| Since its introduction in August 2007 traders have come to appreciate the value of the large flowered Rosa Contour. The long vase life and good performance of this rose are its most important trumps. | |||||
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 So far some 250,000 stems of Contour have been sold and it is anticipated that supply will continue to rise. However, Rosa Contour is supplied in limited volumes and increases in supply are expected to be kept gradual and to be spread over the various auction locations. Rosa Contour stands out because of its lovely, long, white bud with the palest of pink hazes. The bud opens slowly and the curling petals give the flower a very romantic look. Contour is anything but small with flower diameters of 8.5 to 9 cm. The sturdy stems reach lengths of 70 to 90 cm and are sparsely covered with thorns. It has an excellent vase life of between 12 and 14 days. Another feature in its favour is that Contour is easy to dye and still retains its long vase life. This is a product with a great deal to offer. Rosa Contour (vbn code 100451) is supplied all year round to the auctions at Aalsmeer and Naaldwijk and to the FloraHolland auction.
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Selasa, 19 Februari 2008
Senin, 11 Februari 2008
New Flowers and Vegetables to Try in Your Garden.
New Flower & Foliage Plant for 2008
Those cleaver plant breeders keep playing with a plant’s best feature and making them better: a dark leaved hibiscus, a tri-color ornamental corn and a foxglove that faces up are some of new annual flowers we’ll see in seed catalogs and nurseries this spring. Keep in mind that although new plants are tested in gardens across hardiness zones, until you actually grow them in your garden, you won’t know how they perform. Soil, weather, and even the attention of the gardener are all variables that will effect how well any grows. So put these to the test and then let me know what you grew and how it did. |
New Vegetable Varieties for 2008
New vegetable varieties have seen great improvements in size, yield and disease resistance. None of this matters unless the final result tastes good. On the other hand, if a plant doesn’t grow well, there is no result to taste. There has to be a balance and hopefully, these vegetable varieties have found it. (With a healthy dose of taste.) |
Geranium 'Rozanne' - 2008 Perennial Plant of the Year©
OK, Geranium ‘Rozanne’ is not a new plant for 2008, but it is being honored this year. The Perennial Plant Association (PPA) was formed to get the word out about great perennial plants to grow. It’s hard to remember a time when gardeners didn’t know about perennials like hardy geraniums, but that just shows you how well the PPA has done its job. The PPA and other gardeners. Because Geranium ‘Rozanne’ has gotten a good amount of buzz from gardeners, like me, who have grown it and recommended it to others. |
Calendula - 2008 Herb of the Year
Calendula is even older than Geranium 'Rozanne', but you'll be seeing a lot of it this year, since the Herb Society of America has chosen it their Herb of the Year. Calendula, or Pot Marigolds, are bright, cheery flowers that blur the lines between ornamental and herb. You can grow them for their profuse blooms or use them in cooking, herbal medicines or as a dye plant. If calendula is new to you, you'll enjoy becoming acquainted. |
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Calendula - 2008 Herb of the Year
Calendula is even older than Geranium 'Rozanne', but you'll be seeing a lot of it this year, since the Herb Society of America has chosen it their Herb of the Year. Calendula, or Pot Marigolds, are bright, cheery flowers that blur the lines between ornamental and herb. You can grow them for their profuse blooms or use them in cooking, herbal medicines or as a dye plant. If calendula is new to you, you'll enjoy becoming acquainted. |
Senin, 04 Februari 2008
Christchurch announces date for Ellerslie International Flower Show
One of the gardens at last year's Ellerslie International Flower Show. Photo / The Aucklander
Flower show aficionados will have to wait until March 2009 to see the first Ellerslie Flower Show in its new home of Christchurch.
The date was announced by Christchurch mayor Bob Parker this afternoon, during the unveiling of a new floral garden in Cathedral Square.
Parker said the traditional November date clashed with Christchurch's popular New Zealand Cup and Show Week.
Transferring the timing of the flower show to March would allow the city to accommodate the thousands of visitors the event would attract, he said.
"March is a spectacular time in Christchurch; the city is starting to show its autumn plumage, the weather is settled and being a shoulder tourism season we can create another reason for visitors to come to Christchurch and experience the breathtaking landscape and world-class tourism on offer in our wonderful city," Parker said.
