Backyard Awards: Best Loved Lawn winner
Mark Elliott from Shirley in Christchurch has won the category of Best Loved Lawn for his lush green masterpiece. Congratulations, Mark!
We spoke with his about his process to keep his lawn beautiful and there may be some blades of advice for your own backyard.
Mark has a huge backyard so during Covid times, he decided to renovate the lawn and garden just for something to do. It’s turned into a passion.
His lawn is 100% rye grass - sourced from Prebble Seeds Turf World who supply many golf courses around New Zealand. In the summer he mows it every 2-3 days, sometimes daily, and waters the lawn with a deep soak of about an hour at a time, 2-3 times a week. He uses a granular slow release lawn fertiliser and other liquid fertilisers also.
Mark shares:
'I would say the secret to getting a good lawn is consistent mowing - at least twice a week. Maybe buy a bulk bag of slow release lawn fertiliser from a wholesaler. Keep the grass longer and just take the very top off the blade when you mow. It promotes growth, thickens it up and will really help with stopping weeds - oh, and water. Expect a water bill if you want a good lawn.'
The first photo below shows the 'Before' shot, 4 years ago. Give Mark a Like on this post if you think his lawn is pretty top notch!
Poll: Is it ok to regift something that you have been given?
🎁 Holiday Gift Chat!
Do you ever regift?
What’s your take on asking for a receipt if a gift doesn’t fit?
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79.2% Yes! It's better to regift what I don't need
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20.8% No. It's the thought and effort that matters
Some Choice News!
Many New Zealand gardens aren’t seeing as many monarch butterflies fluttering around their swan plants and flower beds these days — the hungry Asian paper wasp has been taking its toll.
Thanks to people like Alan Baldick, who’s made it his mission to protect the monarch, his neighbours still get to enjoy these beautiful butterflies in their own backyards.
Thinking about planting something to invite more butterflies, bees, and birds into your garden?
Thanks for your mahi, Alan! We hope this brings a smile!
Christmas gifts stolen from parked car prompts warning over holiday break-ins
An Auckland man whose Christmas presents were stolen from his car on a quiet street is warning others not to repeat his mistake.
Police and the AA say opportunistic thieves are breaking into cars more frequently during the Christmas period.
Jeremy Rees, an RNZ staff member in Auckland, had packed his car full of gifts when he decided to visit a friend.
“Everyone had handed over presents and we had a couple of bags full of presents sitting in the back of the car,” he said.
“I decided it would be great to go around and see a friend, drop off some presents and say hello. My wife said to me, ‘Are you sure we should be taking this car?’ I said, ‘I’m sure it’ll be fine’.
“I think it was only 20 minutes outside their house, a very quiet street. It was light [outside]. We came out and my wife pointed out that someone had smashed the rear window, reached in and grabbed the presents, and headed away.
“It was a shock. It was a shock partly because of the Christmas presents and partly because my wife had been telling me, ‘Don’t do that’.”
AA Insurance head of motor claims Beau Paparoa said roadside staff were responding to smashed windows more often.
“We definitely see car break-ins starting to occur a lot more around this time of year. We’re often hearing from customers and some of our roadside teams that there’s definitely a bit more opportunistic theft happening,” he said.
“We’re putting that down to it being a busy time of year. Everyone’s out doing their Christmas shopping and there’s much more presence of gifts and valuables being visible in the car.”
He encouraged people to be careful and make sure valuables were hidden from view.
“In terms of any valuables, if you’ve done some Christmas shopping, or if generally you’ve got valuables in your car, try [to] keep them locked away or out of sight – in your boot if you can,” he said.
“Where you’re parking is possibly a good thing to think about. If you can afford to, don’t park on the street, but if you have to park on-street, make sure you park in well-lit areas.”
Police said it was not uncommon for Christmas presents to be stolen.
“The key is to remove any opportunity. This includes taking valuables or documents out of vehicles wherever possible,” a spokesperson said.
Rees said he wished he had followed that advice.
“I feel a bit stupid, to be absolutely honest. I read all of the things from police saying ‘don’t do this, don’t pack your car, don’t just leave it on the street’, and I did exactly the opposite and I paid the price.”
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