Category Archives: Tikorangi notes

Tikorangi Notes: November 11, 2011

How curious is Hippeastrum papilio?

How curious is Hippeastrum papilio?

Latest Posts: 11/11/11

1) The exotica of Hippeastrum papilio in flower this week. To me it looks more like an orchid than a butterfly.

2) So you think you might like to open your garden to the public? Abbie’s column (based on 24 years of experience here).

3) Grow it yourself – parsley, a vegetable garden staple of underestimated value.

4) Cordyline Red Fountain receives high praise in Australia.

5) In the Garden this fortnight – the first of a new series written for the Weekend Gardener, detailing what we have been up to in our garden.

Tikorangi Notes: 11/11/11

Rhododendron Ivan D Wood

Rhododendron Ivan D Wood

With the end of our garden festival (formerly the Taranaki Rhododendron and Garden Festival but these days the equal mouthful of Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular), we woke up on Monday feeling like zombies. Ten days of standing on concrete and meeting and greeting of visitors takes its toll when the pressure comes off.

Dichelostemma Ida Maia

Dichelostemma Ida Maia

Our flowering remains late but no doubt the season will catch up soon. The curious Dichelostemma Ida Maia (formerly a brodiaea) has been attracting frequent comment and Rhododendron Ivan D Wood is justifying its place with its annual flowering – lovely colour range but the foliage is pretty unappealing for the remaining 50 weeks of the year. It wants to live in a colder climate than ours.

We are stripping out the retail area and are no longer selling plants, though the garden remains open. The plant sales list has been taken off this site until next September or early October. We will not be selling again until Labour Weekend next year when there will be a two week period of sales. We have just had enough of selling plants and would rather enjoy gardening and gardening conversations.

It was undeniably pleasing to see Gardening Australia name Cordyline Red Fountain amongst their top 20 plants in the last 20 years. Equally pleasing to see Fairy Magnolia Blush named amongst their top 10 recent picks for long term success.

Tikorangi Notes: Saturday 5 November, 2011

Mark's "Platinum Ice" is just opening

Mark's "Platinum Ice" is just opening

And "Coconut Ice" is looking a picture

And "Coconut Ice" is looking a picture

Latest Posts
1) From designer trend to cliché in the blink of an eye – Abbie’s column

2) The wonderfully brazen Azalea mollis in Plant Collector this week.

3) Grow it Yourself: lettuces with particular reference to Misticanza di Lattughe (available from Franchi Seeds, or Italian Seeds Pronto in New Zealand).

Tikorangi Notes: Saturday 5 November, 2011

There has not much (indeed, any) gardening going on here this week. As we host the large majority of our annual visitors in one ten day period, we get to spend 8 or even 9 hours a day standing on concrete doing the meet and greet. It is very tiring but also enormously affirming to have so many people come and enjoy the garden. Little do they realise that this means our Lloyd was out mowing the park at 6.30am this morning. I admit it was as late as 7.00am before I was out and about doing the clean up of our public welcoming areas.

The later season rhododendron display is just coming into its own – the wonderful nuttalliis and the later flowering maddeniis. We are still running at least a week behind on the blooming season.

Our annual garden festival finishes on Sunday. Monday will see us back in gardening clothes, probably mooching about in solitary silence achieving very little but focussing our attentions back on the garden. It is a source of amazement to garden visitors that we manage a garden this size with just ourselves as gardeners and our one staffer, Lloyd, on the mower, mulcher, tractor, weedeater and generally assisting. While we would enjoy having additional assistance, visitor numbers in New Zealand are not high enough to pay the wages. However, in the final analysis, we garden for our own pleasure and the visitors are a welcome bonus.

The wonderful fragrant nuttalliis are coming into flower - this one is Floral Legacy (nuttallii x sino nuttallii)

The wonderful fragrant nuttalliis are coming into flower - this one is Floral Legacy (nuttallii x sino nuttallii)

Tikorangi Notes: Friday October 28, 2011

Latest posts:
1) Scadoxus puniceus – another bulb delight from southern Africa in Plant Collector this week.
2) Where to start with garden design – Abbie’s column from the Waikato Times.
3) Grow it Yourself – green beans

The season is late this year - Prunus Pearly Shadows is still opening

The season is late this year - Prunus Pearly Shadows is still opening

Tikorangi Notes: Friday 28 October, 2011

The kind neighbours, erecting a temporary gazebo (with the doubly kind neighbour to the left who happens to own said item)

The kind neighbours, erecting a temporary gazebo (with the doubly kind neighbour to the left who happens to own said item)

Our garden festival starts today with a hiss and a roar – a full coachload of Probus members (from Levin, if my memory serves me right), a guided tour of the garden for any, all and sundry and a small Australian tour (that is few in number, not small of stature) all happening at about the same time in the morning. It has been a busy week sprucing up but we are feeling reasonably well prepared with an hour or two in the morning to finish the final touches. The season is later than usual which means that the bluebells are still in flower. We never worry too much about variations in seasons because there is always something blooming. Prunus Pearly Shadows in our entrance area is looking very fetching whereas it is normally passing over by now.

