Tree time in the Ruapehu garden

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 648, 6 August 1996, Page 12

Tree time in the Ruapehu garden

August, the last month of winter has arrived with spring tagging along somewhere behind. How far be-

hind is the question. With another ash-fall from the mountain and grey-leaden skies it is certainly hard to visualise spring. Take a walk around the garden to see brave new shoots poking up through the soil, the fat buds swelling on the lilacs and the kowhai and tiny new shoots on the lavender. There in the corner a couple of brave little daffodils in flower and the first tips of the lily of the valley are beginning to show. Their faith in mother nature never falters. The lilac will produce long panicles of sweetly-scented bloom, the dainty nodding heads of lily of the valley will push their way through the soil, the trees will quite suddenly put on a display of fresh green leaves and bright marigolds and pansies will lift their faces to the sun. Now is the best time to plant flowering and fruiting trees. Ornamental cherries, flowering apple, magnolia, lilac and camellia which crown themselves with a wealth of blossomin spring. Rhodo's and azaleas will becoming along together with a host of flowering and colourful shrubs to bring a wealth of colour to your garden. The dissutum maples with their feathery foliage are an asset to any garden where adequate protection can be given from strong winds which will burn the foliage quite badly. They do very well on rockeries where ground levels and protecting rocks can be arranged to suit them. Acer palmatum d "virides" has foliage of a light soft green in spring and summer with a change to a pattern of greens, reds and golds in autumn. Acer p d "crimson queen" has fiery red foliage from spring through to autumn. Another quite lovely shrub for leaf colour is coryhis muscime purpurerem. It will grow to about two metres

but can be clipped as required and encouraged to thicken in growth and the rich coppery purple of the foliage blends very well especially with grey or gold leaf colours. Ulmus hallandiea wredeii is another beautiful small tree,'a smaller version of the stately poplar, which grows a head of bright golden foliage in spring through to autumn. Another dainty tree with semi-double-blush pink flowers which appear intermittently throughout the winter finishing with a grand display in spring is prunus subhutella "autumnalis rosea", a really pretty small tree, 5x5m, which has the advantage that it lends itself to good cut winter flowers. Winter house cheer To add some instant colour the large flowered polyanthus and individually potted large flowered pansies are available now. Good in tubs and containers, they can brighten a dull spot just where you want them. Look ahead to Christmas and plant your gladioli bulbs now for a good display later on, but in this rather windy climate put in a good supporting stake when you plant the bulbs. A lovely bright pink with a slightly ruffled edge to the flower petals and tall stems of large flower heads is the variety "Challenge". "Hunting Song" is a rich burnt orange while for a really good yellow don't go past "Goldfield". In the miniature range a brilliant red with a white ruffled edge is "Atom" while "Aldebosam" is a soft yellow with a deep red throat. Remember the word "miniature" applies to the flower size not necessarily to the length of the stem so a solid stake should be supplied. As I write the sun has broken through the cloud and a large patch of blue sky has appeared. Perhaps spring is not too far behind.