Gardening – Asian influences

As much as I welcome the arrival of spring, it is often a mixed blessing. The weather seesaws from one extreme to the other. Gardeners can only look on in horror as tender new growth and fragile blossoms are peppered by hail, blasted by wind and chilled by polar storms or late frosts. This spring seems to have been one of the more torrid, with regular blasts from the south causing havoc in the garden. Fortunately, I haven’t been there to see it, having grabbed an opportunity to travel to Vietnam for three weeks instead.

I was in a frenzy in the days leading up to the trip – mulching, planting, sowing, pruning, mowing and weeding in a vain attempt to make up for three weeks away. It is with some trepidation that I will be coming back, hopefully to a flourishing garden.

Trips away are a great time to do some thinking about the garden. It gives you distance and space to think about the bigger picture; to plan new beds, consider new plants, design new garden features. One of the best parts of travelling for me is seeing how people in other lands garden. In Vietnam, for instance, they enjoy growing large bonsai. Not the small intricate ones that you see from Japan, but big specimens up to several metres tall in shallow pots that can be two metres or so across. I’ve always admired the art of bonsai, but never really seen a place in my tropical jungle of a garden for this style. These big ones though; I can see a couple of these looking great on the deck.

Another style that I admire, and it’s common throughout Asia, is the extensive use of bougainvillea. These flower nearly year-round in the tropics and make a glorious show when draped over verandas and walls. However, it is the potted bougainvillea that really impress me. In Asia, these are mostly the semi-dwarf Red Dragon varieties, which are also available in New Zealand. In addition, we have access to the Bambino range which were bred in Australia. Planted in relatively large pots, these are best placed in dappled light to keep the bract colour going longer, but they will also do just fine in full sun. Keep them well watered during summer as drought stress causes them to drop their leaves, but try to keep them on the drier side during our wet winters. This is where growing in pots is an advantage as they can be shifted under the eaves. Give them a good feed of slow release, high-potash fertiliser in spring; tomato fertiliser works well for these plants.

Bougainvillea flower on new growth, so prune hard for shape in late winter, then just tie up any unruly shoots from spring on. After the first flush has faded by mid-summer, cut the canes back by half and apply more fertiliser to generate a new flush. Scatter the pots through your garden wherever you need a splash of hot tropical colour, or line them up along a path to make a dramatic entrance. Place them in each corner of the deck to provide a colourful separation from the rest of your property, or even on a pedestal in the pond for the classic “tropical resort” look. Whichever way you use these flamboyant plants, you’ll be transported back to the tropics.

Andrew Steens