KEY POINTS:
Summer holidays mean the beach, the bach and doing nothing much - especially not gardening.
So how are you going to manage and still have a garden to enjoy in a couple of months' time? There are two sides to this question.
How is the garden at home going to survive when you are away?
How can you organise the garden at the bach so that the first job you do when you arrive is not to mow the lawn?
Let's start with the garden at home. Forget about the lawn. Don't worry if it dries out and browns off.
Grass has an amazing ability to regrow as soon as damper cooler weather comes along.
Instead, make sure the gardens are well mulched. Check the soil and water any dry patches. Soak old newspapers in a bucket of water and spread them over the garden. A section of the Herald is about the right thickness. Pile mulch over the newspaper. Bark, compost, roughly chopped prunings, or any other organic material that is handy can be used.
The newspaper will stop the soil drying out and also prevent weeds growing. The mulch will stop the newspaper drying out and blowing about.
Houseplants need special care over the holidays. Put a thick layer of old towels in the bath or shower and make them thoroughly wet. Sit all your houseplants on top. The water in the towels will gradually wick up into the pots and they should keep moist for a couple of weeks at least. Otherwise sit your indoor plants outside in a cool shady corner of the garden out of the wind.
Tuck the pots well down into the mulch, water them and they'll soon feel right at home.
The smartest rule for a bach garden is to have no lawn.
If the bach is at the beach, replace it with tough, no-mow seaside grasses. Marram grass is no longer considered ecologically sound, but might still be useful if you are a block or two back from the sea. Pingao is a wonderful native dune grass. Cotton grass is another favourite. Big patches of iceplants, cape daisies or gazanias will cover the ground with sheets of colour.
Lupins and pelargoniums create taller blocks of colour. None of these stand much foot traffic, but shell paths through them are all you need. For shade - plant pohutukawa, ngaio or karo.
At an inland bach go for the bush glade.
Treasure any big trees you have. Use their shade and shelter to start more trees and shrubs. Local natives will make for an easy natural garden. There is no need to confine yourself to natives, they blend happily with rhododendrons, hydrangeas and many other flowering shrubs.
Plant these in island beds or borders, and mulch thickly under them. Never plant trees and shrubs in lawn. They prefer not to compete with grass and it is a pain to mow round them. Instead of lawn plant Pratia angulata as a no-mow groundcover. Sell the mower and enjoy your holiday.
Lyndell Shannon has been a garden designer in Auckland and Wellington since 1995. Lyndell's gardens are characterised by simple lines and rich planting. Each garden is unique, reflecting the personality of its owners and the spirit of place. Lyndell can be contacted on (09) 419 1910 or lyndell@ihug.co.nz. Lyndell can also be contacted through Kings Plant Barn.
