The constant gardener

It's all systems go for the start of summer, with delicious berries and veggies ready to harvest and grace your holiday table

- MARY LOVELL-SMITH, Garden editor

Chores

A great pleasure of the season is walking through the garden and beyond – scissors in hand, basket at the ready – foraging for the festive decorations.

Though rooted here in Aotearoa, my own search inevitably includes nods to traditional northern festivities, red and green and cone themes for interior arrangements. Pōhutukawa and bottlebrush are readily available options and the flurry of their red stamens falling prettily and carelessly around the vase is always welcomed. The small cones from firs and spruces can be hard to source this time of year, but as they last so well, it is worth sourcing them in winter and stashing them away until Christmas.

A more delicate option than ivy are the long tangles of our native Muehlenbeckia astonii or tororaro. Its tiny circular bright-green leaves bring a delicate, whimsical charm to the festive wreaths, mantelpieces and dining tables, inside or out.

On the outdoor Christmas table, the ornamentation can easily become freer: a simple linen tablecloth scattered with the last of the first flush of roses; a tussle of nasturtiums; a wisp of kānuka here or fennel; or a stem of mint or lemon balm, lightly bruised to release its fresh fragrance.

STEAL THIS GARDEN ROSEMOORE, DEVON

A mashup of the New Perennial and the Traditional Herbaceous borders, the Hot Garden at Rosemoore in Devon, UK, incorporates the best of both movements. It also illustrates how close the two are design-wise. The New Perennial movement is typified by swathes of perennials intermixed with ornamental grasses, while the Traditional Herbaceous bed is usually a long border and no grasses.