This weekend, I’m going to be busy planting all my hyacinth bulbs.  I always leave these until last, because out of all the spring bulbs (including tulips), these are the ones that require the longest chilling period and to be planted at the latest possible time in May, to improve flowering.
I almost didn’t grow hyacinth this year after a not-so-successful season last year.  I think the main reason for poor flowering was because the bulbs weren’t chilled.  This year I purchased my bulbs in February, thinking I would receive them by early April at the latest and that I would be able to chill them for at least six weeks prior to planting.  Unfortunately, lockdown meant that I only received my bulbs half way through May, so they will only have a chilling period of around two weeks before I go to plant them.  This isn’t enough, but it’s the best I can do in the circumstances.  I don’t think anyone foresaw a global pandemic and if I did, I probably wouldn’t have ordered hyacinths given my lack of success last year.

It is possible to grow hyacinths well if you live in a region with warmer winters, but it can be a bit tricky.  It also depends on just how mild your winter is, as it varies from year to year. 
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I have put together some tips for planting hyacinth in warm climates.

• In order for hyacinth to flower well, I highly recommend chilling bulbs for 5-6 weeks prior to planting
• Don’t chill your bulbs too early or it may destroy the bud formation.  I would recommend starting the chilling process no earlier than mid-April
• Keep your fruit and veggies out of the fridge when chilling your bulbs, as the ethylene gas emitted by ripening fruits and vegetables can damage them. 
• If you can’t keep fruit and veggies out of the fridge and want to chill your bulbs, purchase some ethylene absorbing sachets to pop in the paper bag containing your bulbs.  Use one sachet for each bag.  Each sachet lasts for two months
• If you live in the northern part of New Zealand, plant hyacinth at the end of May, when it’s cooler.  If you plant your bulbs any earlier, they may not flower well as it can still be quite warm.  If you live in the South Island, you may be able to plant before the end of May as autumn and winter are much cooler than in the North.
• Hyacinth look stunning planted in containers.  For maximum impact, plant bulbs close together so there are no gaps. 
• You can also grow hyacinth in a glass, which you can get from a garden centre or through a mail order catalogue
• Hyacinth look best when planted in bold clumps of the same variety
• It may be a good idea to plant your bulbs a little deeper than gardeners who live in cool regions
• Sprinkle a little bulb fertiliser into the ground at the time of planting and mix well.  If you’re planting your hyacinth in pots, use a slow release bulb fertiliser, not a bagged granular one as it won’t break down
• After flowering, wait for the foliage on the plants to die completely.  Lift your bulbs and store in a cool, dry place using netted bags.  Next April, you can start chilling your bulbs to repeat the growing process.
• In saying that, in my personal experience hyacinth are best treated as an annual in warm climates, so I tend to start with fresh bulbs every autumn.  It may depend on what your winters are like.  If you live in a cooler region, you may find that your bulbs are fine for replanting and flower just as well in subsequent seasons

​Like anemones, ranunculus give you a great bang for your buck.  They’re relatively inexpensive to buy.  You can get as many as 25 ranunculus corms for only a few dollars.  One corm also yields a few flowers, unlike a lot of other spring bulbs.  Ranunculus grow on long stems and make great cut flowers, whether in a bouquet of their own or mixed with other flowers in arrangements.  This year I’m growing 100 ranunculus (mixed colours), which I purchased from the New Zealand mail order company Bulbs Direct.  I hope they give us a beautiful display in spring.
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As with tulips, hyacinth and anemones, ranunculus thrive in cooler climates.  If you live in a region with mild winters, it is still possible to grow ranunculus and for them to flower well.  All that is required is a bit of care.  I have written these growing tips with warmer conditions in mind, so if you live in an area with cold conditions, bear in mind that it might not be necessary to pre-chill your ranunculus corms.

• In order to flower well, I strongly recommend chilling ranunculus for 5-6 weeks prior to planting.  You can do this in your fridge or if you’re lucky like me, your mail order company will kindly do this for you (thanks Bulbs Direct, who chilled my bulbs during lockdown!)
• Keep fruit and veggies out of your fridge while chilling your ranunculus corms as they emit ethylene gas, which destroys bud formation
• If you must store fruit and veggies in your fridge, you can purchase some ethylene absorbing sachets which you can pop into the paper bags with your bulbs to keep them safe
• Don’t plant your ranunculus corms too early.  I wait until towards the end of May before planting mine, when conditions are cooler.  Ranunculus thrive in cooler weather
• You can stagger planting at fortnightly intervals to give a continuous display of flowers
• Soak corms for around 2 hours in tepid water prior to planting to “wake them up” and aid germination
• Ranunculus look stunning planted en masse in the ground
• Choose a sunny, well-draining site
• Prepare the ground well prior to planting.  Mix in lots of compost, sheep pellets and general garden fertiliser beforehand
• For best results, mix some granular bulb fertiliser into the ground as well, prior to planting
• Give ranunculus corms a wide berth, bearing in mind that several flowers will spring up from one corm.  I try to plant corms at least 10 cm apart
• Plant corms around 5 cm deep
• Plant ranunculus with the claws facing downwards
• Water well after planting
• As they grow, you may like to liquid feed your ranunculus with a water soluble plant food such as Thrive, or a seaweed tonic such as Seasol if you’re gardening organically
• After they have finished flowering, allow the foliage to die down before lifting corms.  You can either throw them away and start with new corms next season (see below) or store them over summer for re-planting in autumn.  Don’t forget to chill them again, otherwise they won’t flower well if you live in a warm climate
• In my experience as a gardener, ranunculus are best treated as an annual, so for the best and strongest flowers, start with fresh corms every season

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Have a great weekend!

