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”

Be Prepared For Summer

Last weekend was a beautiful taste of a hot summer to come. It has also been a good reminder of how prepared your house and garden are for outdoor living this coming season. 

The style of architecture in new houses is more considerate to living outdoors. With features such as a  fabulous large portico over the entertaining area, or a large verandah with bi-fold doors bringing the outdoors into the living space. 

When I am designing the landscaping areas for a client,  I consider the morning sun for a quiet outdoor breakfast table space, mid-day sun to provide some shade through the hottest part of the day and the evening sun for a larger entertaining area. 

We also have changeable wind directions in the region. How disappointing to have a fabulous outdoor entertaining area, and to not be able to use it due to the wind!

 Clients of mine who were building a house at Blackhead, were considering they would have no outdoor entertaining space, due to the wind. I am pleased I was able to create an attractive, north-facing courtyard area between the garage and the house, which was sheltered from three sides. In this space I also included herbs and vegetables in a potager and colourful shrubs and flowers in the terraced garden around it. Often the impossible becomes possible with careful planning. 

Sun, shade, wind and view - these may be conflicting elements which in an established garden, or a new one, need careful consideration.  

For design and advice on how you can make the most of your outdoor living this summer, call me, Leisa Browne, at Leaf Landscapes Design on 03 4701114 or go to www.leaflandscapedesign.co.nz contacts page.

Hot summer evenings are an opportunity to relax in your beautiful garden.

The Secrets Behind A Well-designed Garden

The top 3 landscape design elements

There is a mystery behind what lies beneath a well designed garden. Here are some secrets of landscape design and the top 3 elements which I consider in every garden I plan.

Structure: this is the ‘good bones’ of your garden  and will continue throughout every season. Structure is often created by vertical elements such as walls, fences, and screens which create a sense of enclosure and divide the garden into ‘rooms’. Trees and hedges also form the structure of a garden and may frame a vista or screen out an undesirable view. Paths which connect the garden areas and direct the traffic flow also form part of the structure of your garden

Balance: is best explained in how we are most comfortable in landscapes that have a sense of balance.  There are two major types of balance; Symmetrical that creates a formal look to your garden and asymmetrical that may not be exactly the same on each side but it is still ‘balanced’. Also consider the volume and impact of planted areas versus open spaces and buildings. They all need to balance each other. When gardens get overgrown, they often throw the balance and make you feel crowded-in. If a garden is too sparse and open you may feel exposed, even ‘insecure’ and not use the area  as much as you imagined.

Theme: A theme will give your garden a unified and professional look. If you have a  small garden stay with one theme and keep it simple. For a large garden its best to have one main theme that ties the garden together. You can add smaller themed areas extra interest. Here are some theme ideas; tropical, desert, beach, cottage, colour, edible, butterfly and bees, fragrant, water, geographical eg. Japanese, Mexican.

The next time you walk around your garden, you may see it in a new way! If you would like help with changes to your garden to incorporate some of these important design elements, contact me on my website contacts page.

This beautiful garden in School Road, Mosgiel is designed by Leisa Browne.

A day in the life of a landscape designer.

It may surprise you the variety of information and services a professional landscape designer offers.  After a busy day last Saturday, I couldn’t help but think what an amazing job I have.

My day began meeting with one of my loveliest clients to discuss alterations to a new design and planting concept. We are creating a ‘Chinese’ themed garden and working around existing features. It is important that she likes the plants and features I have chosen.

Next I head up the hill to a garden I assisted the owner in designing back in 2011. A stunning hillside property with sweeping views of the beach from St Clair to Lawyer’s Head. My job there today is to prune the roses I chose, and planted, 9 years ago. I have never seen such annual growth on roses before. These roses are planted on a clay slope, east facing, sheltered and a constant water supply from the hillside.  Before finishing up there I give the grape vine it’s winter prune also. The vine is growing in a modern, timber framed glass house which in itself is a beautiful piece of architecture with a fabulous view.

