Flamin Nora its wet outside. And to think we were experiencing
50 year drought conditions a few weeks ago - now we have 100 year
plus rain intensity here in Hawke's Bay. It' certainly extreme ends
of the scale and sparks discussion about climate change, the environment
and what we are doing with the land.
In the office we are as busy as ever with site developments and
growth happening in all areas, it's an exciting time for us. We
have re-designed our homepage and you will notice constant improvements
to the site over the next few months as we respond to the demand
for sound information. Check out our new look homepage and let us
know what you think.
In this weeks issue Sandra finishes her series on tropical planting
with flower power, Wally
shares his wealth of advice about keeping plants alive and happy
during the winter months and I introduce a good friend of mine
and his work with homeless children in Brazil, this is also an invitation
to become involved by volunteering to help with building work and
landscaping this facility on the outskirts of Sau Paulo. It's a
great opportunity and many New Zealanders have gone to help already,
there are several videos on his website about this work and it is
well worth a look.
A Gnomaly - Rain - July 2007
A Gnomaly comments
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Tropical Flavour - Part Three
Flower Power - In my last column the focus was on plants with striking
foliage. They offer drama and interest all year round. Foliage is
fantastic in the subtropical garden, but it would not be truly subtropical
without a splash of vibrant colour.
Gloriosa 'Rothschiliana'Flowers are bold and racy, you won't see
many soft muted pastel tones in a subtropical garden. Some evoke
a strong sense of place, such as Orchids, Hibiscus and Frangipani.
They remind us of tropical vacations and special occasions. Some
are real show-stoppers like Brugmansias. Their heavy scent and pendulous
flowers make them an ideal specimen in the garden. Read full article...
Wally Richards Columns
Keeping Plants Happy and Alive in Winter
Winter might be a bit of a hard time for us with the wet and cold
but at least we can get warm & dry by putting on dry clothing
or lighting a fire. If you were a plant stuck in a pot or in a garden
there is nothing you could do to combat the wet and cold. This is
silly you may say, as plants are plants and whatever Nature throws
at them is a problem of Nature not yours.
Wrong, the plants you place in your garden or pots are your problem
as those plants did not have any choice in the matter. Too often
we place a plant where we would like it to grow, whether it is a
suitable place for that particular plant or not. If glovesthe conditions
are not ideal for the plant (soil/drainage/sun/shade etc) the plant
will not thrive, be poorly and maybe even die. We are then likely
to say that we don't have green fingers and that is the problem.
The problem is our lack of understanding the needs of each type
of plant and then providing for those needs to the best of our ability.
Read full article...
Aramitan
Landscaping for your soul...
Co-founded by my good friend Santiago Demarco, The Asociación
Comunitaria Aramitan (Aramitan Community Association) is an initiative
whose goal is helping children and young people in high-risk situations
in the slum area of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The project was inspired
by the work done by the Asociación Comunitaria Monte Azul
(Monte Azul Community Association) (http://www.monteazul.org.br),
renowned and respected for its work in the outlying poor areas of
Sao Paulo and for its advice to other communities of the world.
Its work has given rise to a social, educational, urban and sanitary
transformation, achieving through associative work what the government
cannot.
How can you help?
Aramitan WorkcampAramitan receives no government contributions so
public support is always appreciated, ways to do this are either
by a monetary donation or you can participate in a Workcamp. Aramitan
runs Workcamps doing various projects in the community such as building,
landscaping and education. You can be of great assistance by giving
your time to help in one of their projects, each of which runs for
two weeks, why not hone your landscaping skills somewhere that really
needs your help.
There's nothing better than snuggling up in front of the fire on
a chilly winter night with a freshly baked slice of home made pizza.