Anita

​For as long as I have been gardening, I have always planted anemone corms every spring.  They’re easy to grow and are one of the best value spring bulbs.  You can get a pack of 25 corms for just a few dollars.  Unlike a lot of other spring bulbs, corms produce several flowers, giving you even more bang for your buck.  This year, I have planted 100 Anemone “The Bride” and 100 Anemone “Blue Poppy corms” I purchased from the New Zealand mail order company Bulbs Direct.  I prefer single-flowering anemones to the double-flowering kind you can get, but that’s a matter of personal preference.  I think that’s because single flowering anemones resemble poppies.  Anemones make great cut flowers, too.  They look nice in a bouquet of their own or added to other floral arrangements.

As with tulips and hyacinth, anemones do best in a cool climate.  But if you live in the winterless north, fear not.  With some care, it is still possible to grow anemones and for them to flower well.  Here are some growing tips for gardeners who live in warmer climates.

• In order to flower well, I strongly recommend chilling anemones for 5-6 weeks prior to planting.  You can do this in your fridge or if you’re lucky like me, your mail order company will kindly do this for you (thanks Bulbs Direct, who chilled my bulbs during lockdown!)
• Keep fruit and veggies out of your fridge while chilling your anemone corms as they emit ethylene gas, which destroys bud formation
• If you must store fruit and veggies in your fridge, you can purchase some ethylene absorbing sachets which you can pop into the paper bags with your bulbs to keep them safe
• Don’t plant your anemone corms too early.  I wait until towards the end of May before planting mine, when conditions are cooler.  Anemones thrive in cooler weather
• You can stagger planting at fortnightly intervals to give a continuous display of flowers
• Soak corms for around 2 hours in tepid water prior to planting to “wake them up” and aid germination
• Anemones look stunning planted en masse in the ground
• Choose a sunny, well-draining site
• Prepare the ground well prior to planting.  Mix in lots of compost, sheep pellets and general garden fertiliser beforehand
• For best results, mix some granular bulb fertiliser into the ground as well, prior to planting
• Give anemone corms a wide berth, bearing in mind that several flowers will spring up from one corm.  I try to plant corms at least 10 cm apart
• Plant corms around 5 cm deep
• Don’t worry too much about which way the anemone corm is facing.  They end up sorting themselves out and surface anyway
• Water well after planting
• As they grow, you may like to liquid feed your anemones with a water soluble plant food such as Thrive, or a seaweed tonic such as Seasol if you’re gardening organically
• After they have finished flowering, allow the foliage to die down before lifting corms.  You can either throw them away and start with new corms next season (see below) or store them over summer for re-planting in autumn.  Don’t forget to chill them again, otherwise they won’t flower well if you live in a warm climate
• In my experience as a gardener, anemones are best treated as an annual, so for the best and strongest flowers, start with fresh corms every season

This week, I’m going to be very busy planting all my tulip bulbs.  The New Zealand mail order company Bulbs Direct kindly sent me a selection of their tulips to grow in our garden and follow up on their progress in my blog, newsletter and on social media.  Together, we would like to demonstrate that with some care, it is possible to grow tulips in warmer climates with mild winters.

I prefer single tulips to the other kinds you can get, such as lily, peony and parrot.  But it’s a matter of personal preference.  The single varieties I am growing this year are London (red), Strong Gold (yellow), Snow Board (white), Clearwater (white), Hakuun (white) and Golden Parade (yellow).  All of the images of these bulbs were taken from Bulbs Direct’s website.  I don’t have my own photographs as it is my first time growing these varieties.  I’ll have to make sure I take lots of photos in late spring!

I was very lucky that Bulbs Direct chilled these bulbs for me during lockdown, so they only needed a further two weeks in the fridge before they could be planted out into the garden.  Thank you for doing this Bulbs Direct!
​
I have put together some tips for planting tulips in warm climates.

