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Re: seeking Medit climate info from subscribers

Sean O'Hara wrote:
> 
> Fellow Mediterranean Gardeners -
> 
> As some of you know, I am in the process of pulling together some
> WWW pages as an outgrowth of the Medit-Plants discussion.  One of
> the sections of these pages is devoted to the various Mediterranean
> climates throughout the world.  While I have some understanding of a
> number of these specific sites, I am sure I cannot have the
> familiarity with local 'expressions' of the Mediterranean climate
> that someone would have who lives and gardens in that locale.

Dear Sean

You asked for information about Mediterranean type areas in our country.
You will have to forgive  the rather brief note, but I fear I am to busy
to do any more at present to go in to more detail. However, if there is
any particular point on which you really need further information,
please let me know and I will try to oblige.

As Wellington is the exact antiopdes of Madrid, I guess central New
Zealand qualifies as a Mediterranean climate, albeit modified by being
part of a long thin pair of slightly overlapping North-South islands in
the middle of a great deal of ocean. We certainly get the greater part
of our local rainfall in winter (our main wet months run from May/June
to about Aug/Sept). The two prevailing winds throughout the area are the
westerlies (we lie just at the northern edge of the "Roaring Forties")
and the Southerlies (coming up from the Antarctic). The westerlies tend
to be moisture-laden at any time of year, but the southerlies commonly
are wet (even VERY wet) only in winter. The wind pattern switches
regularly between west and south throughout the year due to the passage
over the country from west to east of a series of high pressure regions
(anticyclones), alternating with low-pressure systems.

The Wellington Province, which comprises the whole of the southern tip
of North Island does get a fair number of intermittant showers until
usually about the middle or end of January, so is not quite typical 
Medit. (we are actually having a showry day as I write). This is because
we are wholly open to the west and get even more wind than we otherwise
would because of the funnelling effect of Cook Strait. The narrow
coastal strip on the east tends to be dryer, and more typically
mediterranean, because of a fringe of hills on its western side.

Topographically the area around Wellington and even the city itself is
extremely hilly. It even runs to a cable car! The rest of the province,
apart from very narrow coastal strips, consists of a wild jumble of
steep hills interspersed with comparatively small flat open areas along
the river valleys. The whole area is regularly subject to earthquakes,
generally small ones but we have had the occasional "biggie" of which
one that occurred in 1855 (fortunately when  comparatively few people
lived in the area) was estimated to have registered at least 8.5 on the
Richter scale.  The principal river of the region is the Hutt, which
drains into Wellington harbour and its main valley would be about the
biggest area of flat land in the whole area. 

The main flat areas, where there were once extensive market gardens, are
now are largely occupied by urban and semi-rural development, while the
lover and less steep hills are used for  agriculture - chiefly sheep
farming and forestry.

Wainuiomata, where we live, is a small separate valley up in the hills,
drained by a river of the same name, whose banks form almost the only
flat ground, just sufficient for a town of nearly 20,000 people. This
river, after leaving the main valley, cuts its way to the east coast
along quite a wide  open area occupied by a golf course and several
small sheep farms and lifestyle blocks.

Soilwise the river valleys are mostly very well-drained fertile alluvium
underlayed and laced with a lot of gravel, interspersed with patches of
quite heavy clay and old swamp land (mostly drained, but still with
peaty, poor draining soils) while the hilly areas, originally all
forested (mixed broadleaf/conifer), but much cleared in the last
century,  have thin soils of low fertility over shattered rock. Over all
the steeper parts  either natural regeneration is now being encouraged
or they have been planted to Pinus radiata or other timber trees.

The climate is generally mild, with seldom more than about 10 overnight
frosts a year in the inhabited areas. Snow falls on the higher hills
once or twice each winter and may sometimes last a couple of days. Very
occasional falls occur in lower areas, about once or twice in half a
century. In the over 40 years we have live here snow has settled in our
garden only once for a couple of hours. (It was on a saturday morning
about breakfast time and everybody was soon busy with their cameras!).
Summer temperatures are also very middle-of-the-road, only very rarely
above 25C.

The Wainuiomata climate is colder than the main Hutt valley, mainly
because we are about 300ft higher up. We rarely get frosts colder than
-3C, though once in about ten years the temperature may drop briefly to
about -6 C (and boy, can that cause havock).