The five-day extravaganza will run from March 11 - 15, 2009 and is expected to attract similar numbers to the 65,000 visitors attending previous shows held in Auckland.
It is also hoped it will generate more than $14 million for the local economy.
"Planning is well underway for this first icon event in March 2009. I urge everyone to mark the date in your diary now; it is guaranteed to stimulate the senses with plenty of fresh and exciting ideas," Parker said.
The Cathedral Square garden unveiled this morning was designed by Darren Tillett from the Christchurch Botanic Gardens, who also designed Christchurch's award-winning entry at last year's Ellerslie International Flower Show.
Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism chief executive Christine Prince has welcomed the new timing for the show.
"Autumn is traditionally a shoulder season for tourism so it's great we now have such a prestigious and internationally popular event to draw people to the city and region," she said.
"Christchurch is often pictured in the spring when the blossom is out but the city is equally stunning in the autumn."
Christchurch won the "battle of the roses" last November when organisers of the show accepted the Christchurch City Council's bid ahead of competition from Auckland and Hamilton.
Care with plans gives floral reward
Many perennials and shrubs grow from cuttings out of the gardens of neighbours and friends.
Creating pleasant outdoor living areas is as much an act of nature as of man.
Trees, shrubs and vines work with decking, paving and fencing to convert the most pedestrian of backyards to an outdoors that could come straight from the pages of a magazine such as NZ House & Garden.
You need a little planning to create a green and peaceful exterior space. Unlike a section of fence, a vine-hung arbour wasn't built in a day.
But you needn't spend a lot on plants because most climbers and many perennials and shrubs grow from cuttings out of the gardens of neighbours and friends.
Donations of this kind are a more affordable way to establish a garden than simply buying up large, and you can save your money for special feature plants.
By sorting out what you like in a friend's garden, you get to see at first hand exactly what kind of conditions suit the plant best and can give it a very good chance of survival.
When you take a cutting, check out its habits. If it thrives in damp and shady conditions, find or create the same sort of space on your new section. Likewise, if a plant is doing well in hot, dry sunny conditions, don't plant it under a deck and expect it to go wild. It won't.
Ask how old each plant is. At two years old and 2m tall, a tree has a way to grow yet, and might quickly outpace any space you planned for it.
Beautifying concrete and paved areas takes a bit of imagination. But you can create the illusion of several square metres of garden space without the associated weeding and cultivating. Think outside the square into pots, containers and hanging baskets.
Provided the plant doesn't have a deep tap root or a huge spreading root system, it'll grow happily in a container. And the container can be anything, from a simple do-it-yourself box made of leftover timber fence palings to a concrete tub or even plastic pots painted in bright colours.
You can even make the paving itself a feature by spacing it wider than a standard cobbled area and planting low-growing herbs and moss types in between the cobbles.
There are some affordable and effective temporary cover-ups and privacy screens available to fill the gap until nature takes over.
Trellis is magic. It comes in a wide range of shapes and sizes and can be nailed up to provide both a climbing frame for the plants as they grow and a privacy screen in the meantime. The new Chinese blinds, made in tanalised timber, are a nice variation on the theme and let you see out while obscuring the view in.
If you can't live with bare timber look, get some quick-fix plants to occupy the same space as your growing vines and provide a season of beauty while you're waiting. Sweet pea seedlings, for instance, reach a height of around two metres in a short space of time and flower in 12 to 14 weeks after planting. And they love sunshine, ideally on a north-south perspective.
Sunflowers are another spectacular temporary measure.
At ground level, fill the bare area around a young perennial with "instant colour" pots, pansies, impatiens, petunias, and other fast-growing colourful annuals.
Making a new section look good is hard work in the interim, but once the garden is established, usually in two to five years, your labour will be substantially reduced and the early planning amply rewarded.
Bessera Bargain Bulbs in Fothergills Plant Collection Catalogue
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Based on season and availability this selection may contain: roses and lilies in decorative glass container.
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Description :
Based on season and availability this selection may contain: roses, carnations, gerbera daisies, alstroemeria, lilies, cushion pompon and solidago in a basket.