This month we're talking 🗣️
what jobs need doing?
what's in season
spotlight on 2 local artisans stocked in The Collective
meet a Greenie! Introducing the first of our team of greenies here
what's on sale at The Greenery this month?
garden giggles, weird and wonky chuckle-worthy gardeny bits
#shareyourgreenery what's going on in your garden? Show off!
Jobs
Think about April as the month to get your garden ready for a sleep.
Get it through the shower, brush it's teeth and tuck it in. Enjoy doing these things for your garden in the cooler weather and stunning Autumn light, it's a great way for your to soak up the last of the weather as well 💚
8 steps to putting your garden to bed 🥱 🛌
Make the bed: Clear out old plants, tidy up beds, and give your garden a neat, cozy vibe for its autumn slumber.
Bed time snack: Feed your garden with organic fertilizer to keep it nourished and strong throughout the winter months. Add a sprinkle lime to your garden to balance pH levels and promote healthy soil.
Glass of water on the nightstand: Water deeply to ensure your garden gets a good drink before the cold sets in.
Layer Up with Compost Lasagne: Create a compost lasagne by layering organic materials like leaves, kitchen scraps, and grass clippings, providing a nutritious meal for your garden's "bed"!
Mulch for Warmth: Spread a layer of mulch like a snug blanket to keep your garden bed warm and protected from the chilly nights.
Bundle Up Vulnerable Plants: Cover delicate plants to shield them from frost, akin to giving them their own cozy sweaters for the night.
Clean Up and Store Tools: Tidy up your gardening tools and store them away for the winter, ensuring they're ready to go come springtime.
Dream of Spring Blooms: Plan for the future by dreaming up your spring garden, getting excited for the colorful blooms and new growth to come.
What to plant?
🌱 April Planting Guide 🌼
Plants to eat
Leafy Greens: Start seeds or plant seedlings of lettuce, spinach, kale, and silverbeet for fresh autumn salads.
Root Vegetables: Sow carrots, radishes, turnips, and beetroot directly into well-drained soil for winter harvests.
Brassicas: Begin broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts indoors or plant seedlings for hearty winter crops.
Peas: Plant peas, including shelling, snow, and sugar snap varieties, providing support for climbing types.
Onions and Garlic: Set onion sets or garlic cloves into sunny spots for flavorful summer yields.
Herbs: Grow parsley, coriander, chives, thyme, and mint in pots or garden beds for culinary delights.
Perennials and Bulbs: Add daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths for spring blooms, plus pansies, primroses, and violas for colour.
Plants to admire
Now is the time to get those trees in, big trees, little trees, fruit trees, trees for drama and trees for a purpose - all the trees! Same for hedges.
The soil is still warm from summer, the weather is a little cooler and the chance of rain is higher for the root system busy establishing itself.
Artisans in The Collective
SH Pottery
Saskia shot to maker super stardom in the days of Covid and has carried on pottering ever since! She is a crafter of unique ceramic travel cups, travel bowls and one-off domestic ware in Judgeford, Porirua - we're lucky to stock a range of different designs from Saskia's collection. Different size available as well - up your travel cup game!
369 Wonderland
Handmade in Palmerston North, 369 Wonderland makes quality baby gear, perfect for gifting! Teethers, comforters, bibs and all the sweet, soft and delightful little bits baby needs, the gift sets are really popular and come in many patterns, come see what we've got at the moment these gift packs are oh so sweet 🎀
Meet a Greenie!
Introducing Toni our nursery V8, she's revved up and ready for action all the time! Passion and energy are must haves for all our team members.
Toni is a crucial member of our nursery team looking after planting out tens of thousands of seeds and caring for them as they grow.
What's your favourite part of your work?
Oh I love seeding and waiting to see what comes up. If you think of one of those hyperlapses that shows a seed growing - we get to see that in real life! I'll pop my head in a few times a day and their will be more growth each time it's awesome to watch. Ake Ake are the first sprouters of the season, then we know we're off!
What makes you go wow?
Looking out at the scale of the work we've done. Rows and rows of new life. Especially after weeding them, then you really get to appreciate the plants and all the work you've done getting them to that point.
Something that surprised you?
I've recently started working in the Garden Centre and I'm loving making people happy and finding what they need, it gives me a real buzz! I'm used to caring for plants in the nursery, who knew sales was so fun!
What's on sale?
This month we'll have deals on big trees and garlic, come check them out!
Garden giggles
The Rampicante are definitely pulling some sideways glances 👀😂
Yes! Those are bananas! Growing in Manakau 🍌 The tree left The Greenery last year for it's new home around the corner and it is thriving!
Do you have something you're stoked with in the garden and would like to share? Reply to us with a pic and a yarn, we'd love to feature your #shareyourgreenery moment 💚
Ask us
Got a garden question? Shoot! We'll answer it on our social channels and maybe feature it in our next blog if it's a real goodie!