Oasis Cottage

Name: Oasis Cottage
Address: 1093 Woodstock Road, Oxford, 7495, NZ
Telephone: +64210709729
Price range: $$$
Rating: 5

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Oasis Cottage

Oasis Cottage is a 5-acre formal English-style country garden in Oxford, North Canterbury, New Zealand.
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I grow flowers for floristry and enjoy creating seasonal arrangements and bouquets. Garden and floral studio visitors are welcome with an appointment.

03/11/2024

We all love pretty pictures on social media, but let me show you the ugly face of Buxus Blight. This fungal disease is worldwide, and it landed at Oasis Cottage about two years ago. Once I recognised what it was, I took all the necessary steps to turn the problem around, but more drastic action was needed in this particular part of the hedge. It was not recovering like the other parts, so I decided to cut it right back to the base. I started the process in autumn with just a few plants and noticed that they were shooting lovely fresh green leaves, which encouraged me to cut back the remaining plants, which I did just this week.

The rest of the box hedges are on the mend, and I regularly remove leaf debris from underneath to ensure good airflow. I have been spraying with Top Buxus and cutting back any dead growth to encourage new growth. The prognosis is far better than it was two years ago.

So, if you have Buxus Blight, don't despair. You don't have to pull it out. It can be turned around.

Topbuxus NZ

26/10/2024

Despite yesterday's heavy rain, a brief break allowed us to rush out and install our new sign on the front gate.

We are pretty pleased with how we designed this. I especially like the simplicity of the pencil sketch of the flowers. Do you like it too?

21/10/2024

The ornamental cherry trees lining the driveway are at their best now. Unfortunately, high winds are forecasted for tomorrow, so I will enjoy them before they get blasted!

This variety is Prunus serrulata ‘Shimidsu Sakura’. I planted them over ten years ago and pruned them every winter to raise the crown and thin out the canopy.

02/10/2024

Darwin Hybrid Tulip ‘Ad Rem’ is one of the most stunning tulips I grow here at Oasis Cottage. They have super long stems and a colour that's hard to describe. They are advertised by the big bulb suppliers as red, but I think they lean towards orange, and there's an elegant glimpse of gold on the base and edges of the petals.

Plant them in the right spot, and they will return year after year. These are now four years old and looking better than ever.

02/10/2024

I planted this new colour combination of tulips at the end of Autumn. It's so exciting in mid-spring now to see if it works, and it does! Wouldn't this be as lovely as a bouquet?

It is a mix of 20 tulips - ‘Kickstart’ (Peony) x 10. ‘Laptop’ (Triumph) x 5 and ‘White Dream’ (Triumph) x 5.

24/09/2024

I delivered this tulip bouquet to a birthday girl yesterday. The pink tulips are called ‘Dynasty’, and I combined them with the purple ‘Laptop’ to prevent it from looking like a bouquet made for Barbie. I like this colour combination! Sophisticated but girly 💃🌷

19/09/2024

I planted 50 Pittosporum tenuifolium at Oasis Cottage today. I preordered them from Appletons Nursery earlier this year. They arrive as plug plants, which means no plastic pot to deal with, but you have to be ready to plant them straight away. These were good, healthy plants and will grow fast now that they are in the ground.

I used them to beef up our wind shelter and privacy and to encourage birdlife.

The raised mounds give us a head start in creating wind protection. They are made by throwing building rubble, prunings, old logs, and grass clippings into a big pile over a year. Then, I asked a local contractor to dump a layer of garden soil on top. With some artistic shaping by a talented digger driver, I have something interesting to plant.

Grass and weeds were sprayed off a few weeks ago in preparation, so I can quickly drill a planting hole with my Power Planter and pop the plug plant in.

We've located pockets of native plantings all around the property, and birdlife has increased significantly over the past few years. Plus, the wind shelter is always welcome!

03/09/2024

This is Hyacinth ‘Fondant’. I planted the bulbs in May. Normally, I plant hyacinths into pots on the verandah, but these were planted in the garden. They've had no special treatment, and just look at these gorgeous blooms.

27/08/2024

Thank you, Bulbs Direct, for the large and healthy Dahlia tubers, which arrived today. I've potted them up and will plant out in the garden after the last frosts, which we traditionally say is Canterbury Show Day. This year, it is Friday 15 November.

The tote bag was a wonderful surprise when I opened the box , and I love it! My husband took a photo of me showing it off to him when I came in from gardening today.

I love expanding my plant collection, and I'm excited to see all my new Dahlias flowers this year and share the excitement with my fellow enthusiasts at New Zealand Dahlia Growers.

