September 2024
Welcome to our September newsletter
Many of our gardens had a dusting of snow during August! Pictured: Terrace View Garden which is one of our new gardens in Rotherham
September Gardening with Flora Brons
Spring is such a special time of year. (Usually) after the great Autumn clean up and surviving the cold of Winter in the garden, it really is the greatest reward to witness the explosion of fresh green shoots and buds starting to burst to signal Spring's arrival. With that explosion of rapid growth brings many jobs to start doing, the things we have been dreaming of getting stuck into through the cold months and we can really get stuck into sowing seeds. If you’re impatient like me, this is such a relief! As I always say, if you’re a gardener, patience is a virtue.
Early Spring tasks: (September)
Prune hydrangeas.
If you can wait until the risk of hard frosts is over, as the head of the old flowers act as a canopy to protect the new growth.
Sow your remaining annuals
Tidy up perennials:
Cut down old growth of perennials and seed heads from Winter. The new growth should be popping up at the base or your perennials now if you look closely.
In the flower garden:
There are still many things you can harvest now from your garden. Here is a list of the flowers that you can harvest now.
Hellebores
Muscari grape hyacinths
Wall Flowers
Narcissi Daffodils
Cerinthe Honeywort
Tulips
If you are picking hellebores to put in a vase, remember to pick them only once the seed pod has developed in the centre of the flower. See the picture to compare one with seed pods and one without.
September is the last month when you can buy tickets on our website www.hurunuigardenfestival.com
Alternatively, you can pay $10 cash per person on the gate of each garden on the day.
The guidebooks are also available for order. The guidebooks are jam packed with information about each garden, tours, events and helpful details to make your visit enjoyable. These are free so if you would like one sent to you, you can order online and just pay the postage. Alternatively, they will also be able to be downloaded from the website.
Unfortunately, Red Oak is now unavailable for this year's Festival. We apologize to those who were looking forward to this garden.
This year the Hurunui Garden Festival has two historic homesteads to view; Tipapa and Lyndon. They are a must see if you enjoy architecture or history.
To view Tipapa, you will need to pre book your spot by emailing jane@tipapaestate.co.nz (subject HGF House Tour).
To view Lyndon, pay $20 cash on the gate or use two HGF tickets per person.
Sponsors Spot
Take a step back in time and discover the charm of an authentic New Zealand country pub at The Star Hotel. Established in 1874, our pub has been a staple in the North Canterbury community for generations, providing a warm and cozy atmosphere for locals and travelers alike.
Situated on SH7, Waikari. Stop here for refreshments between the Waipara Gorge and and Hawarden/Waikari Clusters.
Amuri Estate is Hanmer Springs newest private conference and events venue. Just 10 minutes out of the alpine village of Hanmer Springs and only 90 minutes from Christchurch makes Amuri Estate perfect for weddings, business conferences and events. The new modern barn style building has a large reception hall with capacity for 200 people and a small meeting room with capacity for 20-60 people. We have a trained event manager onsite who can aid with planning prior to your event but also make sure things run smoothly on the day of the event. Amuri Estate is now open for bookings, so please get in touch with us if you would like to know more about this beautiful new venue.
Our Sponsors
Introducing the 2024 line up of sponsors! We would really appreciate any support you are able to give the wonderful businesses who sponsor us.
DIAMOND LEVEL SPONSOR
GOLD LEVEL SPONSORS
SILVER LEVEL SPONSORS
BRONZE LEVEL SPONSORS
If you want to contact the committee, or require any information contact us via our email address info@hurunuigardenfestival.com
If you haven’t ‘liked’ our Facebook or Instagram page yet, we recommend you do as we are often posting snippets of information and updates – more regularly than newsletters.
Check out our website www.hurunuigardenfestival.com which holds information about the gardens, places to go, see and do. This will be updated regularly as we lead up to the festival in October.
