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

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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

Part 4 cool garden design-a woodland garden.

What do you picture when you think of a woodland garden?

Do you think of an English woodland with bluebells, English oaks, maples and other northern hemisphere trees? Or do you think of Australian woodland with Eucalypts, grass trees, or casuarinas, underplanted with hardenbergias and boronias and all manner of ferns like birds nest ferns?

Not only trees, shrubs and low ground covers, but seats ponds and even outdoor dining tables can be placed in your  very own woodland garden.

Even create a teddy bear’s picnic or fairy garden at the bottom for any littlies that might visit your garden. It’ s only limited by your imagination.

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 consultant ecologist Kurtis Lindsay

Have you ever wondered what the process is when a developer comes along to build their mega shopping centre, or some-one wants to start up a mine somewhere?

What happens to all the birds and animals, shrubs and trees?

Believe it or not, there are people hired who get up to all sorts of methods to account for wildlife that might be on a threatened patch.

Let’s find out what exactly

PLAY: Ecology consulting_29^th January_2014
Both the Conservation Act and The Threatened Species Act are used by ecologists when assessing land that might be developed to find targeted species.
Consulting ecologists may mark out a 50 x 50 metre plt and map every bit of vegetation and fauna in that area. They also set up night time cameras, Songmeters and Ana Bat to pick up microbats, songbirds, frogs and other animals.

Plenty of details from Kurtis as usual in that segment about his actual job. Kurtis is based in Mudgee, and as I mentioned, used to do the wildlife in focus segment as he’s an expert ornithologist as well.
Glad to see that Kurtis is taking care of some of our living things out their in the bush.

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

Planting and maintaining trees and green life can reduce energy use.

Did you know that shade from trees to roofs and/or windows actually reduce indoor temperatures by a staggering 6–12°C in summer?

Did you also know that a single 8m tree strategically grown near a house to maximize wind breaking and shading effects can reduce annual heating a cooling costs by as much as 12%?

On hot days looking out onto a green garden is not only soothing, but having lots of different plants of different heights, helps cool things down.

Let’s find out some more ways of cooling the garden....

If you want a garden that is luxuriant with stunning foliage that offers a cooling effect, then ferns are the way to go.

Ferns are so adaptable, you can even find ferns in Central Australia in areas that are moist after a good rain.

If you have any questions about this week’s Design Elements, send it our email address, or just post it.

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 Andrew Patrick from the Cumberland Bird Observers Group

Last year Birds Australia conducted a poll Australia wide to find out what that most popular bird was state by state. The superb Fairy Wren topped the poll.

It was a very close race between the Superb Fairy-wren and the Australian Magpie with the final decision coming down to postal votes. The Hooded Plover made a late surge to take third place from the better known Rainbow Lorikeet and Laughing Kookaburra.

Let’s find out which one it was

Outside of breeding season, the male and the female suberb fairy wren look very much alike. So how can you spot the difference?
The feathers’ of the tail of the male fairy wren is a vivid deep blue and the female’s is brown, the beak of the male is black and the female’s is red.If you can see that well, good luck to you.

If you have any questions about fairy wrens, why not drop us a line to. realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

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

Here I am speaking with Events Coordinator, Anthony Grassi from the Frangipani Society of Australia.
www.frangipani.org.au
Frangipanis are called Temple flowers and graveyard flowers in various countries because they grow there without any care. Much like some wild bush  roses grow in various graveyards around Australia.

Frangipanis originate in Central America and grow into a candelabra shaped tree of around 5-8 metres.
The flowers are whirled petals, five in number, but because the reproductive parts are deep inside the floral tube, it takes a very specialised pollinator to fertilise them.
Humming birds and hawk moths don't reside in Australia, so growers have to resort to using nylon fishing line to hand pollinate flowers.
Although some flowers have been known to set seed in tropical areas from pollinators unknown.

Anthony gives a bit of a rundown on grafting and caring for Frangi's as they're affectionately called by passionate members of the Frangipani society.

Listen to this.