Although our somewhat better rain distribution makes it possible to grow
a much wider range than strictly mediterranean plants a lot of the
typical species are popular, including Cistus, Ceanothus, Artemisia and
other silver-leaved Maquis type plants along with many Proteaceae.  Many
gardens in the Hutt valley and in Wellington have both Leucospermums and
Leucadendrons as well as many Proteas. Some of the Australian Proteaceae
are also common, especially  Banksias. "Mimosas" abound, as do aloes and
of course the native Phormiums and Cordylines (Phormium colensoi grows
wild on the local sea cliffs and P tenax mostly in swampy areas, though
it can be planted successfully in much drier conditions). Quite a few
Citrus are grown, but only the hardier kinds crop well, though the trees
do well almost anywhere and are good ornamentals.

I don't seem to be able to keep Leucospermums in my garden and most
Leucadendrons are too big for the space, but I have successfully grown a
lot of Proteas over the years.  The back of my garden goes quite steeply
up the base of a north (sun) facing hill and a terrace on this is
well-drained and virtually frost-free. At present I have just PP minor,
aristata and cynaroides. The latter is a magnificent plant about 40
years old, which produces a regular annual crop of 40-50 huge blooms. I
grew it from seed obtained from the Kirstenbosch botanic garden. It
grows among rocks and has never been fed in any way by me..

I have a rockery, including a scree, but find my mild wet winters do not
really suit true alpines, and have ended up with mostly Mediterranean
species. Bulbs, such as the Narcissus bulbocodium group, do
magnificently and so do Galanthus of which I have an extensive
collection. I am also collecting all the miniature Cyclamen I can lay
hands on. Most of these are either in troughs or in the scree, but CC
hederifolium and couum naturalize freely. I also find bulbous Irises do
well and so do many South African bulbs (some of these rather  too
well!). 

The other piece of "Mediterranean"  climate in the centre of the country
(Marlborough Province), which lies on the north-eastern tip of the South
Island is much more typical, as mountains to the west ensure that the
westerlies drop virtually all their rain before reaching it. Southerlies
normally top up the rainfall through winter and the summers are
notoriously dry and hot (over 32C at times). It has the highest number
of sunshine hours in the country (over 2,400 hours in the average year).
The winters are about as mild as we experience on the other side of the
straits.

Unfortunately, due to El Nino, the southerlies did not function as they
should last winter and the province is already feeling the bite of what
promises to be a severe drought. 

This is rolling country, with, I think, relatively light stony soils.
Originally mostly sheep farms, but now diversified into several
typically Mediterranean crops, such as grapes and olives. Wine making
has become a major industry with some very drinkable reds but
particularly world class whites, which have now been winnning gold
medals in International competition for a number of years.
The winemakers are excited by the drought, which they reckon will
produce really  super vintage grapes - hope they are right!(The sheep
farmers are correspondingly despondent)

Can't be specific about gardening in the region, but would expect it
wouldn't be too different from Wellington -more emphasis on true
mediterranean types probably, as the summers are REALLY hot and dry (as
we have found when driving through at that time of year. 

One plant is characteristic of Marlborough -its very own dasy
(Pachystegia insgnis). This handsome plant is a leathery evergreen bush.
The backs of the leaves commonly have a fine rusty tomentum and the
large white flowers appear about midsummer followed by almost equally
striking fluffy seedheads. In nature it is virtually confined to the one
area where it grows mainly on river and sea cliffs and other rocky
places. We have seen it growing wild on a short stretch of the coast 
near Kaikoura on steep cliffs which fringe the road.

In spite of its liking for inaccesible sites in nature, it is quite easy
to tame in the garden and I have a fine specimen on my warm terrace.
Although it is said to self-seed I have not found any babies around my
plant, even though it has been around for about 15 years. If it is
available in America I would thoroughly recommend it to anybody growing
Mediterranean-style plants.

Although not strictly in the mediterranean belt, I must just mention one
other area of the North island. This the hinterland around Hawke Bay on
the Eastern side of the island, which is rather oddly called Hawke's
Bay. This area is geographically pretty similar to Marlborough, with
mountains to the west to dry up the westerlies and has correspondingly
dry hot summers. It was one of the first areas in New Zealand to grow
grapes and has a magnificent, well-established group of world-class
wineries.

Well, hope that is some use to you.

Moira


Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata, New Zealand
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