News

Grow gherkins from seed this NZ spring, then turn them into a jar of proper pickles. Sowing, picking, and a simple brine.

Edible maximalist, cutting gardener, naturalistic romantic, tidy traditionalist, native patriot, container wizard, chaos gardener. Seven garden personalities, strengths, weaknesses, fixes.

Invented by a lawyer, forged in Holland, and built for the fiddliest ten minutes of spring.

A sunny metre, a few packets of seed and a good pair of scissors. How to start a cut flower patch in NZ this spring, with four easy flowers for your first vase.

Sneeboer is an official purveyor to the Dutch royal household. Burgon & Ball has worked Sheffield steel since 1730. The royal history behind the heirloom tools at Bugg.

Ancient Blue is the 2027 garden colour of the year, and New Zealand gets to plant it first. Blue hydrangeas, a twelve-strong blue shortlist, and the two blues to skip.

Powdery mildew, rust, black spot and damping off all arrive with the warm damp weather. How to tell them apart, the kitchen sprays that hold up, the four habits that prevent most of it, and when to reach for copper.

Aphids in four colours, slugs on the night shift, the white butterfly and every blackbird in the district. What each one does, the companion plants and kitchen sprays that help, and the netting that actually works.

Judi Dench plants a tree for every friend she loses. Winter is the time to plant yours, and here is how to do it properly.