Spokesperson
Kate has been the spokesperson for both the Ellerslie International Flower Show and the New Zealand Flower and Garden Show for many years, as an expert in the field of horticulture and landscaping, her knowledge makes her an ideal spokesperson for both these industries. Kate would be delighted to hear from media should they have any issues they would like expert opinions on:
Previous Interviews
Kate has been regularly featured in the New Zealand media, here are a few highlights, that only go to demonstrate her expertise in the field of horticulture and landscape design.
TV3 The am Breakfast Show:
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How to Level Up your Gardening Game
Notes for the interview, with various propagation tips and hints are shown below – or follow the link to view the interview.
Propagation projects for this time of year.
Sowing Seeds in Winter
- A risk is that people try to grow the wrong types of seeds. Ones that when they shoot will die due to the cold. So make sure you select the right seeds such as:
- Herbs: Chives, Coriander, Dill, Mint Parsley
- Veggies: Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Silver Beet, Spring Onions
- Flowers: Alyssum, Hollyhocks, Sweet Pea’s, Wildflower.
- Veggie seeds will generally take 8-14 weeks until harvest. If you stagger your sowing time, you will prolong the harvest period.
- Flower seeds being sown now will provide spring flowers.
- A fun project is to make your own glasshouse. Preferably using clear plastic containers but at least those with clear lids. Bubble plastic is also great for making a cloche to protect seedlings and cuttings.
- There is a fungal disease called Damping Off which is particularly prevalent in wetter colder months. This happens just as seeds are germinating or as small seedlings. The best way to prevent it is to make sure you use a quality seed raising mix which will have been sterilized. Clean all equipment seed trays etc in advance.
- Watch out for slugs and snails which adore seedlings!
- If viewers are planting their own seeds such as passionfruit, watermelon, kowhai etc. It is best to lightly sand the side of a seed, or make a slight nick in the seed shell with a knife. Then pop the seeds into lukewarm water for 24 hours. If the seeds float throw them away, if not they can then be planted and the above process will speed up germination.
- The old wives tale of planting garlic and onions on the shortest day and harvesting on the longest is actually fairly accurate – so coming up. The bulbs focus on growing leaves initiatlly when it is cold, then start plumping up the bulbs when it becomes warmer. And if you leave them long enough you actually get quite pretty flowers, but by then they are no good for using in the kitchen.
- Microgreens are a great project for kids. The seeds germinate and are ready to harvest quickly, great to go on top of salads or in sandwiches etc.
Cuttings
A great cost reducing option if you have a bit or patience.
- Hardwood cuttings – are usually done in the winter from deciduous trees such as Hydrangeas. They are done when the plants are dormant and have dropped their leaves. These cuttings are usually from older wood with a reasonable bark.
- Softwood cuttings – Are taken from the new, fresh, flexible growth and are usually done in spring. However, my husband just took cuttings from his passionfruit plant, but they will require protection over the winter.
- Houseplants have returned in popularity, particularly perhaps because of Lockdown. They can be fairly expensive so a cheap option is to take cuttings which don’t worry about the cold as they stay indoors.
- Some are so easy to propagate you can just put the cutting into water and watch roots form – such as Ivy and Tradescantia
- Succulents and jade plants – just remove leaves allow them to dry out a little and put them into a cacti and succulent mix, or a mix with plenty of sand, pumice as they don’t like to get too wet.
- Stem cuttings on larger houseplants with a thicker bark things like fiddle leaf fig, rubber plant, monstera.
- For all cuttings using rooting hormone powder or gel will help promote root growth, such as Yates Clonex (included in the prize pack).
The Listener Magazine:
The Listener Magazine – by Clare de Lore / 28 November, 2018
Green fingers are in Kate Hillier’s DNA. They have brought her halfway around the world and to the task of directing the New Zealand Flower & Garden S
- 22/05/2020
If you missed the opportunity to start gardening over lockdown, you’ll be pleased to know it’s still not too late.
It can seem daunting to start, but if you start with simple cuttings, you could get your green thumb in no time.
Gardening expert Kate Hillier spoke to The AM Show.
how.
Kate Hillier is from English gardening “royalty”, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to take her place in the line of succession. To help clarify her thoughts and future career direction, the 20-year-old set off in 1988 from England for a couple of years’ travelling. Perhaps inevitably, she found herself working at an Auckland garden centre before returning home to the Hillier fold to work in the family business. But New Zealand was never far from her mind, and six years later, she moved here.
Hillier is now firmly established in horticulture as director of New Zealand’s premier gardening event.
Radio New Zealand
Expert: Kate Hillier of the NZ Flower and Garden Show
From Jesse Mulligan, 1–4pm, 2:31 pm on 13 August 2018
Kate Hillier comes from a long-line of gardening enthusiasts. Her grandfather started the famed Hilliers Garden Centres in the UK and the green fingers go back even further than that. Kate talks about her lifelong love of gardens and what it takes to organise New Zealand’s biggest garden show, the NZ Flower and Garden Show.
New Zealand Herald
Kate Hillier says the lack of horticultural diversity is becoming an issue in New Zealand.
Kate Hillier took the Ellerslie Flower Show to Christchurch where she ended up running an emergency Civil Defence base during the February 2011 earthquake. Now she’s brought the show back to Auckland under a new name; the New Zealand Flower and Garden Show
By: Jennifer Dann