Press Release 28 April 2008
Garden DIY for autumn weekends from NZ Gardener
Looking for inspiration for your autumn garden? NZ Gardener has five inspiring do-it-yourself projects plus creative
ideas to keep your kids busy over the school holidays.
The May issue of NZ Gardener features a DIY special, with step-by-step instructions for making your own mosaic pavers,
preserving quince jelly, crafting lemon-scented soap, painting pots and building your own designer compost bin.
When issued with the challenge to create a cool compost bin, DIY guy Justin Newcombe came up with a fashionable
beehive-shaped bin that costs just $60 and can be whipped up in just three hours.
“Who says compost bins need to be tucked out of sight? Justin’s designer bin is just too gorgeous to hide. It’s large,
well-ventilated, easy to move and it proves that practical corners can be pretty too,” says NZ Gardener editor Lynda
Hallinan.
Also in the May issue, food editor Alessandra Zecchini makes sweet and sensational treats for Mother’s Day gift ideas,
including passionfruit cookies, crabapple jelly, cape gooseberry cupcakes and feijoa cordial recipes.
As the first frosts hit, NZ Gardener shows you how to weather the storms ahead with expert tips for protecting tender
plants from icy weather and freezing winds. Author and gardener Lois Galer also shares her experiences of gardening in
one of the country’s coldest spots, Ophir in Central Otago.
NZ Gardener launches its new children’s gardening column in the May issue, with a pine cone craft project to keep your
kids busy during the school holidays. Plus well-known garden designer Xanthe White offers design tips for creating
child-friendly gardens and play spaces.
Meanwhile editor Lynda Hallinan’s inner-city self-sufficiency project steps up a notch as she puts her home-brewing to
the expert test - a tasting with the Cuisine team. The results won’t get her a coveted “recommended by Cuisine” label
but her spicy full-bodied Green Walnut Liqueur got 4-stars from the panel.
Also in the May issue of NZ Gardener, Julian Matthews visits an organic blueberry farm in Upper Hutt, where American
Mandi Porter and her Mexican husband have created a permiculture paradise with the help of a Nepalese mountaineering
guide, Nima Sherpa.
The North Island garden of the month belongs to Ngaire and Bruce Cheetham of Palmerston North, while the South Island
garden of the month is Seaforth - the Hokitika hideaway created by NZ Gardener’s 2007 West Coast Gardener of the Year,
Helen Love.
The 2008 NZ Gardener of the Year competition is now open, with a call for nominations to dig up this year’s unsung
horticultural heroes. More than $20,000 worth of prizes are up for grabs, with 15 regional finalists taking home a $1000
prize package and the overall winner scooping $5,000 to spend at Bunnings Warehouse and a luxury trip for two to
Hunter’s Garden Marlborough in November. For more information about the 2008 NZ Gardener of the Year competition, visit
www.nzgardener.co.nz .
The May issue of NZ Gardener is on sale from Monday 28 April 2008.
ENDS