Gardening is such a rewarding and exciting hobby 🌺

26/08/2024

Spring is officially only a week away, and I'm so glad. It wasn't a bad winter, but I want to see the flowers again. We have hyacinths and daffodils on the verandah, and even more are in the central gardens. Today, I pruned a 100-year-old plum tree and brought the stems inside to admire.

24/08/2024

A simple, joyful bunch of daffodils in a pasta jar to celebrate spring is only a week away! Yippee!

19/08/2024

The winner of the 'First Daffodil to Flower 2024' is the variety 'Watch-Up'. I purchased the bulbs from Bulbs Direct in February and planted them straight away. They are advertised as mid-season but these bulbs seem keen to get going and have beaten all the other varieties. I adore their extra-long yellow trumpets with the wavy mouth and their creamy tepals. Gorgeous!

07/08/2024

It was lavender day today! I should have done this in July before the daffodils started sprouting, but you know how it is. Nonetheless, I cut down all the Lavendula ‘Super’ plants and cleared leaf debris and weeds from under and around them. Lavender likes good air circulation and not too much organic matter stifling them.

The crabapple trees also had a winter makeover. The pruning wood gets cut up and used for kindling next season. The smaller twigs are thrown onto a bund to create insect hotels.

It’s great to get this task ticked off although I’m feeling a bit exhausted now.

06/08/2024

And they have landed in my mailbox today! The arrival of these coveted seeds perfectly timed as a birthday present to myself. Thank you, Emerden and Floret Flower Farm, for allowing New Zealanders to grow these lovely flowers.

05/08/2024

This is a Himalayan Cedar, planted over 100 years ago, according to the tree experts.

I’ve slowly been establishing a fairy circle around it. Every time I walk past, I place a few more stones. Then, I’ll fill the circle with soil and plant Clivias which have been patiently waiting for over a year.

When I stand on top of the grassy knoll, it gives me a good view of this stately tree and Mt Oxford in the other direction.

03/08/2024

Finally, the Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster' found a home in the garden. I've been trying to figure out where to put it until now. I've read that it can be a bit 'thuggish', so I have refrained from planting it in the formal gardens where it was initially destined. Instead, it is now along the fence line containing a bed of Rugosa Roses. I hope the 1.5M grassy spears will grow to catch the evening sun, and the tall grass foliage screens this part of the garden so visitors cannot see it when they enter the driveway.

When I took the pictures, the Calamagrostis was already shining in the low winter afternoon light, so I have great hope!

02/08/2024

Today was overcast and cold making it unwelcoming to get gardening. So, I ticked a few timely seed-sowing jobs off the list:

☑️Onions were sown into trays ☑️Spinach was sown into punnets ☑️Peas and broad beans were sown into root trainers

Then, the annual (and easy) tidy-up of the circular bed at the end of the driveway. I'm growing miniature agapanthus in this bed under the Pin Oak. Cut back the foliage and seed heads, throw them into the middle of the bed, and the seeds will form new plants—easy!

There is light snow on the hills, and I'm looking forward to a brighter winter day forecasted tomorrow.

07/11/2023

Many aspects of gardening attract me to it as an all-consuming hobby. One aspect is that there is always something new to try. And yesterday, I did just that! 😀

Hippeastrum bulbs are enormous! And so are the blooms. I have never planted them, but I did yesterday and found it interesting that the top third of the bulb has to sit above the soil level.

I ordered seven different varieties of these unusual bulbs from NZ Bulbs, so now I have a collection. 🤓They currently reside in the tunnel house, and I will bring them onto the verandah when (if!) they flower!

And that's another thing about gardening that is so attractive. There is always something to look forward to. 🌹 I hope you have a lovely day today.

Address

1093 Woodstock Road
Oxford
7495

Telephone

+64210709729

Website

http://www.oasiscottage.com/

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Videos

Flowering Cherry Trees

The ornamental cherry trees lining the driveway are at their best now. Unfortunately, high winds are forecasted for tomorrow, so I will enjoy them before they get blasted! This variety is Prunus serrulata ‘Shimidsu Sakura’. I planted them over ten years ago and pruned them every winter to raise the crown and thin out the canopy.

THROW THE CLIPPINGS INTO THE CENTRE TO SELF SEED AND MULCH

The entrance garden to Oasis Cottage is a bright happy welcome with its Triumph Tulips ‘Strong Gold’ and ‘Red Rover’ from Bulbs Direct. I was a bit worried about the colour scheme being childish but I love the uplifting visual effect. Do you?