February brings Late Summer to New Zealand. Late Summer is a big month for (sub) tropical blooms: Bougainvillea, Hibiscus, Bromeliads, Plumeria, Gardenia, Stephanotis, Jacobinia, Summer Orchids and Mandevilla.

Valentine's Day is the day for lovers. Since love is eternal, it is not surprising that this special day has a history that goes all the way back to ancient Greece and Rome. February 14th was set aside in both cultures as a special day for their respective goddesses.

Valentine’s Day is a great time to plant a Love Garden especially in the Southern Hemisphere’s Late Summer season. And this is also an ideal time to plan one in the Northern Hemisphere and perhaps start early cuttings.

“Love makes the world go ‘round” so they say. Well the World has certainly been going around since creation but Love, or most emotions, were not always spinning ‘round or talked about as freely as in our modern age.

The following list includes many of the ‘traditional’ love flowers. There are many more with meanings that also pertain to amorous emotions; devotion; familial, fraternal, maternal love; fidelity; loyalty; sentimentality and much more.

The tradition of Valentine's Day apparently traces all the way back to ancient Greek and Roman fertility festivals and holidays. 14 February was a special Roman holiday honoring Juno the Queen Goddess of women, love and marriage.

Get bundled up to go outside because winter starts the time to plant and winter-prune roses! While this may seem like a thankless job in the cold and wet, the wise gardener finds inspiration in knowing that a job well-done now will reward later.

Late Winter through Early Spring is the best time of year to pamper, plant and prepare for one of the World’s most adored and favourite flowers: the beautiful Roses. Select new Roses with careful thought.

The lovely old fashioned Tuberose, botanically know as Polianthes, has been grown extensively since the 1600's. If fragrance is your passion this relative of the amaryllis is essential. In fact, it's essential oil is the basis of many popular perfumes.

Zinnias are one of the world's most popular and easy to grow summer and autumn garden flowers. They put on a remarkable non stop colourful show of brilliant blooms for months in every shade except blue.

Primula Obconica is a reliable bloomer for Winter colour indoors and even outside in very mild and frost-free climates. This pretty Primula is a native to China where it flowers throughout the Winter and well in Late Spring.

The pretty candy colours and spicy fragrance of Stock,Mathiola incana, and its many hybrid cultivars have earned this attractive relative of the cabbage a treasured spot in many airy and drier, sunny, well drained gardens.

One flower represents hot Summer days and the golden rays of an Autumn sun better than any other: the Sunflower. Sunflowers are part of a large family known as Helianthus (he-li-an’ thus). This is a Greek word literally meaning “sun” and “flower”.

Petunias are a favourite bedding and container plant for warm weather colour. In regions with drier, sunny and warm summers such as Australia, southern Europe, and much of Africa, New Zealand, North and South America.

“Hibiscus” is the old Greek name that Vergil gave to the mallow. This reminds us that the hibiscus and mallows have been greatly admired by nature lovers since quite ancient times. The hibiscus is part of a very large genus.

There are at least 297 species of Clematis. These are mostly hardy perennial often woody vining plants most notable for their flowering starting in Spring through Summer with a few notable species producing spectacular displays into the Autumn.

The Garden Balsam (Impatiens balsamina) is a member of the Balsaminaceae Family also known as the Balsam or Jewelweed Family with upward of 850 species classified within only two genera.

Maybe the hippies were right: Flower-power is helping make the world a better place. Petunias are being planted by Sutton Park School on Vine St in Mangere to help improve the situ­ation of the crime-riddled street.

Climate Change is an inevitable consequence of life on Earth. Humanity is a product of climate change.  Modern Humankind is a cold climate species developing from the most recent Ice Age. Now Earth is in the midst of Interglacial Warming Interval (IWI).

Auckland plantsman, Dale Harvey, says restrictions on plant imports are really holding back horticulture in New Zealand. Our industry could be a world leader - if only we’d let it. (Commercial Horticulture December 2011 / January 2012 report by Trish Hosking.)

Many thanks to Manukau Courier Reporter Mr. Troels Summerville for covering the Pacific Steel Sutton Park School Project. I am just a consultant there to help coordinate and guide this united Community effort.

The Mangere East Neighbourhood Police Team started working in the Mangere East Area on the 28th of February 2011. Our team focuses on issues and concerns raised by the community and we work alongside the community to find long term solutions.

Dale revisits the Sutton Park Primary school and helps reinstate the very popular and successful School Gardening Project with great new sponsors Pacific Steel and with help from Housing New Zealand and the South Auckland Community Police.

In June of 2011, I was approached by Sergeant Andrew Graham, Counties Manukau Police Neighbour - hood Policing Team and Policeman Blake James with the request to reinstate the Sutton Park School Project.

This is the proposal for a school project that was actually made operational in Mangere East, Auckland, New Zealand long before any of us ever bothered to write down what it did, why it works, or what it could become.

messages from:

Allan Johnston - One of the smartest things I have...

Mary Rahiti - Teacher at Sutton Park Primary...

Scott Gentry - The page "Quarter Acre Paradise Gardens" sports the loveliest collection of flower images...