Swallow gardening

Swallow gardening My focus is on sharing my knowledge and learning together. Your garden needs to suit your lifestyle and budget. Healthy soil - let’s get those earthworms busy.

What will thrive in your particular garden, and most importantly let’s have some fun!

Weekend task - add sheep pellets, lime and liquid fertilizer to my flower garden. Spring is such a busy time for me …. E...
24/10/2026

Weekend task - add sheep pellets, lime and liquid fertilizer to my flower garden.

Spring is such a busy time for me …. Everywhere I look there is something to do in own garden.

My mum has been adding liquid fertilizer to her garden and the flowers are literally blooming and loving it. Liquid blood and bone, I’m using nitrosol. Goes straight into roots now, can add granular fertlizer too but that’s more of slow release for spring.

The first pic is a Silver Germander hedge. Very easy to maintain, has a blue colour, great coastal plant, likes full sun...
21/10/2026

The first pic is a Silver Germander hedge. Very easy to maintain, has a blue colour, great coastal plant, likes full sun, drought tolerant.

Second is corokia with buxus in front. Landscaping - creating structure and clean lines.

Not my gardening - at my mums retirement village.

Adding thin layer of lime while there’s rain to help heal some of our lawns bare patches
14/10/2026

Adding thin layer of lime while there’s rain to help heal some of our lawns bare patches

This is eco coir matting. Great for soil erosion on banks. Buy it in rolls and use weed-pins to secure.Can still plant o...
11/10/2026

This is eco coir matting. Great for soil erosion on banks. Buy it in rolls and use weed-pins to secure.

Can still plant on the bank, ground cover growing down bank or climber from the bottom like a star jasmine.

I love that feeling when I put mulch on dry exposed soil. I can feel it sigh with relief. Phew someone’s protecting me f...
09/10/2026

I love that feeling when I put mulch on dry exposed soil. I can feel it sigh with relief. Phew someone’s protecting me from the summer heat!

This is at St Theresa’s school in Plim. The kids are always giving me feedback and asking questions.

One of them told me when she grows up she wants to be a princess, while her little friend wanted to be an astronaut.

Yesterday AB and I finished off this front gate area. Put down about 8kg of limeFertilizer, compost and topsoil mix when...
08/10/2026

Yesterday AB and I finished off this front gate area.
Put down about 8kg of lime
Fertilizer, compost and topsoil mix when planting
Home made organic mulch/compost- organic matter to break down and feed soil over time - underneath - to feed a heavy dry clay soil
Organic coconut fibre weedmat
Then organic mulch over top

No weedspraying

Plants - Manuka, hebes, corokia and mini flaxes

Now’s the time to fertilize plants, add compost/manure pellets and then mulch for spring growth.

It’s going to be a hot dry summer so mulch will be really important.

This first ground cover with the pink flowers is called Grevillea Gaudichaudii, another nice one is the Grevillea bronze...
04/09/2026

This first ground cover with the pink flowers is called Grevillea Gaudichaudii, another nice one is the Grevillea bronze rambler. They are hardy with pretty flowers and work well covering large sunny coastal banks. They prefer sandy soil, or free draining clay soil, don’t like wet feet.

The second pic is NZ Daphne and that spreads beautifully too. Low maintenance, clay soil is fine and sunshine. Great ground cover.

This is pineapple sage. It flowers most of the year. Trying it in a pot - planted about 2 months ago and already getting...
18/08/2026

This is pineapple sage. It flowers most of the year.

Trying it in a pot - planted about 2 months ago and already getting tall. Needs a decent amount of space in the garden and gets quite tall and wide. But u certainly get plenty of colour. It’s got a strong pineapple smell.

Rose pruning - 3Ds, get rid of dead, diseased and damaged stems. Prune on 45 degree angle to outward facing bud and rem...
01/08/2026

Rose pruning - 3Ds, get rid of dead, diseased and damaged stems. Prune on 45 degree angle to outward facing bud and remove cross over branches that rub on each other. Nice open base shaped appearance. I prune back at least by 1/2.

Spray with liquid copper a couple of weeks after pruning.

Went to a pruning workshop recently at Palmers. John Muller took it. He’s very experienced and has a landscaping busines...
25/07/2026

Went to a pruning workshop recently at Palmers. John Muller took it. He’s very experienced and has a landscaping business in Wellington.

Some key takeaways:

Citrus like sunshine and don’t like wind so put in sheltered spot. Citrus likes magnesium/epsom salt

Feijoas do very well in our coastal Wellington area. The grey underside of their leaves reminds us they are drought tolerant and coastal hardy.

Grapes should be pruned now when leaves are off and no sap rising. Like sun and shelter.

Daphne likes iron sulphate.

Nectarine trees don’t do well in Wellington. Prone to disease. They like the very hot summers and very cold winters - Cromwell, Otago region.

Don’t fertilize when plants are dormant. Good time to treat soil with compost and sheep pellets. (If you have a dog they may try to eat the sheep pellets and make themselves sick).

Citrus, Mexican Orange blossom and Chinese Lantern are prone to borer.

Spray with liquid copper after pruning fruit trees, roses.

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