The forecast: flowers spreading south
Stars of spring
Up north, rengarenga – also known as Cape Reinga lily (Arthropodium cirratum) – is in flower now, but further south blooms may not be at their peak until mid December. Spires of pristine, starry, sixpetalled, white flowers with their clear yellow and purple stamens shimmer over the clumps of bright green, strappy foliage.
Rengarenga grow naturally in rocky, coastal areas from Kaikoura north, but can cope with frosts killing off their leaves due to their fleshy roots.
They cope with some shade but not too much. In light shade, the flowers bloom later and longer. The leaves also stay fresh longer, although the pernickety might have to turn a blind eye later in the season, when they often look tatty – snails, slugs and wind having taken their toll. Dead or dying leaves can be removed if they offend you.
On the plus side, rengarenga seeds easily and grows fast, making it a quick groundcover for banks or under trees. Established clumps can be moved or divided at any time of year as long as they are well-watered until they are settled in.
Hunt for snails
Don’t wait until you see holes in your plants to tackle them – every snail you dispose of now won’t have a chance to breed. Snails are hermaphrodites, with both male and female reproductive organs, which means they can all lay eggs. They lay between 30 and 120 eggs at a time every six weeks or so – an average of around 430 eggs per year.
Early evening is a good time for snail hunting with a torch and a bucket of warm water. Look around the rims and underneath pots, in wood piles and among the foliage of plants like irises, rengarenga and brassicas.
Feed the carcasses to the birds (as long as you haven’t used slug bait).
Sow basil for summer pesto
Basil season is upon us!
To raise basil from seed, fill a tray with seed-raising mix and firm down gently. Scatter the fine seed sparingly and sprinkle a little extra seed-raising mix over the top.
Water lightly and place the tray in your growhouse or on a sunny windowsill. The seedlings should pop up in five to 10 days (thin out any that are too close together).
Transplant into the garden or a pot when they’re about 5cm tall and keep well watered. There are all sorts of basil you can grow: purpleleafed, cinnamon, Thai, lemon and more but the best ones for pesto are those with large leaves, such as Sweet Genovese.
Pinch out the growing tips to keep the plants bushy and compact with multiple stems to maximise the supply of tender leaves for pesto production.
– compiled by Barbara Smith