next season.

Unfortunately, one client this year reported the near-death of a usually, extremely vigorous rose, and also an almost 10 year old medlar tree. During my investigation, I also noticed one camellia in a hedgerow of 7, very yellow and less vigorous than the other.

My first thought was poisoning, usually a well meaning gardener or neighbor, spraying the weeds with herbicide. Roses in particular are extremely sensitive to herbicides, and the faintest whiff will severely affect them.

Herbicide ‘overspray’ is usually showing dieback and shrivelled leaves from the tips of the branches and then withered new growth., often chlorotic patterns on the leaves. However, this rose I inspected, had dieback from lower down on the branch and seemingly working its way outward.

The next interesting feature on the rose was a collection of fungal growths on the dead stems. From whitish fungal fruiting bodies, to mushroom coloured patches of fungus.

If I had seen the leaves of the plants during the growing season, I am sure there would have been chlorosis (yellowing), stunted growth and silvered leaves, the latter being the first signs of Silver Leaf, a fungal disease very toxic to plants many trees and shrubs.

Sadly, these plants will be removed due to the extent of the damage, and to reduce the risk of spreading this fungus to the rest of the garden. Affected plant material will be burned or bagged and disposed of. After working on any infected plants, all tools will also be thoroughly cleaned with antiseptic/alcohol wipes and re-oiled to prevent them from rusting. this will help prevent further spread of the disease.

If a plant is suspected to have Silver Leaf, any obviously affected parts should be cut out. A soil additive called Trichoderma, and a good compost, should be worked into the ground around the plant’s roots. Trees can have small dowels of Trichoderma inserted into the trunks. Trichoderma is like a probiotic for the plants and helps to combat the effects of the Silver Leaf.

Plants under stress often succumb to more diseases and pests. Check any weaker plants’ environment for a healthy soil, the correct amount of sun/shade and not too much, or too little, water with good drainage. .

The previous two winters have been warmer than average, plus we have had more extremes of drought, then long periods of rainfall. Unfortunately this has presented our gardens with a more challenging environment and a higher level of diseases and pests which we are not used to seeing in the cooler south.

So do not fret a cold winter this year, it will benefit the garden enormously! If you would like a health check of your garden or help with the best way to manage your garden and plants, go to my contacts page for more information.

Tall plants for tight spaces

Fitting a tree or tall shrub into a small garden, or narrow space is challenging. Often spaces that need taller specimens planted are also narrow, like between the house and a boundary fence.

 A garden that is planted with shrubs all the same height can sometimes lack interest. A tall narrow shrub will not block your view or sun, will introduce the height your garden may lack. If you have room, plant in threes for a gorgeous accent.

 The best planting time for deciduous trees and shrubs is coming up, it’s a good time now to look at some options.

 Shrubs that like a clip are ideal for adding height in a narrow space.  Grafted standards work well for this purpose: Port Wine Magnolia (Michelia figo), Portugal Laurels (prunus lusitanica), or Liquidamber ‘Gumball’ for stunning autumn colour.  If you choose to hedge, select a small-leafed shrub which grows over 2mh such as NZ natives Corokia ‘Geenty’s Green’ or Akeake (Dodonaea viscosa)

 Fastigiate plants are taller than they are wide, and there are some wonderful specimans. If you have a larger garden, take a look at the Upright Tulip Trees along Vogel Street and a stunning row of Upright Hornbeams along Mercy Hospital’s driveway in Maori Hill.

 For a smaller garden, a unique variety of apple is the Ballerina range. With a main trunk and very short branches, this columnar apple has pretty spring flowers and grows edible apples. Great for a centre piece in a vegetable garden or plant a row to separate areas of your garden. Others include the popular Emerald Cedar (Thuja smargd), Italian Cypress (Cupressus stricta), Upright Holly (Illex crenata ‘Skypencil) and Upright Box (Buxus ‘Graham Blandy’)

There are many more ‘fastigiate’ shrubs and trees. Carefully consider the growing requirements of the plant you choose. Always check for drains in the ground or overhead wires before planting, and consider your window views and that of your neighbor’s.

If you would like to know more, or need help with ideas for a difficult area on your property to landscape, I can help. Just call me on 0274156555 or fill out the Contacts page on this website.

