Do you need some garden inspiration?

From garden tours to sculpture exhibitions, take some time out and explore some of Canterbury's most beautiful gardens and gardening attractions.

Christchurch our Garden City is well named, we are lucky to have some of the country's best open gardens and most stunning parks. We wanted to highlight a couple of events coming up over the next month or so. There are local garden tours, sculpture exhibitions and we have also attached a great guide of 20 gardens and gardening attractions around our gorgeous city for you to explore.

 

Event		Dates
Art in a Garden, North Canterbury		October 26th - 29th, Thurs 11am-2pm, Fri 11am-3pm, Sat 11-3pm, Sun 11am-3pm
Sculptures on the Peninsula, Loudon Farm, Banks Peninsula		November 10th-12th, Fri 5-8:30pm, Sat 9:30am-5:30pm, Sun 9:30am-5pm
Charity Garden Tour, around Christchurch and Canterbury		November 25th-26th, 10am-4pm
Governors Bay House and Garden Tour, Governors Bay		November 26th, 10am-4pm

Art in a Garden has been held in Penny Zino's North Canterbury garden, Flaxmere for the past 13 years. Artists' and sculptors' work from around New Zealand is on display (and for sale). This year it runs from Thursday 26th to Sunday 29th October. You can visit this stunning garden by appointment at other times too: visit flaxmeregarden.co.nz for more info.

The Sculptures on the Peninsula Exhibition is a contemporary sculpture exhibition held every two years. It is the largest sculptural exhibition in the South Island and attracts both leading and emerging sculptors. It is running over three days 10th-12th November and being held in the grounds of historic Loudon Farm, Banks Peninsula. Tickets are available from Sculptures on the Peninsula and proceeds from the event will be donated to Cholmondeley Children’s Centre in Governors Bay.

On November 25 and 26th there is the Charity Garden Tour, sponsored by the Wigram Lions Club Christchurch. You can enjoy 11 gardens in a wide range of themes and sizes, open to view over the two days. Charities supported this year are the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service and Child Cancer Foundation. For more information and to purchase tickets go to Charity Garden Tour. The Canterbury Horticulture Society are running a bus tour to view the gardens. For further information please visit Canterbury Horticultural Society.

Governors Bay School PTA invite you to join their self-guided House and Garden Tour of 13 properties in “The Bay” on Sunday 26th November, 10am-4pm. Included is Ohinetahi Gardens, a garden of international significance owned by Sir Miles Warren; Waitahuna, the original Dyer Homestead and many other private homes and gardens. They are supporting the enhancement of the Governors Bay School playground. To book a ticket head to Governors Bay House and Garden Tour.

Here is a link to a great article by Jo McCarroll at the New Zealand Gardener magazine highlighting her favourite places in Christchurch and its fringes. She has been impressed by some of the inspiring ways clever local people have employed their horticultural skills in the rebuild, after the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011.

It is the perfect time of year to see nature at its best, so enjoy the wonderful events that are on and we hope you'll find something that will inspire you to get creative in your landscaping.

Bee friendly planting

What you can do to help save our bees.

Bees around the world and especially in New Zealand can't survive without our help. September is 'Bee aware month', where a spotlight is shone on these amazing creatures, and the significant role they play in supporting our food chain. The number of bees has been dwindling all over the country, this is due to a number of factors; diseases, misuse of pesticides, loss of habitat and lack of flowers and plants for bees to feed on. Almost a third of global farm output depends on animal pollination, largely by honey bees. Without them, our gardens would be without many of their plants and flowers and our major agri-export industries would be in serious trouble. Everyone can help by encouraging bees back into the garden by planting flowers and plants, being educated on what sprays and chemicals will harm them and looking at alternatives to pesticides that are bee friendly.

What we can all do to help:

• Planting bee friendly gardens, see the list below for ideas. Take note: bees are particularly attracted to these colours: yellow, blue-green, blue and ultraviolet flowers.
• Use bee friendly sprays and use them once bees are back in their hives, after dusk. It is important to refrain from spraying when plants are in flower. 
• Bees love the clover and dandelions in your lawn, so don't be to hasty to mow your lawn.
• Eat more organic food. This will help encourage producers to limit the number of pesticides they use on their crops.
• Look into the honey you purchase and make sure it is made by beekeepers who care about the health of their bees and not just about production.

A list of plants that encourage bees into the garden: 

Annual flowers: calendula, marigold, sunflowers, poppies, cosmos, hollyhocks, fox gloves, echium, clover, nasturtiums.
Perennials: comfrey, dahlias, echinacea, geraniums, aquilegia, gladiolus.
Shrubs: Californian lilac, buddleia, echium.
Climbers: honeysuckle, clematis.
Fruit and vegetables: blackberry, cucumbers, pumpkin, courgette.
Herbs: bee balm, borage, coriander, rosemary, thyme. 

So if you are thinking about planting in the coming months, keep bees in mind. If you are designing or redesigning your garden make sure you let your designer know that you would like to include planting that encourages bees to visit. The National Beekeepers Association has got a month of exciting events organised, head to their website for more details. If you would like to read more about the global bees crisis head to an informative article by The Telegraph.

Information for this blog was sourced from The National Beekeepers Association and Tui Garden for the list of plants.