Pizza with Roasted Pumpkin, Feta and Olives
pizzaIngredients
Pizza Dough Ingredients
400g plain flour
3 teaspoons yeast granules
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Pizza Toppings
1 small - medium butternut pumpkin, peeled and chopped
olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
pizza dough
½ cup tomato pizza/pasta sauce
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup grated fresh mozzarella
½ cup chopped herbs: sage, parsley, rosemary, oregano
75g Whitestone ewes milk feta
olives
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch rocket leaves
Method
Sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Dissolve
the yeast in the warm water and pour into the well along with the
salt and olive oil. Form into a ball and knead for 7 minutes. Place
the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Place the bowl in a
warm place and leave for several hours or until dough has doubled
in bulk. Alternately you can make dough in your breadmaker by using
the dough setting. Halve dough and roll into 2 rounds.
Preheat oven to 200 C. Roast the pumpkin with a good drizzle of
olive oil and salt and freshly ground black pepper until tender
and golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Increase
oven heat to 215 C. Roll the pizza dough out on a lightly floured
surface and place either on a well oiled pizza tray or a terracotta
tile. Spread the sauce over the base. Sprinkle with the herbs and
half of the mozzarella and parmesan. Cover with pumpkin, feta and
olives and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for approximately
15 minutes or until the base is golden and crisp.
Touchwood Books - Book Review
Landscape Handbook for the Tropics
Though this book was first published in 1995, and has been reprinted
twice, the word "Tropics" has been a bit off-putting for
New Zealand readers. However it is an extremely practical text for
the professional designer covering all the basics of design and
construction, materials and methods.
Landscape Handbook for the TropicsThe author has spent more than
twenty years teaching and designing in various parts of Africa and
there are nearly 100 colour photos of various large projects undertaken
there, plus hundreds of black and white line drawings to illustrate
various details. Normally selling for $69.95, we have copies at
the bargain price of $20.00, plus $5 postage. email: mail@touchwoodbooks.co.nz
New Technology
You may have noticed in the last week that we have added a cool
new feature to our website. Within our information pages you will
see hyperlinks as per the below 'outdoor fireplace' link - when
your mouse hovers over this link a 'lingospot' search box will pop
up showing you other related articles on our website, wikipedia,
in the news and the Amazon bookshop. Even cooler you can highlight
any other word on the page and by holding the alt key and clicking
on it you can create your own keyword searches. We are the first
website in New Zealand to adopt this cutting edge way to search,
something we believe is the way of the future. We strive to keep
our website abreast of the trends and make your experience as easy
and enjoyable as possible,
let us know what you think.
Lingospot
Thanks for your support and feedback...
Remember to send us your comments and feedback, and keep posting
messages to the forum. That's what community is all about. If you
have something to say do it now!
Regards,
Tim Durrant and the LandscapeDesign.co.nz Team
landscapedesign.co.nz ltd
In This Issue
Tropical Flavour
Plants in Winter
Landscaping for your soul
Pizza
Book Review
New Technology
Tell a Friend and Win
Inspirational Galleries
Noticeboard
Whats On - Events and Happenings
The more friends you tell the more chances you have to win...
Enter the draw to Win 500g Freshly Roasted Hawthorne Coffee delivered
straight to your door by telling a friend about our website. The
more friends you tell the more chances you have to win.
hawthorne coffee
Inspiration Galleries
Outdoor Fireplaces
Sculpture
Swimming Pools
The Beauty of Trees
Walls Fences & Gates
Natural Beauty
New Zealand Fine Prints
Trees for Survival Trust - Million Tree Campaign
The Trees for Survival Trust is organising a campaign with the aim
of planting one million trees in New Zealand in 2007, the local
effort towards the world-wide Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree
Campaign - promoted by UNEP.
Landscapedesign.co.nz encourage you to support this effort by donating
towards the Kiwi contribution to the Plant for the Planet: Million
Tree Campaign. Just print and cut out this coupon, fill in and return
to:
Trees for Survival
PO Box 51684
Pakuranga
Manukau 2140
Auckland
I enclose my donation of:
?$10 ?$20 ?$50 ?$100 Other $_____________
Please make cheques payable to 'The Trees for Survival Trust'.
All donations will be acknowledged and receipted by the Trust.
Name:____________________________________________________
Addresss:________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
For more information on the Trees for Survival Trust visit www.tfsnz.org.nz
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