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GARDENING
4 When choosing a variety for espalier, look for a plant with one central stem
and with plenty of whippy, flexible side growths. You don’t want short, stiff
growths for tying in. Suitable varieties include Dreamboat (big pink formal,
pictured), Avalanche or Weeping Maiden (both whites) and tsaii (small leaves
and small flowers).
Creatures to comfort gardeners
Expect clucking and writhing on
a grand scale at Hollard Gardens
in Kaponga on Sunday, August
30.
That’s because chooks and
worms will be the focus of the
next in a series of free home
gardening workshops at the
gardens, which are owned and
managed by the Taranaki
Regional Council on behalf of the
1 Camellias have the
potential to be used
creatively as garden plants
and because they will
resprout from bare wood,
they are ideal for topiary
and hedges. This little
lollipop camellia is a
feature in a large pot, but
could equally feature as a
garden plant. (photo of
camellia in pot)
people of the region.
‘‘Chooks can weed and fertilise
the food garden, and provide
eggs – and entertainment, in
many cases,’’ says the regional
gardens manager Greg Rine.
‘‘We’ll be demonstrating how
to build a [chicken] dome that
can be moved around the garden
and we’ll talk about the merits of
different types of chook and the
requirements for keeping them
in an urban area.’’
Affordable worm-farm set-ups
will also be discussed, along with
the uses of vermicast and worm
tea.
The free two-hour workshop,
which starts at 2pm, is the third
of five aimed at the home
gardener.
The workshops continue next
Friday, August 14, 2009 TARANAKI DAILY NEWS 13
www.taranakidailynews.co.nz
A step-by-step guide in
creative camellias with
Abbie Jury.
2 If you want to create a lollipop
camellia, you are best to keep
to slower-growing varieties so
3 Espalier simply means
growing a plant to be flat or
two dimensional (with width
they do not need constant and height but no depth). You
clipping. Find a plant with a need a frame. This is a
strong, single trunk (referred to recovered espalier (Camellia
as a central leader). It is easier Tiny Star), which hadn’t
to start with a ramrod straight been trimmed for a decade.
stem. Remember that if you Take off all growths that
are going to plant it directly come out to the front and
into the garden, the plant will back of the plant. It looks
be at least 20cm lower than best if you can keep the
when you look at it in its side growths reasonably
planter bag or pot. Work balanced.
your way up the stem,
removing all side growths
until you have the head
forming at the desired
height. This may take a
season or two. Don’t be too
brutal on taking off the
foliage to start with. Pinching
out single growths
encourages it to be bushy.
Suitable lollipop candidates
include Bob Hope (red,
pictured), Yoimachi (white
sasanqua) and Mimosa Jury
(pink formal).
5 There are not many
weeping camellias, but
these can be trained up on a
stake to the height you want
and then allowed to weep.
Roseaflora Cascade or
Marge Millar are the
strongest-growing plants
and will take full sun.
Sweet Emily Kate and
Quintessence are both
scented and appreciate
some shade. Another
option is to clip to
freestanding columns or
obelisks. Spring
Festival (pictured)
lends itself to this type
of treatment, as do other
upright growers with
small flowers and small
foliage, such as Adorable
and Gay Buttons.
6 For formal hedges, smaller-leafed, small-flowered camellias tend to look
better when clipped hard. Fairy Blush, Cinnamon Cindy, transnokoensis
and Night Rider all clip well for that ramrod, military look. Smaller leaves show
less damage when cut with hedgeclippers. If you don’t want to clip, larger
leafed, bushy plants are absolutely fine and if you plant a range of different
varieties, you can have flowers from autumn to early spring. Pictured is Mark
Jury’s Camellia Fairy Blush, tightly clipped with a low buxus hedge in front.
quote of the week
month with sessions on seed
sowing (September 13) and
companion planting and
composting (September27).
By the end of the series,
What is a weed? A plant whose virtues
Hollard Gardens will have a new
home garden plot that will be on
display during the Taranaki
have not yet been discovered.
Rhododendron & Garden
Festival (October 30 to
November 8). Ralph Waldo Emerson