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Hen and chickens ferns and rengarenga lilies combine well Subscribe to our free newsletter Your personal information will not be sold, given away or shared with anyone else. View previous newsletters Accredited member (Landscape Design) of The Landscape Industries Association of New Zealand (Landscaping New Zealand)			PLANTS RECOMMENDED BY LAURENSON LANDSCAPE DESIGN LIQUIDAMBAR 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. Summer shade on the deck 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) and mature specimens on the Walk Gisborne track above Makorori Beach (right) 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. Fuchsia procumbens in flower 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. Andrew from Twining Valley Nurseries with 1m of Syzygium australe, just one of the varieties of hedging available to their nursery 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!
P: 09 483 5621 M: 021 480 562 E: robyn@LLDesign.co.nz © Copyright Laurenson Landscape Design 2011