Ashburton
Alan Trott refuses to jump on the low maintenance bandwagon.
Ioften hear folk say they are planting a low maintenance garden and I ask them what are they using plant-wise. Often the reply is they are using natives as they are so low maintenance and this comment almost brings me out in a rash.
Then they say, “Oh we will use weedmat as this suppresses the weeds, and cover with pebbles.” I then tell them weedmat is fine for a few months but then dirt and dust accumulates in the pebbles, and sooner than later weeds appear which needs hand-weeding or spray which we all detest.
Natives are all the fashion now but many native plants take a gardener many hours to trim as most grow so fast. Some of the grasses look amazing for the first two years but as they age they need a lot of time taking all the dead leaves out. Next time you are on the motorway, look at some of the plantings that have been done over the last few years and you will soon see that they are covered in grasses and weeds, and many have died with lack of care, as the planners thought they were easy-care.
Now look at the positives about gardening – and there are many. A garden changes with the seasons and, with careful planning, need not be a constant burden on one’s time. Gardens are always changing and we need to take some plants and trees out that have had their time and this also gives us the opportunity to make change. Nothing is forever, and here I often I use the saying, a garden is one person’s dream.
This is the time of the year when we redo our gardens and as the nights are long, you should look through books and your NZ Gardener magazines to get inspired and say to yourself, “I could do that”.
I use a lot of perennials for spring, summer and autumn colours as they offer both foliage and flower.
You could say, “Well that’s a lot of work”. Not so! Every two or three years they need dividing and this can be done over the winter months at your leisure.
In early spring get your stakes out and put them beside or in the centre of the plant and then over the summer you are ready to string then up to keep them tidy. I am now using old sheep netting and making cages of various sizes, and this works so well as no staking is required. Once made, they last a lifetime.
Remember to mulch with plenty of compost in spring, and in early summer hoe weekly, and by midsummer most of the ground is covered and this is what I call low maintenance.
Use your plants to create simple colour schemes.
You could make a hot garden using red, yellow and orange; or make a red garden; or use softer colours such as pink, white and blue. Invest in an odd bit of sculpture too, or if you can, make your own masterpiece. NZ Gardener has, over the years, featured some amazing garden art which can be made (along with step-by-step instructions on how to make them). Perhaps make a big obelisk (look in your February 2020 copy) and just use it as focal point or to grow something over.
Why not purchase a stunning seat and place it where you can relax and look at the fruits of your labour with a glass of wine. Why not make a summer house down the back of the garden and perhaps put an old couch in it that you can relax on and read your favourite book. So get a hard cover notebook and put your pen to paper with your ideas, and then make it happen over the next few months.
During lockdown, we certainly looked at our section and house, and asked, “What can we do to make this place better?”
We painted the house and, as we had been tramping over plants, this then gave us time to look at new planting schemes and plants that liked the hot and dry, and others that liked a little shade.
In one area, I made a silver garden using silver-leaved plants and this has been most successful and interesting. I found many plants from the succulent family interesting to grow for their foliage. Many silver-leaved plants tend to have gold flowers which I take off before they bloom.
Gardens bring like-minded folk together and from all walks of life, which I have found interesting. Gardening need not be a chore, and so I leave you with my third saying: Gardening is like housework – it is never finished. ✤