After a quick stop at the garden centre to choose a maple for next week’s planting job, and a bite to eat, I drive out of town with gumboots, tape measure, clipboard and camera. With a pond development well underway, it’s time to check the spaces for planting.

I am excited to see how the pond is beautifully taking shape and the water beginning to clear. Slipping and wading around in mud, juggling the clipboard and tape measures, I am finally happy with a conceivable planting plan. This will be added to their landscape concept later on, using a CAD program (Computer Aided Design), printed and presented to the client for their approval.

On my trip back to the office is when I realized how lucky I am to combine my passion for gardens and helping my clients landscape their lives better.

A well chosen hedge

Hedges give us order in our chaotic lives and gardens. Historically, tightly clipped hedges, shrubs and a well formed garden presented a property that appeared organised, affluent and in control! 

While not as instant as a fence or screen, a well chosen hedge will give shelter, a fresh back-drop to display your lovely garden and soften the hard-scaping lines. Hedges offer a great solution if you are tight on space.

 Low maintenance with just a clip twice a year, hedges also can fill a large space blocking out most weeds.

 The key to a good hedge is choosing the right plant. A deciduous hedge such as Hornbeam, Beech or Barberry allow more light in winter and attractive seasonal changes. Evergreen hedges provide a lovely back drop to the sculptural deciduous trees of winter. The latest trends in hedges include Feijoa, Westringia, Viburnum, Choisya, Corokia, Akeake and Totara. There is a new release Germander called Teucrium fruitcans ‘Platinum Baby’. It is compact, upright growing for a small, silvery hedge that has a tidier habit than it’s predecessor.

 The general rule when planting a hedge; the smaller the hedge, the closer together, planting at approximately half the height of the desired hedge. I like to give them a light clip when planted, then two or three times a year. Each clip will multiply the branches for a denser hedge.

 Easy maintenance yes, but don’t forget your hedge completely. During dryer times water your hedge well. Add compost along the base of the plants and a slow release fertiliser annually. Taper taller hedges slightly at the top to allow the light into the hedge.

 For help choosing and planting a hedge call me at Leaf. Leisa Browne, Landscape Designer, Dunedin 03 470 1114 or 0274 156555.

Feature trees for your garden.

For either a small garden or a large acreage property, there is a feature tree that will give you a stunning view at any time of the year.

Feature trees are an important investment as they take such a long time to mature. Consider your choice carefully so they can be there for the lifetime of your property. Keep in mind the mature size and take care they are not planted near drains, under powerlines, block you or your neighbor’s views.

For a feature tree to really shine, it needs to be placed in line of sight from key parts of your house or garden that are frequented. When you walk in the gate, when you sit on the deck, when you look out from the lounge window.  

A feature tree can also screen an undesirable view or give your line of sight more privacy. A broad evergreen tree would be ideal for this such as Magnolia grandiflora. This magnolia is evergreen, with big glossy leaves and large white cupped flowers in the spring. It is tolerant of most Dunedin region conditions including clay soil, coastal wind and frosts.

The larger growing deciduous Magnolia are my favourite for a large space. With interesting branches in winter, stunning flowers that are often perfumed, and robust trees through the summer for shade. Magnolia soulangeana is a beauty growing to 5mh and a spread of 4m after 10 years.

For a  darker, shaded corner, try brightening it up with a Japanese maple.  There is a maple for even the tiniest garden. At just 1m high, is the low spreading Acer palmatum dissectum, or Weeping Japanese Maple, with interesting twisting branches as it ages.  Full Moon Maple, Acer shirasawanum 'Autumn Moon’, at 2-3m high, will brighten any dull corner of a small garden. Maples like a loamy soil with shelter from coastal winds.

The Cherry blossom trees, Prunus species, are surely the ultimate for a feature in the lawn or garden. With varying sizes and shapes including vase, round or poplar. When placing your feature tree in a lawn situation, try to offset it to the side, so it frames the view beyond.

