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Interesting NZ gardening sites

© Lynda Jardinet

If a week is a long time in politics, then a year is a lifetime in gardening! It's amazing how much you can achieve in twelve short months. This time last year, I was settling into a new home, starting a new garden from scratch, revelling in the challenges of a new job, and suffering from itchy feet, having just returned from a satisfying six week sojourn through England and Italy. Something had to give - and so my suite101.com column went on the backburner.

One year on, I'm back and more enthusiastic than ever about gardening in our unique country. And I'm amazed just how many new and interesting local websites have popped up during my on-line absence. So what better way to banish the winter blues and get inspired for spring, than by taking a virtual tour of five different sites. They're not necessarily the slickest or the most sophisticated - although some are pretty stunning - but they're a small taste of local style. A feast of horts d'oeuvre, so to speak.

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1. The hidden forest

Welcome to the world of New Zealand forest fungi - you'll never stomp around at night without looking beneath your feet first. Mushrooms, lichens and liverworts all feature in this delightful site, which includes a wide range of photographs. Our native forests are living treasures, so it's nice to be able to appreciate all their elements, from the canopies above to the creeping moulds at ground level.

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2. Gardening at nzoom.com

Backed by the resources of Television New Zealand, the nzoom.com site is only new but is already packed with interesting articles. Most of the features are sourced from the many top-rating programmes on TVONE - and they'll all written in a chatty style. If you're interested in topiary, may I point you in the direction of this article, written by yours truly.

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3. Moosey's Country Garden A charming, personality-filled homepage. 'Moosey' gardens near West Melton, in Canterbury, in the South Island of New Zealand. A rambling country garden with roses, native plants, trees and lawns. With an enormous number of photos to drool over, it's best not to visit Moosey's garden too early in the day - you'll never get any gardening done because you'll be too busy on-line!

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4. Garden-NZ

A bright and informative site with lots of inspiration and news about what's happening in the garden centre scene. Join up, let them know your interests, and they'll custom-make your own weekly gardening newsletter. There's a wealth of information at your fingertips.