In a moment of great clarity, we have decided to give up on retailing plants after mid November so if you have been planning to purchase anything, you will have to get in quickly. From next year, we plan to retail for two weeks of the year only – from Labour Weekend until the end of our garden festival. And we will not be continuing with much in the way of woody trees and shrubs. However, we will be looking to offer more of the rare and interesting curiosities so there should be material that is interesting on offer for those two weeks this time next year. In the meantime, we are keen to clear out plants so there are bargains to be had – check the Plant Sales section. Most magnolias are currently half the listed price. When they are gone, they are gone. We don’t have crops coming through. We will hold prepaid orders until you can the plants collected, if required.

Tikorangi Notes: Friday 21 October, 2011

There is nothing subtle about the orange clivias at this time of the year

There is nothing subtle about the orange clivias at this time of the year

Latest posts:
1) Simple ideas to import (from Spain and Portugal).
2) Bring back plants! Please. Abbie’s column.
3) Arisaema sikokianum in Plant Collector this week.
4) Grow it yourself: gherkins and cucumbers.

Just another seedling of Mark's - R. metternichii x Susan

Just another seedling of Mark's - R. metternichii x Susan

Tikorangi Notes: Friday October 21, 2011

With just a week until our annual garden festival, now styled the Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular (but formerly the Rhododendron and Garden Festival), it is a time of high pressure here as we primp and preen the garden in preparation for the 10 days that delivers up two thirds of our visitor numbers in one hit. It is all about leaf rakes, trimming, clipping, edges and the like – what we call garden grooming. While we work to maintain standards all year with regard to weeding, mulching, feeding and general maintenance, this is presentation with sharp edges.

The flowering this year is a week to maybe 10 days later than normal, but as we garden for year round interest, it does not matter if the usual candidates have not yet bloomed. There will always be something else in flower. The clivias are looking very showy. There is nothing subtle about the strident orange and red hybrids but they certainly light up darker areas and they are a tolerant and forgiving garden plant for relatively frost-free conditions. As the magnolias finish their season, the rhododendrons are coming into their own. We would not be without them for the spring display. Besides named cultivars, both hybrids and species, we have a fair number of hybrids from Mark’s breeding programme. The average to poor cultivars get discarded, but there are many which are good garden plants, even if they are not sufficiently sensational to name.

Tikorangi Notes: Friday October 14, 2011

Feeding from both the veltheimia and the agapetes

Feeding from both the veltheimia and the agapetes

Latest Posts:

1) ‘Tis spring – must be rhododendron time. R. johnstoneanum “Ken Burns” in Plant Collector this week.
2) A call for more rigour and less fervour in Abbie’s column this week – what used to be called The Good Life (courtesy of Felicity Kendall and whover Briars – was it Richard?) but is now styled Green Urban Living.
3) Grow it Yourself – beetroot this week.
4) Tikorangi Diary and notes about half price clearance special on most magnolias.

Tikorangi Notes:
I was delighted by the sight of the little waxeye gathering nectar from the veltheimia flowers outside my office window. We often see them working the Agapetes serpens (which I describe as the waxeye bush, for its ability to feed the birds) but this is the first time I have seen one feeding on the veltheimia which looks better suited to humming birds because of its very long, tubular flowers. We do not have humming birds in this country which has always seemed a bit of a pity to me. We would gladly trade blackbirds and sparrows for humming birds.

Rain has not helped the garden preparation this week – our annual festival (now styled the Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular) starts in a fortnight so the pressure is on. I did feel sorry for the tour group here on Wednesday when it was hosing down but at least it wasn’t windy or cold! The magnolia season is drawing to a close with only Serene looking picture perfect now. But the michelias (now also reclassified as magnolias) have a longer season. The first of Mark’s new series, Fairy Magnolia Blush, is looking particularly pink this year. Indubitably pink which, in the world of white michelias, is pretty remarkable. More rhododendrons open every day though the maddenii and nuttallii types are generally later flowering and won’t be doing much for another fortnight. The garden is open every day now and we are generally around for plant sales – sound the car horn if we do not appear because we will be in the garden.

Indubitably very pink this season - Fairy Magnolia Blush

Indubitably very pink this season - Fairy Magnolia Blush