2021 Garden Design Trends

Looking at new trends in garden design for 2021, it is interesting to consider what is influencing these trends. In 2020 Covid-19 forced us to put the brakes on and stop during lock-down for a while. We began to notice the birdsong in our gardens, and the few bees on the flowers. We realized how peaceful our neighborhood is without so many cars and swapped noisy coffee shops and busy wine bars for home with family on the back deck.

So it wasn’t all bad, except for the lack of bees! Many of the changes to our lives last year is now influencing the trends in 2021 for our homes and gardens. Here are a few to take note of:

• Keep it simple – we don’t all want over complicated, busy lives and the same goes for the garden. Try to stick to a theme and do not overdo it. Repeat similar plants. Also simplicity for your colour palette like a small burst of colours in one small group has great impact and easier to care for than a complicated, busy garden.

• Colour trends – terracotta orange, dusky light blue, almost-lime yellow, khaki green, grey-pinks and lilac. The painting palette has a definite soft gray haze. This suits the garden in so many ways, blending with the plant foliage, giving a sense of distance. Gently muted colours offer a sense of calmness. Look for these colours to update your garden with cushions, planter pots, garden art, and annual or perennial flowers when buying plants.

• Native Plants – buy local, grow local. There are many stunning NZ native plants and their cultivars all developed and grown here in NZ. Plus we now have a stronger than ever desire to surround ourselves with birds, bees and encourage NZ native insect habitats, which our endemic plants are best at.

• Multiple outdoor spaces – when the house is full with family, it is imperative to have different zones around the garden for different activities, for children, and adults to go to. Most of my design work is taking the typical large, one piece suburban back lawn and creating separate areas that lure you into the garden where you have a choice of spaces, depending on the occasion or the weather.

• Patterns and plantings – a jungle theme is popular, in fabrics, cushions and feature walls, decor items and pots. Adding ornaments and other garden art with this theme and using large leaved plants with varying shapes and shades will introduce this theme to your garden. Plants like NZ Five Finger, glossy leaf Coprosmas, groups of Rengarenga lilies, and big leaf Rangiora and Puka if you are in a frost free part of town. Also our stunning range of Lancewood and Cabbage Tree cultivars look truly troppo!

We don’t often think of ‘trends’ in the garden. Changes can be made easily with small additions of fashionable pots, decor items, outdoor furniture, trendy cushion covers, annuals and perennials in a colour theme and potted tropical-look-plants added to your patio, entrance and among the established gardens.

Design and Planting by Leaf Landscape Design, March 2020

Soft pastel colours are on-trend for 2021

Planting for NZ native bees, Ngaro huruhuru

As I walked down my drive to check the mail, a little flying insect caught my eye, dancing around on the sandy gravel. It was near a series of small piles of sand spread along the grassy edge. This little friend of the garden is a NZ native bee and I was delighted to know I have a home for them here.

Our native bees are solitary. They have a series of holes in the ground, usually a dry bank, and lay their larvae in there, with pollen and nectar for when it is ready to hatch. The hole is carefully capped off with some clay to keep it safe.

There are 40 native bee species in NZ and the Mason Wasp. None of them are threatening to us and most have a sting so fine that it cannot pierce our skin.

Most importantly, for a garden design blog, is what do they feed on to encourage them to your garden? Being short-tongued, native bees are generally better at pollinating NZ native flowers. They particularly are adapted to Manuka, NZ Mistletoe, but are more than happy to also feed on any small flowers. The last couple of years I have grown Coriander, which loves my sandy soil. This year I sowed a large patch of it in the vegetable garden and this it seems, has benefitted the local NZ Bees immensely, besides being a pretty flower in the garden and producing delicious seeds for cooking and baking. Here are a few plants to consider:

Coriander, Parsley, Brassicas, Lettuce, Silverbeet (leave a couple to go to flower in the vegetable garden), Allium (Onion family), Alyssium (Sweet Alice), Phacelia (Purple Tansy), Sedum, Buddleia, Marjoram, Thyme, Hebe, Hoheria (NZ Lacebark), Ceonothus (Californian Lilac), Lucerne (Farms)

The most positive thing you can do to increase the population of NZ native bees in your area, is to have a patch of garden for wildflowers. A neatly cropped dwarf evergreen hedge in front and a plot brimming with wildflowers  is a delightful sight in the garden.

Here is a link for further reading from Permaculture NZ. This article also describes how to build native bee motels and nesting places. https://www.permaculture.org.nz/blog

This fickle spring weather!

