Paint with Perennials

Perennials are those wonderful plants that just keep coming back year after year and as they become more established, they make bold colour statements in the garden. In designing with plants, it is the perennials that ensure that there is constant change, and that there is always an element of surprise or interest in the garden.

Getting to know when the plants flower is necessary in order to get the balance right in the design, so that as one perennial goes to sleep, another awakens and there is always something interesting going on. It also means that you can get creative about colour combinations - plant three or four different perennials that flower at the same time in a group that will create a colour blend that dazzles. And it is not only the flowers of perennials that have impact - perennials are highly valued for their foliage colour, form and texture too. But don't worry if you discover that the plant is not thriving or does not go with the surrounding scheme - they are very forgiving and, can be easily moved.

There are perennials suitable for almost every area of the garden: from full sun to full shade, in large gardens or small beds and to suit every mood or style.

Perennials include a huge and wide assortment of plant groups from ferns to highly diverse flowering plants, exotics such as Orchids and Ornamental Grasses. They grow structures that allow them to adapt to living from one year to the next. These structures include bulbs, tubers, woody crowns, rhizomes plus others. They might have specialized stems or crowns that allow them to survive periods of dormancy over cold or dry seasons during the year. Most perennials benefit from being lifted and divided from time to time and this is a great way to create a sense of unity in the garden as you can divide them and plant them all over the place.

In temperate regions a perennial plant may grow and bloom during the warm part of the year, with the foliage dying back in the winter. These plants are called deciduous perennials. Re-growth is from existing stem tissue. In some species, perennials retain their foliage all year round; these are evergreen perennials.

Come in and take a look around. Some of the most popular perennials we have in stock are Wallflowers, Aquilegia, Delphiniums, Dianthus, Mesembryanthemums and Catmint. We've always got something pretty, perky and persuasive in the perennial line, like these geraniums featured below.

 GERANIUMS MAKE A COMEBACK!

Fabulous varieties of both old favourite and new release sun-loving perennial geraniums that flower for months and give excellent textural and colour contrast effects. Check out the varieties we have in stock:

Midnight Reiter - This little gem is ideal for garden edging and for containers. Leaves are deep green edged with wine red.  Large lilac blue flowers cover the plant from late spring. Very easy to grow and very hardy. Loves sun.

Victor Reiter - A new release. Leaves emerge maroon-red in spring, forming a beautiful mound that elongates and produces a delightful show of large, dark lilac blooms. Leaves age to dark green with purple edging. Very easy to grow, hardy and sun loving. Excellent in containers

Summer Skies- This is a real beauty! Tightly double, light mauve-pink blooms are produced above divided, dark green, velvet foliage throughout the summer. A hardy variety for the border. Prefers not to be moved each year and will reward you with continual blooms.

Geranium 'Sue Crug'  is a perennial with a mounding habit and velvety smooth, mid-green leaves. It has a very unusual flowers with mauve-magenta petals which have darker veins running through them and central dark eye. Flowers most of summer.

Thundercloud - A wonderful NZ native groundcover with deep purple/brown/maroon foliage year round. Produces small, baby-pink flowers through the spring and summer. Will spread to 50cm across with a height of 20cm. Best planted in full sun or part shade. Great for containers.

Kashmir White - This spreading geranium has saucer shaped, white flowers with pale lilac-pink veins. Finely-cut, lacy foliage is very pretty. Clump forming, hardy perennial with mid-green leaves and a long flowering period.

Check out our recipe for Silverbeet below!

Silverbeet Roulade

Here is a quick and easy way to turn that succulent silverbeet from the garden into a delicious meal.

Silverbeet

6 eggs

Milk, salt pepper

Blue Cheese

• Pick a generous bunch of silverbeet, remove the thick part of the stalk and steam or blanche the leaves until tender
• Drain thoroughly - it is even worth laying it out on paper towel to get all the water out - and chop it roughly into small pieces.
• Lay the silverbeet on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
• Whisk 6 eggs, a dash of milk, some salt and pepper - as you would for scrambled eggs - and pour this mixture over the silverbeet.
• To add a special flavour, crumble blue cheese and sprinkle over the tray.
• Bake in a medium - hot oven until the egg has set, remove from oven and then roll the roulade as you would a Swiss roll, using the baking paper to lift and roll and removing it at the same time.
• Either serve immediately with some crusty ciabatta and a mixed salad or allow to cool, unroll it and add whatever takes your fancy in terms of taste: tomato relish, grilled capsicum, spicy chutney, some more cheese and roll it up again and cut into slices.

Bon Appetit!

Lloyd and Harry