• In order for tulips to flower well, I highly recommend chilling bulbs for 5-6 weeks prior to planting
• Don’t chill your bulbs too early or it may destroy the bud formation.  I would recommend starting the chilling process no earlier than mid-April
• Keep your fruit and veggies out of the fridge when chilling your bulbs, as the ethylene gas emitted by ripening fruits and vegetables can damage them. 
• If you can’t keep fruit and veggies out of the fridge and want to chill your bulbs, purchase some ethylene absorbing sachets to pop in the paper bag containing your bulbs.  Use one sachet for each bag.  Each sachet lasts for two months
• If you live in New Zealand, plant tulips towards the end of May, when it’s cooler.  If you plant your bulbs any earlier, they may not flower well as it can still be quite warm
• Tulips look stunning planted in containers.  For maximum impact, plant bulbs close together so there are no gaps.  I planted tulips in half wine barrels a few years ago and they gave a beautiful display
• Tulips look best when planted in bold clumps of the same variety
• It may be a good idea to plant your bulbs a little deeper than gardeners who live in cool regions
• Sprinkle a little bulb fertiliser into the ground at the time of planting and mix well.  If you’re planting your tulips in pots, use a slow release bulb fertiliser, not a bagged granular one as it won’t break down
• If you’re planting your tulips in the ground, you can use plastic bulb baskets to plant your bulbs in.  This will keep them together and avoids damaging them later on
• After flowering, wait for the foliage on the plants to die completely.  Lift your bulbs (if you used bulb baskets this will make it easier to locate bulbs and avoid damaging them) and store in a cool, dry place using netted bags.  Next April, you can start chilling your bulbs to repeat the growing process.
• In saying that, in my personal experience tulips are best treated as an annual in warm climates, so I tend to start with fresh bulbs every autumn.  Some years ago, I did have a lot of success lifting, drying, chilling and replanting bulbs from the previous season.  They flowered very well again, so it’s certainly worth a try.  Maybe get some new ones too in case your old bulbs fail.  That way you will be sure to have a beautiful display of tulips in spring

​It’s been awhile since I have written a report summarising what I have been up to around the garden recently.  Over the past seven weeks since lockdown began, I have achieved the following:

• I planted all our garlic on 2nd April.  It is a mix of Elephant, Printanor, Turban, Ajo Rojo and Kakanui from seed stock from last year’s crop, which was sourced from the New Zealand mail order company Bulbs Direct.  Garlic is traditionally planted on the shortest day of the year (which is the 21st June in New Zealand) but I decided to plant ours early for two reasons: (i) to try and beat rust, which kills the crop.  The idea is for the garlic to do most of its growing before rust sets in during spring; and (ii) to see if planting earlier yields bigger bulbs.
• I planted most of our spring bulbs – daffodils, Dutch iris, freesias, gladioli nanus, anemones, ixia and ranunculus. I also planted miniature daffodils (tete-a-tetes), freesias and lachenalias in pots. I still have to plant our tulips and hyacinth, which usually go into the garden in late May, when it’s a bit cooler.  The tulips go into the ground and I grow the hyacinths in containers. The bulbs I planted were a mix of old and new.  My new seasons bulbs come from Bulbs Direct, who I highly recommend for the quality of their bulbs, as well as their friendly and efficient service
• I sowed carrots in all our 30 and 35 litre black plastic pots.  If you’re looking for interesting carrot varieties, I highly recommend Egmont Seeds’ coloured carrots – Ruby, Yellow, White and Purple.  The ones we sowed last spring have kept us going throughout summer and autumn and we still haven’t got through them all!
• I lifted all our dahlia tubers.  I had to do this to make room for all of our onion seedlings.  I still need to divide the dahlia tubers.  I plan to share the extra tubers with friends
• I planted our entire winter veggie garden – broccoli, cauliflower, red cabbage, green cabbage, fennel, leeks, silverbeet, spinach, lettuce, brown and red onions, broad beans and kale
• I pulled out all of last season’s plants, including chillies, capsicums and eggplants that had finished.  I also pulled out some very tall swan plants that didn’t look good
• I pruned our roses.  Traditionally, this should be done in June but our garden waste bins needed filling, so I did it a bit earlier than usual
• I weeded most of the garden (in stages, not all at once!)

Plant nursery
While we were at Level 3, I operated a contactless plant nursery from our home in South Auckland, selling a range of winter veggie seedlings.

Collaborations
I drafted and submitted collaboration plans for the coming year to the gardening businesses for whom I am a brand ambassador – Italian Seeds Pronto, Egmont Seeds and Awapuni.  I am proud to announce that I recently became a brand ambassador for Bulbs Direct, who kindly gave me an extensive range of tulips to grow in the garden this winter.

Garden alongside our driveway
I have plans to turn the garden to the right of our driveway back into a flower garden for annuals, which it originally was.    Previously, it had a mixture of things in it, including rhubarb, peas, swan plants, lilies, spring bulbs and dahlias.  For now, I have planted a mixture of brassicas but I have plans to sow annuals in it year round, starting with sunflowers this spring, followed by Iceland poppies next autumn.  To improve the condition of the soil, I added lots of compost and sheep pellets prior to planting the brassicas.

​Potatoes
Due to the Covid-19 situation, garden centres have been a bit late in getting seed potatoes in and I haven’t seen them in stores yet.  Normally I plant potatoes on the shortest day (21st June), for harvesting in early spring.  As soon as the varieties I like become available, I intend to purchase some as it takes a while for them to chit (sprout) before they can be planted into the ground.