December 30th, 2013
REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at
www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is
funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN
edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album
Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com
Design Elements
with Landscape Designer Christopher Owen
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve
been talking to guest landscape designer Christopher Owen about ornamental
grasses in garden design. We went through the difference between strappy leaved
plants and ornamental grasses, then how to get started with using these type of
grasses in garden design.
But where do you put them if you
have a particular style of garden.
True grasses are in the family
Poaceae, while rushes and sedges fall into Juncaceae and Cyperaceae families.
No matter where you live in
Australia you’ll find grasses that cope with wet or dry, sun or shade, hot or
cold or a combination of some of these situations.
So no reason to delay, plant a grass
today.
If you have any questions about this
week’s Design Elements, send it our email address, or just post it.
December 30th, 2013
REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at
www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is
funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN
edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album
Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com
Wildlife in Focus
with ecologist Sue Stevens
The speedy Gonzales of the bird
world this bird can twist and turn like those fighter jet plants on Top Gun,
but it miniature form of course.
But that’s only one of the
marvellous adaptations that this bird has that’s made it possible to survive
all this time.
Let’s hear about more surprising
facts about this bird…
PLAY: Rainbow Bee_eater_25th December_2013
Sadly, people are still the main
danger as you heard. Yep, some apiarists shoot these birds even though they’re
a protected native species.
Being shot is hard to avoid but
these birds are also predated on by animals including dingoes and monitor
lizards.
But they’re not silly because a bit
like minor birds when threatened, they'll engage in mobbing behaviour --
emitting an alarm call and flying directly at the potential predator. This may
start with one or two birds but can escalate so a whole flock is mobbing the
predator.
If you have any sightings of Rainbow
Bee eaters or photos why not send it in to
realworldgardener@gmail.com or by post to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW
1675,
December 15th, 2013
REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at
www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is
funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation
REALWORLDGARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN
edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album
Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com
Design Elements
with Landscape Designer Christopher Owen
Last week I started a series on
garden design using grasses with guest landscape designer Christopher Owen.
On that segment we talked about the difference
between ornamental grasses and strappy leaved plants.
There are lots of reasons to use
grasses, other than lawn grasses in your garden design.
Let’s find out what they are….
A start at least into what can be
done using grasses and there’s so many to choose from-native and non-native.
December 13th, 2013
REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at
www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is
funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN
edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album
Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com
Design Elements
with landscape designer Christopher Owen
Today a new four part series starts
on garden design using Ornamental grasses. The first segment is an introduction
to the topic and the difference between strappy leaved plants and ornamental
grasses is explained. Following on from that will be how to start a garden
design with ornamental grasses, then different styles of gardens that
ornamental grasses can act as a complement, and lastly, a look at some famous
designers and their designs, that use these type of grasses.
Believe me, there’s a lot in them
thar grasses.
Christopher Owen is very passionate
about using grasses in his designs because it’s not just the appearance that
affects the overall design of a garden, but the texture and sounds that you can
also create.
Something to think about.
December 13th, 2013
REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at
www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is
funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN
edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album
Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com
The Good Earth
Growing produce in shady gardens.
Are you finding that as your trees
and shrubs have matured, the garden has become more shady?
There’s a few things that you can
do, one is to renovate your garden, either by calling in professionals to
remove or judiciously prune some branches to let in more light, and the other
to grow shade tolerant plants underneath.
But what about veggies? Don’t they
need full sun?
You don’t have to convert to
permaculture to grow vegetables in the shade.
Anyone can do that. It’s just
knowing what can tolerate shade and what doesn’t.
Borrowing a few principles
from permaculture makes for a good gardener because you’re embracing new ways
to do things.
If you have any questions or tips
about what grows in shady produce gardens drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or by post to 2RRR P.O. Box 644
Gladesville NSW 1675,
December 5th, 2013
REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at
www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is
funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN
edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album
Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com
Design Elements
Colour in Garden Design with Landscape Designer Louise Mc Daid

A couple of weeks ago, a new series
was started on colour in garden design.
- Today we’re focusing on an
Australian garden that’s follows a journey of water from the arid inland
landscapes of central Australia, along dry river beds and down mighty rivers to
the coastal fringes of the continent.
That’s how the Botanic Gardens in
Melbourne describe that particular garden.
Plus, a section of the Hunter Valley Gardens in NSW, to
illustrate uses of colour schemes in Australian Gardens.
