We went for a cherry tree
We were down in the South Island recently and walked through a couple of absolutely beautiful public gardens, and in them we spotted some beautiful cherry trees. So when we got home, we thought, let's see if we can get one.
So today we went to Farrell's, our local nursery, to look at weeping cherry trees, just to see if they had any at the height we wanted, about 1.8 metres, tall enough to sit under. They didn't.
What they did have was a vireya rhododendron called 'Maid Marion', with pale peach flowers, and my wife fell in love with them. So we came home with two of those instead, and then had to work out where in the yard they were actually going to go.
The answer is up against the fence near the front of the house. They're still in their pots for now, which gives me a bit of time to get the spot ready.
Spring is well and truly here, and it seemed like everyone was out buying plants. I've never seen it so busy. After the nursery I headed to Mitre 10, hoping for a few tomato plants, but they didn't have any. It was so busy there that I took it as a sign it was time to go home and get into the garden.
As for the weeping cherry, we ended up ordering one online from Wairere Nursery, where the six trees came from: a Prunus 'Falling Snow', grafted at 1.8 metres, with white blossom blushed with pink. It should be here within the week, and it's going in the middle of the back yard, behind the house.
Decide where it's going before you fall in love with it at the nursery.