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

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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

Chinese Gardens Part II

Last week we heard some of the history behind Chinese gardens and some of the different types of gardens.
Imperial gardens are on a vast scale with a lot of pavement, very old and gnarled trees.
Monastic gardens were more like a parkland with areas for growing food.
But what about real Chinese gardens for ordinary folk?
Today we continue with part two of what makes a Chinese garden and you’ll probably want to know how you can create one yourself?

There are some things you already might associate with Chinese gardens like Lion statues and water features, but what are the elements that make the difference between Imperial, Monastic and residential Chinese gardens? Louise Brooks interviews Peter Nowland, landscape architect with Sydney Foreshore Authority, and horticulturalist, Andrew Meade in part two, Chinese Gardens.



To create a Chinese garden you have to have water, rocks and of course plants.
Water is the giver of life and the Ying or female part of the garden.

Then there's the rock or Yang-the masculine part of the garden. rock in China is usually limestone, but you can use rock that's endemic to your region, such as granite or sandstone.
The plants are specific, for longevity, luck and wisdom.

So many elements that you can add to your garden from zig zag bridges to stop negative energy, to thinned out bamboo to create a bamboo forest rather than just a solid dense clump of bamboo.

What about some cloud stones at the bottom of bridges and pavilions, or in our case a pergola. Cloud stones are to lift you up as if you were standing on a cloud?



Lotus flowers are of course is about symbolism of life but you would need a rather large water feature to fit them in.

If you have any questions about Chinese gardens, 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

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

Chinese Gardens part 1

with Louise Brooks

Chinese Gardens, Darling Harbour, Sydney. photo taken by Louise Brooks

Do you know the difference between Chinese and Japanese gardens?

Are they both similar or completely different?

If you were a Chinese Emperor or member of the Imperial family, you garden would be built not only for beauty and pleasure but to impress.

But what about smaller gardens or gardens for the common people?
Louise talks to landscape architect for Sydney Foreshore Authority, Peter Nowland to find out the important elements in a Chinese garden.

If you lived in the 1600’s  the time when the earliest recorded Chinese gardens were created, you would have to put yourself into the valley of the Yellow River, during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 B.C).
These gardens were large enclosed parks where the kings and nobles hunted game, or where fruit and vegetables were grown.
Taoists developed the concept of Yin and Yang, and Confucius believed in the family unit. These all were used in the template of the Chinese Garden, developed over 2,000 years.
Southern Chinese gardens are more lush and tropical looking then  gardens in northern China.
There are three main elements in Chinese gardens, rocks water and plants, plus pavilions for family, reading, artwork, music and contemplating. A pavilion, or "ting", is an essential component of a Chinese garden . . . the resting place from which to contemplate nature.
All the features in a Chines garden has been deliberately chosen and placed not only for artistic effect but for its symbolic importance. No garden is without a lake or pool. This body of water, no matter how small, is its spiritual heart.

Pavillion, Chinese Garden, Darling Harbour Sydney. photo Louise Brooks

Rocks,represent mythological stories and are placed in groupings. A bamboo forest is created by judicious pruning to serve as reminders of qualities valued in human beings.

             
Plants are chosen the symbolize something for tradition and history.
The magnolia tree has traditionally represented wealth.
In China, the azalea (Rhododendron spp.), together with the primrose and the gentian, is considered one of the "three famous flowers

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<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" />

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 Jason Cornish, landscape designer.
Plants are a living thing, and as much as we like to think of never having to sweep up leaves, prune, hedge, clip would be great.

Let’s be real, unless you want plastic plants, there’s always going to be some sort of maintenance in your garden.

So why do some garden designs not live up to expectations?

Let’s find out what this is all about.

So it seems that formal gardens, whether traditional or contemporary, or those gardens which are quite structured are the ones the need the most upkeep.

That means trimming, pruning, hedging, mowing, fertilising, raking leaves.
In fact, all gardens need some sort of maintenance even if you've only got a square of lawn and a pot plant.

You have to mow that lawn, water and fertilise it. Same goes for that pot plants.

No sorry, a square of astro turf does not classify as having a garden.

The next problem is trying to squeeze too many plants into the available space.
Problems arise from plants crowding each other out, then having to be removed.

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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.

Butterfly Gardening part 2

Did you know that butterflies are and indicator of the environment’s health?

How’s this for an interesting fact about butterflies?

Monarch butterflies are known for their long migration. Every year monarch butterflies will travel a great distance (sometimes over 4000 km), females will lay eggs and a new generation of monarchs will travel back, completing the cycle. And Butterflies attach their eggs to leaves with a special glue.

Not bad ?

Websites for looking up butterflies are the Museums of Australia, Queensland and Victoria. These sites are  great for finding out specific food plants of butterflies.The books were Australian butterflies in Colour by Charles McCubbin, “Attracting Butterflies to Your Garden” by Densey Clyne, also the Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia by Michael F Braby.

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm <?xml:namespace prefix = "st1" />Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" />

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
“If someone asks for help in the herb garden, you can certainly give Sage advice if you have Thyme.”
Why did the chef add extra oregano to his sauce?
He was making up for lost thyme.

If you want to grow Thyme in your garden but your soil’s a heavy type, first spread a layer of gravel then plant your Thyme.
Should that fail, Thyme grows well in pots . Use it as a filler in a bigger pot with a large plant in it.
Thyme can be preserved by freezing some in ice cube trays. When the cubes are frozen take them out of the tray and pop them into a plastic bag.
Another way is to wrap the Thyme, stem and leaves in foil and put that in the freezer.
Frozen Thyme keeps well for a few months.
Thyme is quite pungent so even if you add some sprigs of Thyme at the beginning of cooking, there will still be flavor at the end.
The best advice for adding fresh herbs to any cooking is at the end. Dried herbs are best at the beginning.

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm <?xml:namespace prefix = "st1" />Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" />

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 Louise McDaid

Today the final in the series on the colour green in gardens, and as a colour, mostly gardeners overlook on how effectively it can be really used.

Are you worried about having too much green in the garden and not quite getting the variation in leaf size, shape and texture to give your garden a lift.

Today we might have just the right answer in the final of the series

Louse was talking mainly about plants with cream and green or cream and white variegations.

• What is a variegated plant – one with leaves that have more than 1 or 2 colours – for this purpose we’re talking about green with white, cream or yellow. The colours are usually in thick or thin stripes, but sometimes other markings a bit more random like splashes or marbling – often there will be a few tones of green

Stripey – NZ flax, iris, dianella, miscanthus ‘zebrinus’, alpinia zerumbet ‘variegata’, agave succulent

Perimeter splashes or edging – hibiscus, zonal pelargonium, hosta, pittosporum (screening plant)

Random splashes and spots – aucuba (gold dust plant), zantedeshcia (calla lily)

Euphorbia – mentioned them as a green flower but also available with variegated foliage

CULTIVATION TIP: Plants with more white or yellow need more sun than those with less – the trick is to give enough light but not too much sun to burn the leaves.For the most part, variegated plants don’t like full shade because the leaves have less chlorophyll for photosynthesis.

That tends to mean they also grow a bit slower.
HOT TIP: Plant an variegated and non variegated version of the same plant - it works well because of the repetition of shape, texture and form that gives consistency and harmony, but variation with the colour to add interest