Once upon a time fruit trees could be found in every New Zealand garden but with today’s smaller gardens it is more difficult to find space. With careful selection, however, and knowing where to plant these trees can be accommodated and can thrive.

August can be an interesting month; if the weather warms up it is ideal gardening time, however, you can get stung by an about-face from Mother Nature sending us back to winter mode. All things going well though, August should be all about getting back into the garden, preparing for spring planting and having a general tidy up.

Azaleas and Rhododendrons are the most popular, decorative evergreen shrubs, with their vivid display of flowers from late winter to early summer. Blooms in many different forms and sizes including tubular, starry, bell and bowl shaped, large and small, and even fragrant.

Here in the south, late July is rose pruning time! After the worst of the frosts and before the new growth begins is the best time to prune so all...

Don’t let the task of pruning your roses become daunting. It’s really very easy with the aim being simply to keep the centre of the bush fairly open and airy by removing overcrowded canes.

Have slugs and snails been munching on your carefully tended seedlings and plants, before you even get a chance to enjoy them? Find out how to control these little pests and enjoy your garden slug and snail free!

June is all about new season's roses arriving in store. Most flower gardeners consider it unthinkable to create a garden without roses as they can easily lift your garden out of the ordinary. Simply by situating them so...

With the hustle and bustle of summer is over the great autumn clean-up should be in full swing as autumn breezes flurry fallen leaves into little damp heaps and bedraggled plants are in need of a good tidy up. Tidying up the garden is a great way to start composting too!

Celebrating the end of winter, vibrant spring flowering bulbs give maximum effect for minimum effort.
There is no limit to the number of bulbs that can be planted to give late winter and early spring colour and, with a bit of careful planning, there could be bulbs flowering in your garden right through to late summer.

April is about planting spring bulbs and the sooner daffodils are planted, the better they will perform. There are always a few places where a few more bulbs can be planted such as scatter plantings of bluebells and crocuses under deciduous trees, little dwarf tulips and irises tucked into rock gardens or fritillaria and dogs tooth violet enjoying some shady spots.

Easily grown outdoors throughout the season or in the glasshouse, these nutritious greens are a great addition to salads and sandwiches and are full of antioxidants for your better health.

There is nothing quite like the taste of fresh vegetables straight from the garden. Add to this the satisfaction and sense of achievement, the savings, the knowledge that your vegetables are free of pesticides and you have some very powerful reasons for growing your own vegetables.