Discover & Learn
Responsible Sustainability
It is easy to think gardening is the most natural wholesome thing in the world as it predominantly involves plants, soil, water and sunshine. However, gardening has a dirty little secret – there is an insidious layer of the unnatural lurking in many gardens. Often times this comes as a legacy from a time when innovation and improvement was prolific and new ways were considered better than the old-fashioned techniques.
Nothing leaves the property
Our first rule is nothing leaves the property. We do add material from elsewhere at times but no organic matter leaves the garden.
Coming up: Roses!
Summer is showtime at the Lady Norward Rose Garden in Wellington’s Botanic Garden and despite the challenging wet winter and spring which, like many gardens, left this one with much higher than normal soil water levels, the show promises to be gorgeous.
Using Organic Matter in Gardens
How we deal with what we call our “carbon deposits” during the growing season and how these techniques might help you as gardeners deal with some of the more difficult gardening spots on your properties 5 Min Read
Te Parapara Garden
The Te Parapara Garden project is a joint project between Nga Mana Toopu and Hamilton City Council. It extends beyond a physical development to include records of traditional knowledge, interpretive material and ceremonies all focused on the heritage and tikanga associated with the local area.
Sustainability in Gardens
Like so many things in our hyper connected world, the word “sustainability” is bandied around and applied to almost any human activity whether warranted or not, think greenwashing…….. I would like to outline my thinking on sustainable gardening by firstly asking the question; What does it mean in my context? 5 Min Read
Leave those leaves
Autumn is a favourite time of year not just for the visual feast of rich colour and those beautiful drawn-out sunsets, but for the prospect of all the organic matter that is about to become available. It is this time of year I start to plan where leaves will live out there second and third lives. 6 Min Read
Josie Martin awarded
The RNZIH has just announced that the owner of an NZGT 6star garden, Josie Martin, has been made a Fellow of Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture (FRIH). It’s a great honour to receive the FRIH, which is awarded to RNZIH members who have made a significant contribution to horticulture by their activities, interest in, or service to horticulture in New Zealand.