Other feature trees to use in landscaping include Japanese Snowdrop Tree, Styrax japonica, which has an almost perfect form for most medium to small gardens and delicate, perfumed snowdrop flowers in spring. Copper Beech, Fagus sylvatica Purpurea, slow growing but can be a stunning lawn specimen tree for a medium to large area.

If you are considering a feature tree for your garden, Leaf Landscape Design can offer a site visit to help you choose, supply AND plant your tree for you. Go to the contacts page on our website /www.leaflandscapes.co.nz/contact or call (03) 470 1114 Dunedin.

A magnificient Magnolia tree in winter at Glenfalloch Gardens, Portobello Road, Dunedin.

Ordering Sunshine!

Today is ordering day…. plants - check; mulch delivery - check; sunshine for planting tomorrow - working on it!

I’ve been busy gathering plants from around the South Island for our Jennian Homes Show Home design in Mosgiel. The landscaper, carpenter and builders have been doing some fabulous work there with composite boardwalks and re-contouring the front garden. The concrete paths, large step stones and patios are poured. Now it’s time for planting.

Sunshine please!

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The concrete areas are starting to define the garden spaces.

It doesn’t look like much now, but there are a lot of plants there and more to come. All packed up and ready to go.

A Well Structured Garden

As the seasons change throughout the year, the one element that will keep your garden looking great is structure.

If we define structure, it is like the skeleton of the garden, the framework that we clothe in foliage and colour. A carefully planned structure for your garden will ensure this framework is effective in every season.

Structure will include both hard landscaping (paths, fences) and soft landscaping (plants). Feature trees and shrubs, decks, patios and paths, pergolas and outbuildings. These elements will need to all work together to form the spaces for you to utilize and  enjoy, visually and functionally.

Once a good structure is in place, the stage is set for colour, textures and themes to give the garden personality and bring it to life. Using, textures of paving and stones, styles of furniture and features, and a theme for planting that will become the glue that holds it all together.

Whether a property is a new build or an established home, elements are used from the existing landscape to form the first part of a well structured garden.

If you would like more information, Leaf Landscape Design can help. Call Leisa at Leaf on 03 470 1114 or fill out our contacts page for a free visit to your property.

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This beautifully structured garden was designed by Leisa Browne in 2005. The existing Copper Beech tree became the key focus which the rest of the new garden was designed around.

Exciting things to come...

These painted lines on the ground are the start of the development process for landscaping. It’s so exciting seeing the plans marked out in real size. I will keep you posted as work progresses.

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Villa Gardens

So you have a lovely villa that you are considering, or already have, renovated for modern living, and in keeping with the history and beautiful detail of houses of this era.

The next natural step is to blend the new interiors with the old outdoor areas and change the use of the garden into entertaining and relaxing spaces, without losing the villa styling.

Outdoor living and alfresco dining wasn’t a priority for houses built in New Zealand back in the early 1900’s. However most of these gardens were large in order to include a generous kitchen garden to feed the family and house a few chickens for fresh eggs. The street front always was welcoming and well maintained which demonstrated a well-run household and pride in the property. The front was usually where the living rooms were, offering a more formal style away from the busy, smoky and cooking smells from the kitchen out the back.

Many of the villa gardens reflected the heritage of the families’ home country and a large sweep of lawn with an exciting sprinkling of the then ‘exotic’ New Zealand trees and shrubs to accent the garden.

When considering landscaping a villa garden, I look for the framework of the original trees and larger shrubs, and try to work with these. Sometimes during a Villa restoration, the whole living areas are flipped to take advantage of the sun, which raises new challenges.

Our modern gardens divides the section into garden rooms for a more intimate feel and interesting spaces to explore. The kitchen garden is now smaller but still popular for fresh salad vegetables and herbs, preferred in raised garden boxes for easier maintenance and a tidier appearance.

