How to create a lush summer garden for food and drama
There’s something exciting about tasty bounty and tropical drama in your own backyard,
We’re embracing new ways of living in these changing times, but gardens have remained perennially important to many Kiwis.
We’re looking at two styles this week, one enduring and the other emerging.
Whether you have a carefully tended, quarter-acre paradise — fast diminishing inside city limits — or you’re cultivating pots on the balcony of an apartment, being surrounded by green in any form is good.
Grow your own
Garden trends come and go but some styles remain in vogue, including the good old vegetable garden.
It suffered a bit as frozen foods became more prolific, but in waking up to climate change and our universal need to reduce food miles, many of us are finding our way back to the traditional family plots.
We take joy in growing our own vegetables and fruit — there’s something exciting about standing in front of a seed stand at a garden centre and imagining all that tasty bounty bursting forth.
Sue Linn, editor of Go Gardening,, says you certainly don’t need a full site for fruit and vege gardens.
“Even if you’re renting or living on a subdivided section, there’s always somewhere to plant a few seeds,” she says.
“The main key to success, wherever you plant your garden, is providing water and food.
“If you’re in an apartment and working with pots on the balcony, you probably won’t have room for a worm farm, so you’ll need to buy fertiliser. There are some good organically based fertilisers available now.”
Linn says that if your balcony is sunny, you should be able to grow tomatoes. If it’s a little shady lettuces will do well, as they tend to be soft and often wilt a little in direct sunlight.
Linn suggests that if you’re looking to create a potted garden in limited space, succulents and certain herbs make an attractive and resilient display. Palms grow well in pots and look great. “They’re small but they look tall!”
Taste of the tropics
Subtropical plants will generally do well in Auckland and further north, but you can still get similar success in other areas — as long as you’re are prepared to nurse your plants through winter, perhaps with the help of frost cloth or a greenhouse.
One of the most appealing aspects of the subtropical garden is that with the right plants, it won’t take long for a spectacular display to emerge.
Abyssinian (false) banana palms (the fruit can’t be eaten), are a good choice for fairly instant gratification. They make a bold statement, although they are gross feeders
The leaves of banana palms provide a great backdrop while your more permanent plants get established. After flowering, banana palms quickly die, but they’re easy to replace.
Begonias are another good performer for tropical colour. You’ll generally find them at the front of your local garden centre’s display.
They can be pricy but have the potential to increase numbers easily. Just clip a leaf or stem, put it in water, where it will grow roots, and within weeks you’ll be able to multiply these stunning blooms.
Bromeliads are another species that continues to give, with pups appearing next to the mother plant soon after it blooms. These offspring can be separated and potted, so your collection will grow quickly.
Bromeliads are hardy and don’t need a lot of water. They do well in the top of the North Island, but they’ll perform further south, as long as you protect them from cold.