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PLANTS RECOMMENDED BY LAURENSON LANDSCAPE
DESIGN One
of the joys of living in my new home is the lovely liquidambar (Liquidambar styraciflua) growing below the northern corner of my
deck. It provides cooling shade over the deck in the summer while
letting the sun through in the winter. Add to this the brilliant autumn
colours - green, yellow, orange, red and purple all on the tree at the same
time. Because
the deck is at branch level, I have an intimate view of the tree. I am able
to watch the buds burst forth in the spring, and in the winter I
enjoy the gold chaffinches eagerly devouring seeds from the spiky fruit
which hang on the tree. Autumn colour (left) and winter silhouette in the fog Liquidambars
are large trees, eventually growing to 30m with a spread of 10m. They
shouldn't be planted close to the foundations of your house, and they do drop
a lot of leaf litter in the autumn (great for the compost, or as a mulch),
but if you place them carefully, I think they are hard to beat for summer
shade and autumn colour. CABBAGE
TREE I
talked about the ponga or tree fern in the last newsletter. An equally iconic
New Zealand plant is the cabbage tree (Cordyline australis). These New
Zealand natives are wonderfully architectural plants and come in a range of
colours from green through red to dark purple. A word of warning, though,
unlike the common cabbage tree, the coloured varieties do not like
getting their roots wet! Single-stemmed cabbage tree planted
amongst native grasses (left) MAMAKU, BLACK PONGA Tree ferns are
iconic in New Zealand, with the silver fern being one of our national
emblems. We have several native tree ferns, but my favourite would have to be
the mamaku or black ponga, Cyathea medullaris. This fern has a classic
unfurling frond, which droops towards the ground when it is mature. The
black trunk is characterised by the distinctive hexagonal scars left by
fallen fronds. The mamaku tree fern
(left) and koru (right) The mamaku is quick
growing, to 15m tall in the natural environment. It does not like dry
conditions, and is consequently not found in drier parts of Canterbury and
Otago. Several mature specimens in Auckland died during the drought last
summer. The silver fern, or ponga (Cyathea dealbata), on the other
hand, prefers dry conditions. This fern will grow to 10m in the natural
environment. The fronds of the silver fern are upright, and the trunk is
marked with the stipes from fallen fronds. GOSSAMER GRASS My
favourite grass is Anemanthele
lessoniana, or gossamer grass. This is a native grass which grows
naturally on the east of both islands, preferring drier sites. It is quite
happy in sun or shade, having bright green leaves in the shade with more
orange tones in full sun. Rust-red flowers form a halo over the plant in
spring, creating a spectacular site when blowing in the wind. Anemanthele lessoniana interplanted with another grass on the shore of
Lake Wakatipu NATIVE FUCHSIA One of my favourite
groundcovers is the native fuchsia, Fuchsia
procumbens. This delightful scrambling plant will grow in full sun or
part shade in any reasonable soil conditions. It has round bright green
leaves, yellow and red flowers in summer, followed by red berries, is very
forgiving, can tolerate light foot traffic, is good in coastal conditions,
and is easily cut back to shape if it should get too rampant. This
plant is semi-deciduous, dying back a little in winter. INSTANT HEDGES Do you want a hedge
but can't wait for it to grow? Twining Valley Nurseries have the solution for
you. They are pre-growing
and pre-forming a range of hedges which they sell by the metre - an instant
hedge for you! POOR KNIGHTS LILY Guy and Sandra
Bowden, of Tawapou Coastal Natives, have a real passion for native plants,
particularly those that grow naturally in their vicinity - just opposite the
Poor Knights Islands. Their star
attraction must be the Poor Knights lily, Xeronema
callistemon, which was in full flower when we were there. Poor Knights lily, Xeronema callistemon These
plants need plenty of warmth and exceptionally good drainage, so are best planted
in a scoria mix. They grow naturally in conditions where roots are
restricted. You can mimic this environment by planting in a container or a
garden bed with restricted root run. They take several years to flower,
though, so you do need to be patient! |
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P: 09
483 5621 M: 021 480 562 E: robyn@LLDesign.co.nz ©
Copyright Laurenson Landscape Design 2011 |
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