HIGH COUNTRY GARDENER

Ruapehu Bulletin, 22 June 1993, Page 15

HIGH COUNTRY GARDENER

by

Bea

Barnes

The gale force winds we have experienced just recently rather proved my point regarding the value of a windbreak, and the heavy rain would have shown up quite clearly which are the poorly drained areas in the garden. A few points to look for when choosing shrubs or trees to block the force of the wind, and the most important of these is to

consider the situation where they are to grow. Tall trees and some of the taller densely growing conifer types will certainly break the force of the wind but planted close to your house or that of your neighbour they may also block the light to the living areas making the rooms dark and cold. Too dense a planting will also cast heavy shade, and in a small garden will rob

other plantings of the light they need to grow. Choose your plants carefully and when planting leave sufficient room for them to grow without crowding one another. It will be as suffocative to filter the strong air currents as to completely block them. When buying your plants, particularly conifer varieties and other slower growing things,

the height stated on the labels attached to the plant by the nurseryman is the height that the plant can be expected to grow in ten years and not necessarily the ultimate height. Of course climatic and soil conditions all have a bearing on this. Some trees and shrubs which would grow to gigantic proportions north of Auckland would be virtually dwarfed in this climate whereas those which pefer a colder climate will grow to their full height. Most good gardening books will, in

their description of a plant, give the height it will grow in ten years and ultimate height it can be expected to reach. I once planted the graceful Pinus Patula to frame the corner of the house in which we were living. This is a beautiful tree with a weeping habit and very attractive needle like leaf form. The height shown on the label at the time of purchase was fifteen feet and I was rather taken back when I saw some of these beautiful trees growing in Gordon Collier's beautiful garden

at Titoki Point reaching 40 feet or more. (Will someone please remind me to move out of Ohakune within the next twenty years or so). Try to introduce some colour variations into the plantings. To have a solid planting of dark green foliage can be very sombre and even depressing on a dull wet day, but interspersed with gold and grey leafed varieties will make a pleasing backdrop all the year round. Having planned and planted your windbreak areas then form a plan for

the whole garden rather than planting haphazardly here and there. Properly planned from the beginning your garden will give you greater pleasure and proberly prove less costly in the long run. Reserve your lightly shaded areas for your rhododendron, azaleas, camellias and spring bulbs etc. and if the ground is poorly drained build up the level of the soil with fresh top soil if available adding a dressing of peat and a good compost j