HIGH COUNTRY GARDENER

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 9, Issue 436, 12 May 1992, Page 9

HIGH COUNTRY GARDENER

by

Bea

Barnes

So much sunshine the last couple of weeks it really is quite unbelievable. Certainly an opportunity to clear and tidy up the garden before we all come down to earth to face the winter The frosts have finally finished off all the dahlias and the dead, blackened growth should all be removed. If you lift your dahlia tubers for storage during the winter months now is the time to do it. There are two schools of thought on this one, some gardeners always lift and store their dahlias, others leave them in situ. We always faithfully lifted and stored ours for the winter but for the last couple of years we have not found the time before the winter set in, but don't think we have lost any more plants. The choice is yours, although if your ground is inclined to lie very wet in the winter it may be advisable to lift and dry the tubers, dusting them with an insecticide, before storing them on trays ,in a cool airy place in the garden shed. Now is also the right time to lift and divide iris siberica, the tall blue swamp iris. Don't forget to have your tulips planted by mid May. All the little spaces which have appeared in

our general clean up are just crying out to be filled and there is such a wealth of plants to choose from. Spring bulbs of course, crocus, daffodils, anemones, ranunculas and tulip are all such a wonderful herald of spring. Polyanthus and primulas can be set out now and the hardy bedding plants that will winter over to bloom in spring. The little carpet antirrhinum are quite lovely. Growing only a few inches high they spread to form a bright clump of baby snapdragons. Looking for something evergreen for the front borders? Some of the bun shaped conifers fit in very well especially in the company of the low spreading ericas like springwood white. They make a good neat border which the weeds find hard to penetrate. They can be found in rich shades of green, some tipped with cream. One little hebe which would blend well with these is Hebe McKeannii, a semi whipcord of a rich bright green. Totally hardy, it spreads into quite a sizeable clump of rather rigid little branchlets standing up like little pokers and in the spring has a mass of bright starry flowers. For groundcover try the parahebes Baby Blue and 'lyalii'. Both have very attractive blue flowers in the spring and lyalli will romp happily through the shrubs

forming quite a thick mat which suppresses the smaller weeds. Hebe pageii is another good ground cover, a stronger grower than the parahebes with blue/grey foliage on long spreading branches. For larger areas I think our favourite is grevillea Gaudi Chaudi. She spreads out her long branches to cover quite a large area and the foliage tums a rich red in winter topped by bright scarlet flowers. She seems to ; flower periodically J through autumn and into winter in fact any old time she feels like it. There is a similar variety taller growing called Bronze Rambler, she will also cover well. Then of course there is Contoneaster horizontalis a very strong grower which will quickly spread to cover quite a large area. Quite an arresting sight when she covers herself with bright red berries. The ground hugging ceanathus Blue Cushion is another evergreen which covers well and is most attractive in the spring with its bright blue pin cushion flowers. For variation in foliage colour to cover larger areas you really can't go past some of the ground cover conifers. One we like particularly is a strong feathery foliaged spreader called Microbiata beccassata whose foliage in winter tums a rich chocolate. In company with Juniperis depressa mrea which, as it's name implies, is a rich gold, they would make a good contrast to each other and cover quite a large area. There are quite a large variety covering quite a large colour range of blues, greens and golds, some tipped with white or cream. A rich bright little blue is Juniperis squamata Blue Carpet. A very attractive native of the podocarp family called Nivalis, commonly known as the mountain plum pine is ■also useful as a ground cover. Growing slightly taller to about a metre the arching branches spread for quite a distance and it has a most attractive leaf form. When mature it puts forth red berries.