How to brighten your day

After a long, grey winter what could be better than stepping into a spring garden abounding in colour. Mahurangi Matters spoke to Christine Hawthorn of Hawthorn Landscape Architects about creating one in your own backyard.

I love colour in my garden. What plants should I consider?
A well-planned spring garden can be a riot of colour. After the gloomy winter months, the first signs of spring are the bulbs popping up. Daffodils, jonquils, anemone, iris and freesia are some of my favourites. The camellias start flowering in late winter and go through into spring. Camellia sasanqua setsugekka or Mine No Yuki both have lovely white flowers and are perfect as a hedge. For a brighter splash of colour, you can’t go past the flamboyant-looking Margaret Davies.

If you are wanting a feature tree for your spring garden, try magnolia vulcan, with deep red maroon flowers, or milky way, with pale pink flowers. If you have lots of room, then you will also love michelia doltsopa silver cloud which is smothered in very fragrant white flowers in August.

One of my favourite exotics is the subtropical vireya rhododendrons. They have a huge range of colours and flower on and off all year long, with no distinct flowering season. Some are also very fragrant, like the Dr Herman Sleumer x leucogigas. The key to growing vireya’s successfully is free-draining soil, as they hate to have wet feet. Plant them above the ground by building the soil up to the root ball. They also prefer quite a bit of sun, although not the late afternoon heat of the day. These are perfect for planting around the edge of some existing native bush.

For an unusual spring flowering tree, you will be delighted every year by the dombeya cacuminum or strawberry snowball tree, assuming you have lots of space. The tuis love the nectar-filled flowers, and when they drop to the ground they create a plush carpet of red petals.

My garden gets a lot of sun. What are the most appropriate plants?
For a special spot in your garden that has free-draining soil, I would plant a waratah or a kowhai. Both attract the birds. As soon as the waratah has finished flowering, cut it back by about 80cm as this is what will ensure lots of flowers for next year. Other plants that love lots of sun include leucospermum, callistemon, hippeastrums and roses.

What about shady spots?
A shady spot that is also wet can be made more suitable for a wider variety of plants by building up the soil level with rocks or punga logs. Try mass planting clivia, cymbidium orchids, hosta, hellebores, primulas, begonia, cineraria and impatiens, under the shade of trees and pungas.  Another one of my favourites is the ground orchid bletia striata. It is dormant over winter, but in September it puts out fresh new leaves and flower spikes of the most gorgeous fuchsia pink. It continues to flower all month.

What if I’m short on time to maintain my garden?
I think the best time saver is a well-planned garden and the second best is a well-planted and mulched garden. A little time and effort spent planning your garden will ensure that the right plants are placed where they will flourish. Mulching the garden areas with a well-composted bark mulch will also minimise the amount of weeding needed, giving you more time to smell the roses!