With a little help from our Friends
By Mitch Graham
On a fine winter’s day, the terraced borders of Tupare are a pleasant sun-trap for us gardeners as we kneel and bend among the shrubs.
But this winter, it has often felt like the elements have been against us. Why? For the past few months, we have been working on an exciting landscape development at Tupare’s Russell Avenue. This has involved excavation, concreting, splitting rocks and levelling soil – all tasks that run smoothly on dry, sunny days.
However, the darkest days have been brightened each week as, without fail, our volunteer Friends of Tupare gardeners arrive to offer a little extra help, enthusiastically assisting in the borders or wherever they’re needed.
“What will you write about in the next Musings column, Mitch?” one of our volunteers chirped from among the gumpo azaleas this week.
“Hmm, not too sure … perhaps, um,” I pondered.
“How about preparing the garden for spring?“
“Brilliant!"
So our ‘Friends’ are valuable, even beyond assisting in the borders.
This sun-filled day in August, the gardeners and Friends hum along in the borders like a well-oiled machine. We groom the old leaves and spent seed heads from herbaceous perennials, snip tired foliage from evergreen shrubs and ferns, and grab the occasional errant weed by the neck if it dare pop up.
We’ve now finished our round of pruning most shrubs such as hydrangeas, plectranthus and roses. So into the borders we go with barrow-loads of Tupare’s home-made compost, rich and dark, full of beneficial insects to help grow healthy plants. And before the rise of emerging herbaceous perennials, another task is to prepare staking as a framework to support the weight of foliage and flowers throughout spring and summer. It’s wise to make a start on stakes and supports over the next few weeks, so we don’t have to trample all over delicate plants as they reach for light in spring.
A winter’s day of sun and warmth in the garden borders makes for healthy plants, and happy gardeners and Friends of Tupare.
Footnote: If you’re interested in joining the Friends of Tupare, come along to a recruitment day on Thursday 1 September, from 10am to 3pm. There’ll be presentations on what the Friends do, and a look at current and future projects in the garden. We’ll also provide lunch. More details here
Photo: Friends of Tupare volunteer Shirley Butt plants liriopes as part of a new landscape project at Tupare.
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Mitch Graham (left) is Garden Manager - Tupare for the Taranaki Regional Council This column was published in the Taranaki Daily News on 12 August 2011 |