If you want the most fragrant flower, go for the Classic White Frangipani, or Vera Cruz Rose, or Orange Glow. All other frangipanis do have fragrance to a varying degree in strength and a variety of perfume notes-from spice to vanilla.
TIP ON CUTTINGS:When planting a cutting of frangipanis, place the cutting in well drained mix, water in well, then only give a drizzle of water of very hot days. Otherwise leave them alone until next season, when you can re-pot them after they flower.
Fore more information of frangipani cultivation, visit society page, listed above.

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

part 3, designing a cooling garden with landscape designer Louise McDaid

As the summer temperatures beat all record around Australia, we’re looking to escape the heat preferably in the cool of the garden.

Think Pina Coladas, lying in a hammock under the waving leaves of some tropical plant. Or maybe a G & T and a garden bench next to the bubbling pond.

Whatever your scene, there’s always different options to increase the enjoyment in your garden to escape the heat.

Today, it’s all about foliage and flower colour for cool gardens.

Let’s find out ..

Cooling blues, and palest of hues, as Louise said, increase the feeling of coolness. Or what about minty green combinations? Green as a colour can be varied quite a bit in your garden.

If you have any questions this week’s Design elements, why not drop us a line to. realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in for a fact sheet to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675,

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

2013 was the hottest year on record and 2014 is tipped to be just as hot if not hotter. How can we cool off without it costing us too much?

The garden is the key and you need to plan a cool garden, not cool as in groovy or fab, but cool as in temperature.

Over the next four weeks, we’ll be discussing different ways and designs that you can incorporate into your garden to make it more cool.

Let’s start off with part 1….

Lots of great suggestion that you can start with in your garden, whether it be planning a new pergola, adding a simple water bowl with a miniature water lily, or planting up some more trees.

Green has got to be the coolest garden colour but you need different greens so that when you look out into the garden it’s not uninteresting.

Next week, part 2 is this series will be about what flower colour or foliage colour constitutes a cool or cooling garden.

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

with www.permaculturenorth.org.au representatives, Margaret Mossakowska and Lucinda Coates.

Are you finding that it’s too hot to garden most days?

Or are a wise old owl, up at the crack of dawn,  getting things done in the garden. Maybe you’re waiting until early evening to do those gardening things.

Whichever it is, here’s some tips for what really needs doing in the summer garden.

Let’s find out what these important tasks are…

You don’t have to convert to permaculture, just take in a few suggestions to make your garden more efficient. After all, followers of permaculture got their ideas from somewhere else, like IPM or Integrated Pest Management, that is practised by many crop farmers and orchardists so they can reduce their reliance on pesticides.
If you have any questions about mulching, or IPM, why not drop us a line to. realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675, 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

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:

landscape designer Christopher Owen
This is the final week of designing with ornamental grasses.

We’ve covered the difference between ornamental grasses and strappy leaved plants, where to start with designing with these types of grasses and how they fit into various styles of gardens.

So today, we’re covering which grasses go best in pots to showcase them and which are best suited in drifts.

Also, Christopher talks about which landscape designers have embraced using grasses that you could follow up.

There are lots of reasons to use grasses, other than lawn grasses in your garden design.

Let’s find out some more of the….

Pennisetum advena Rubrum is one of the choices for featuring grasses in pots.

Either in a tall pot or a low wide pot.

Miscanthus variegata with the white stripe on the outside is another good choice.

Basically grasses that have bold colours in their leaves are best used for features in pots. More anonymous grasses do better in drifts in the garden.

A start at least into what can be done using grasses and there’s so many to choose from-native and non-native.

One of the best landscape architects and designers to look up Piet Oudulf, Wolfgang Oehme , and James van Sweden and Dan Pearson.

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

Spice it Up

with Ian Hemphill

Sage.
Salvia officinalis.
Did you know that during the days of the Roman Empire, women made a strong tea of this herb to darken their hair.
If you’ve got a herb garden, you need to plant some because it’s useful in attracting important pollinators mainly bees, to your garden. 
Let’s find out what this important herb is…

Growing sage in the perennial border will add that grey colour to contrast with the purples and pinks In some regions Sage doesn’t last that long, because like Lavender, it detests humidity and hates really cold weather.
So, either treat it like an annual and either sow seeds every year or buy seedlings, or keep it in a pot.In the kitchen, the sage herb is great with flavour of meats and cheeses.
If you have any questions about growing sage or using sage in your cooking, why not drop us a line to. realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675