Complementary – red/green – combination of foliage and
flower and building– mostly green with well placed blocks of red
Red trim on the Japanese pavilion and arching bridge defines
the curves, red bougainvillea situated
to stand beneath and look out – looks spectacular from other side of pond
looking back at it, dark red foliage of canna lily leading down to the pond,
and flower of coral plant (Russelia equisetiformis) and roses
Louise visited this garden recently
and gives you some insight to the design of this garden.
Let’s find out what they are….
Why not visit the outstanding garden
at Cranbourne or you could visit the Hunter Valley gardens about 2 hours north of Sydney
Did you know that the second and final stage of the Australian Garden was
publically opened only in October 2012.
Key plants used in the garden are Weeping
Myall, Acacia pendula, Eremophila spp, and Atriplex nummularia. or Old-man
Saltbush.

View looking
back at the bougainvillea is actually split complementary – red with
yellow-green and blue-green (lavender kept clipped to shape
Harmonious using foliage – green backdrop (tall/hedge),
yellow lower and yellow green ground cover (zoysia) – accent colour in this
case is dark but shows up well next to the yellow
December 5th, 2013
REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at
www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is
funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN
edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album
Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com
Spice it Up
with Ian Hemphill from www.herbies.com.au
Sometimes, RWG’s herb expert
searches the globe for one of those spices, shall we say, that come from only
one place in the world.
Going to a remote Greek Island may
seem like an ideal way of spending your days, but if it’s not on the tourist
trail, it might lack some of the basics.
Leaving no stone unturned in his
quest, listen to this yet another amazing tale from the spice trade.
As Ian said, the clear crystalline
tears make up the Mastic spice.
You need to crush the Mastic tears
into a powder before using it in cooking, unless you want to just chew on them
of course.
If you’ve got an ice-cream maker,
add some powdered Mastic to your next batch of ice-cream. Very Yummy!
I found a recipe that I can post on
the web, but you only need to use half a teaspoon of powdered Mastic.
For those who don’t use computers,
write in and I’ll send you a fact sheet.
If you have any questions about using Mastick in
cooking, why not drop us a line by sending in your question to realworldgardener@gmail.com or by post to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW
1675
December 2nd, 2013
REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com
Design Elements
with Landscape Designer Louise McDaid
- Today we’re focusing on an Australian garden that’s a fantastic example of the use of colour. According to the blurb on the website for this garden, strolling through these huge formal gardens is a lovely experience at any time of year. You can follow several walking paths, and meander through twenty garden compartments.
- For the best tips, listen to Louise take us through this garden.
Should you want to visit this
amazing garden called Cloudhill in the Dandenongs, it has masses of bulbs in Spring, dazzling colour in
the Summer flower borders, magnificent beech and maple trees in Autumn and
acres of colourful rhododendrons in Winter.
Cloudehill
warm harmonious scheme – herbaceous border
Red-violet,
red, red-orange, orange, yellow-orange, yellow
Creates a
mood – energetic, exciting, alert, happy
Cloudehill
cool harmonious scheme – herbaceous border
Violet,
blue-violet, blue, blue-green, green
Creates a
mood - Calming, serene, gentle
Cloudehill
triadic - 3 colours equally spaced on the colour wheel – could be primary
colours red/blue/yellow as in the picture – mix of flowers and foliage, doesn’t
matter – the colours still count
December 2nd, 2013
REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com
Wildlife in Focus
Did you know that some birds with black feathers were considered unlucky?
Some say that their call would be perfect to use as a sound effect for computer-generated Pterodactyls in a dinosaur movie.
If you hear one of their calls and look around you will often see a pair, or perhaps a small group of the birds flying past in their graceful slow-flapping way.
If you have black cockatoos in your area and want to build some timber nest-boxes, they’ll need to have a climbing structure attached inside the box below the entrance hole.
Both logs and nests need an entrance hole/opening about 100 - 150mm (about 4 -6 inches) from the top. Many species of parrots like the entrance hole to be just big enough to squeeze through. Some parrot breeders do not place a "top" or lid on the larger nest log or box and allow the birds to enter the nest via the top opening. Information on these nest-boxes is at www.birdcare.com.au
If you have any questions about yellow tailed black cockatoos or building nest boxes, why not drop us a line by sending in your question to realworldgardener@gmail.com or by post to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675, and I’ll send you a copy of the Garden Guardians in return..
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