The main desirable feature for a renovated villa is indoor-outdoor flow to an all-weather deck or patio area for summer alfresco dining and cooking. These areas form an important link between the house and garden beyond and becomes a second family room for daily summer living.

I look to the architecture of the house for clues to shape the new garden’s structure and introduce features which blend with the details from the villa’s era.

Plantings with smaller and more manageable clipped hedges for a heritage garden look and what we consider ‘low maintenance’ plants are now more popular for busy modern families, than beds of roses and perennials. We can bring in colour with leaf colours and seasonal changes in deciduous plants which happily grow with little attention.

For a small percentage of the overall cost of landscaping the villa’s garden, a landscape designer will help manage and blend your new garden seamlessly with a your renovated villa. Each area, material and plant is considered carefully. You will get a finished property with charm and character that also maximises outdoor living for the modern family and beautifully enhances your overall property.

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A Gardening Merry Christmas

Happy Christmas Eve to everyone, a most beautiful and balmy evening it has been in Otago, that marks the start of the holiday season!

Reflecting on what a year it’s been, there certainly has been many ups and downs, but from that roller-coaster of a year grew Leaf Landscape Design!

Tonight I walked about my tiny ranch of 1 acre, and soaked up the perfume from the roses while enjoying the blackbird singing in the warm evening. It has been such an amazing night. I picked and ate a few strawberries that were ripe and closed the chooks safely back into their coup. On Thursday I will be helping a client out by clearing a very small , but very overgrown back garden, and making a few changes to their garden to reduce the amount of maintenance for them in future. My aim is to bring them the same joy that my patch does, no matter what size.

What brings me the most joy about my profession of landscape design, is helping people. People from all walks of life, with each property being unique and everyone’s requirements and budgets are also unique. Every design is bespoke. Every garden tidied up and new plants planted is exciting and a relief to the client to have it sorted. And a delivery of a box of plants on their doorsteps as ordered is like a Christmas present, any time of the year.

2019 will bring so many exciting new projects, some are already in the pipeline, like seeds starting to sprout. I love creating new ideas, to help my clients shape their patch into an amazing space that works for them.

I truly hope Christmas is a time you can spend with your friends, neighbors or family. I also hope you get to have some time to walk about your garden and enjoy it. Merry Christmas everyone .

Flower-power colours in the garden

After a walk around my wild, semi-rural garden in the sunshine today, I am inspired by the crazy colours and colour combinations. I love flowers. No matter what sort of day I have had, it always makes me smile to come home to a front garden of self-sown red, pink and white corn poppies, calendula and wallflowers all madly in flower and vying for attention. Where the trees, hedges and evergreens give a garden the framework, colour is the accessory to make the garden pop.

The best way I do this for my low maintenance garden client is to have a small patch which is full of colour. This becomes my clients’ ‘play-patch’ where they have flowering perennials and they can add annuals, bulbs etc to keep the colour going through every season. The rest of the garden will relatively look after itself once established.

Look for colour contrasts in your flowers. Blue with yellow, Red with gold, even pinks and oranges go surprisingly well. White or blue flowers are a great ‘foil’ to mix with any colour. Try mixing all colours for a wild and old-fashioned effect. A more subtle effect is staying with the same colour but in different shades, this works nicely with the spectrum of pinks, and with blues mixing through to white.

Be brave with colour. The one great thing with gardens is that it is easy and relatively low cost to change the colour scheme with fashion, with your mood, or with the season.

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Hidden Garden Gems

As I was toiling away, cleaning up a new client’s garden, I realised what gems lie beneath the overgrown weeds, shrubs and lawns. How much careful planning and effort went into those early stages of setting out this garden and the bones of structure that are still there.

It is an exciting position to be in, as a landscape designer and horticulturalist, bringing back the old garden to life, or working with those old bones and making them new again. Often a redesign doesn’t negate the history of a garden, but adds to it and works with the years of growth in those beautiful trees, the slopes and the framework of the original landscaping, making them work for the modern owners, but keeping the echo of the original garden.

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