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Winter in the Land of the Long White Cloud

© Lynda Jardinet

Winter is now working its chilly charms on gardens down-under, so it's a perfect month to spend indoors, and share a little about New Zealand with you.

New Zealand hovers at the bottom of the globe - surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. The Maori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, which means Land of the Long White Cloud. At this time of the year it's more like Land of the Long Grey Rain Cloud, but never mind! New Zealand is a beautiful country by any standard, and where I live, in the North Island, it's perfect for gardening almost year-round. While the South Island suffers some snow, in Auckland, light frost is as bad as it gets.

El Nino has severely confused most of my plants this year, after one of the hottest and driest summers in New Zealand history. Winter has arrived, but it's been fairly mild so far. My ornamental cherry trees were in full blossom before they'd even dropped their leaves - and the Magnolia stellata is flowering when the blooms should still be tucked up warm inside their buds.

I've pruned back the perennials, and soon I will dig and divide them up. I'm delighted that the single spiky sea holly - Eryngium planum - I bought earlier this year has gone forth and multiplied madly. With its blue stems, I think it will look fantastic mass-planted against our black fence.

Against the bare branches of the cherries and magnolias, New Zealand native plants provide the winter backbone for my garden. Hebes, green cabbage trees - Cordyline australis - and of course, the essential silver fern - Cyathea dealbata. Ferns are synonymous with New Zealand, and the silver fern is our national icon. Proudly displayed by our international sports stars - several are also proudly displayed beneath my bedroom window. This time last year I planted about fifteen ferns in a raised bed surrounding a tiny water garden. They're obviously loving their new habitat, as each day it seems a new furry frond unfurls above the foliage. It's getting very overgrown, but I love the restful reflections in the still water. Later this winter I will pull a few out and re-plant them in a dank area in front of the house.

There's not much to report from the flower garden at this time of the year. Helleborus orientalis is definitely a winter winner, and my sole specimen is covered in delicate, pale green flowers.

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