Finally, after the cooler winter weather, the garden is now bursting into life. The chickweed is going crazy, the roses are covered in new leaf growth and the fruit trees are bursting with blossom.

I have been enjoying watching the new lambs appear and getting bigger and fluffier by the day, as I drive through the countryside into town.

Then along comes a big, cold weather front, with wind and snow. The poor wee new lambs further south! But also, the orchardist’s losing the spring blossom before fruit set, the flower growers getting the buds snapped off in the wind and fruit tree blossom flying away in the wind like confetti. In just one more day and tomorrow the sun will be out and all at peace again.

Welcome to a typical spring in Dunedin.

As much as we all, desperately want to get our gardens growing and in particular the vegetables, it has always been recommended in the south to hold off until Labour Weekend, the end of October. Of course this will depend on your own micro-climate, of which varies greatly across the region.

Unfortunately, we are at the mercy of the weather. However, there are ways we can get around the cold snaps, some which take a bit of work but can be worth it and make it possible to get ahead of the game. Here are a few:

• ·      Build wind breaks

• ·        Keep frost cloth over new plants until at least mid-October

• ·        Build raised garden beds to aid drainage and warm the soil

• ·        Place cloches and tunnels over new seedlings to warm the soil and protect from the elements

• ·        Consider a glasshouse or tunnel house to grow more tender plants, winter-over potted plants, or start seedlings off. 

• ·        Have a good layer of compost over the garden to keep the temperature and moisture levels more even.

• ·        Source plants with ‘Hardy’ on their label description which means they are winter frost tolerant.

• ·      Do your planting of shrubs and trees in late spring so they have time to get established before the next winter.

• ·        Frost damage happens from the formation of ice crystals in the plant tissues and cells. Leave damage on the plant until end of October.

• Consider growing more frost sensitive plants on the north-west side, so they get later sun in the evening which boost the soil warmth at night.

Here is some further reading on frost damage if you want to know more:  The Science of Frost

If you would like any help with your garden, call me on 0274 156555.

A Balanced, beautiful, bubble-garden.

The last weeks can be summed up in two words: life balance.

This is not a new phrase and one that the world has been trying to teach us for decades, along with ‘wash your hands’. But now, suddenly, we realise the importance of those words.

For most, spending the last six weeks, forced to do everything inside your “bubble”, has highlighted how important the function of your home sanctuary is. One of those functions, is being able to get outside into your own landscape and enjoy space, fresh air and sunshine to balance the time spent indoors.

Simple pleasures at home enhance your home-life. Balancing nature in your garden to generate it’s own eco system of birds, bees and butterflies. A small plot to grow your fresh, clean vegetables. An organic, living space that is user friendly and peaceful.

We are fortunate and blessed in the south, to have generous sized sections. Even an inner city small property often has room for an outdoor table, an easy garden and a shed. Many homes often have the capacity to increase the overall living space by up to 50% with clever design of the outdoor areas.

Let’s look at how we can re-create and regenerate a more beautiful garden for you. A fresh approach to improving outdoor living and enhancing your indoor views, to bring nature further inside your bubble. Every day enjoy the safety and comfort of your own home and improved garden and enjoy a new life-balance.

Planning A Vegetable Garden

As the seasons change in Dunedin, like a roller-coaster ride, my favourite season is Autumn.  From March to May, the productive garden is filling baskets and I love how the plain, green summer trees suddenly take centre stage, colouring our landscape. Autumn is also a fantastic time to plan and rejuvenate the vegetable garden area, once your crops have finished.

Usually I site a vegetable garden in the sunniest part of the garden, north to north/east facing and with a fence, hedge or wall on the south to south/west for shelter. I encourage you to surround your productive garden to protect it from the wind, with a medium height fence or hedge.

Consider building raised gardens which are a back-saver, look great when well made, and contain the soil and mulches from making a mess. Raising the soil also aids drainage and adds depth to the topsoil.

When I am designing a productive garden area, I will always include a space for a garden bench or small table and chairs – somewhere you can sit and view the fruits of your labour!

Raised vegetable gardens can become a seat if you add a wide capping. For a smaller garden, this is a great space-saver.

Mulch the soil around your plants to suppress weeds, with compost or pea-straw, and make sure you have a good water supply handy.

If you are can include a hot-house, either glass or plastic or polycarbonate, you can then extend your growing of vegetables into winter, if it is well sited for sun and shelter.

For re-designing your garden to accommodate a productive growing space, call  Leisa Browne at Leaf Landscape Design on 0274 156555 or go to the contact page on this website.

Step by step landscaping; how, who, what, where do we start?

Over the last few years, you may have ideas of renovating your garden. Then, after the many questions of how, who, what, where do we start, the practicalities of a beautifully landscaped garden is put away  again until next summer.

Start with a list. Write down the ‘uses’ for the garden. How will you be using the space? Do you entertain often or just need family space. Will you want a spa, a trampoline, a shed, a glasshouse, productive garden, lawn. Consider how many car parking spaces, include the trailor, caravan or boat space. Do you prefer a long-line clothesline or rotary – or none at all. Include any fantastic ideas you may have seen before or dream of having and never thought would be possible – ok, a tennis court or lap-pool may be impossible, but a badminton lawn and a spa might work!

Once you have your ‘wish list’ of desired spaces and uses for your garden, look at the most logical places for these and the easiest access. For example, the barbeque area near the kitchen and dining, however if the space is too far away, I can guarantee you will hardly use it!

The next most import, is to start with the utilities and structure. There is no point developing your new terrace patio and garden when the retaining wall will need replacing in 5 years’ time. Get the experts in to have a look. Most tradespeople will be happy to have a chat and let you know a general cost so you can work out if it is worth doing.

Each area can be worked on separately to budget for, but it is always best to start at the back and work towards the front. Have an overall plan of everything, so there will be continuity in your project and all the pieces will work together in the end.

For advice on how, who, what and where to start, and an overall plan, I can come and have a look and a chat and let you know your best approach and help with problem solving. Call Leisa at Leaf Landscape Design on 0274 156555 or go to the website at leaflandscapes.co.nz

Picture: Trident Homes Dunedin showhome, Owhiro River development, Mosgiel. Landscape design by Leaf Landscape Design in 2019.

A Christmas Time To Relax

Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2020, from Leisa at Leaf Landscape Design.

I can never give enough appreciation for the wonderful supportive team I have around me, that have collectively built Leaf Landscape Design, including professionals I work with every day (suppliers, landscapers, my accountant), to friends with that all valuable emotional support and clever ideas. My family who doggie-daycare when I’m busy, professionally help with I.T. support and beautiful graphic design and marketing advice, and my wonderful life skills coach and sister.

Here is a little poem I found online, courtesy of the Houzz.com website.

“T’was the weekend before Christmas, and all through the yard,

Not a gift was being given, not even a card.
The tools were all hung, in the garage with care,

With hopes that St. Nicholas soon would repair.
The shovel with blade all rusty and cracked,

The pitchfork still shiny, but handle it lacked.
When out on my lawn, (it’s brown and abused)

I could see poor old Santa, looking confused.
No list had been left for Santa to see,

No gardening gifts were under the tree.
But wait there’s still time, it’s not Christmas yet,

And gardening gifts are the quickest to get.
You can forget the silk tie, the fluffy new sweater,

Give something to make the garden grow better.
If she wants a gift shiny, then don’t be a fool,

It’s not a dumb diamond, but a sparkling new tool.
If fragrance is listed you can forget French perfume,

It’s a pile of manure that’ll make gardeners swoon.
Give night crawlers, not nightgowns, a hose that sprays water.

(Anything for the kitchen is not worth the bother.)
Give a great gift that can dig in the dirt,

It’s better than any designer-brand shirt.
Now look quick at Santa, this guy’s not so dumb,

Under his glove, he hides a green thumb.
His knees are so dirty, his back how it aches,

His boots stomp on slugs, (he gives them no breaks).
The guy works only winter, you can surely see why,

For the rest of the year it’s as easy as pie.
He has elves plant through spring, pull weeds in the summer,

In fall they all harvest, but winter’s a bummer
And so Christmas gives Santa a part-time employment,

’Till spring when the blooms are his real enjoyment.
So ask the big guy for garden gifts this year,

Seeds, plants and tools, Santa holds them all dear.
You see, malls may be crowded, vendors hawking their wares,

But visit a nursery, stress-free shopping is there.
Now Santa’s flown off, to the nursery he goes,

And his voice fills the night with loud Hoe! Hoe! Hoe!
Have a Merry and a Happy!

Written by Pete in Iowa Falls”