January 26th, 2015
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" />
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation (CBF).
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
PLANT OF THE WEEK
with Karen Smith, editor of www.hortjournal.com.au
Liriope muscari Lily Turf
Does your garden lack design in some spots and just like a mish mash of plants?
That’s OK if you like a mixture but if you want to connect some of your garden beds, you can do that with this next plant.
Did you know that Liriope muscari or lily turf is an understory plant in China, Japan, and Korea where it grows in shady forests?
Liriope is a tough rhizomatous perennial that goes best in part sun and dry shady spots.
So not a full sun plant, but for morning sun or shady parts of your garden where you need to cover the ground with something that will last well and not as tall as Cliveas, then give this plant a try.
Some varieties of Liriope.
Liriope muscari 'Samantha' has pink flowers.
'Evergreen Giant' grows to 80cm or more and is an excellent foliage plant in shade, not quite as tall as an an ornamental grass but makes good foliage contrast to broad-leaved plants such as Clivia, Alocasia, Begonia and bromeliads.
When the leaves look a bit shabby from overcrowding or over winter, especially in colder regions, you can shear of the tops or even mow over them in late August and the plants will recover after Spring rains.
Liriope is easy to propagate - just divide the clumps and spread them around the garden.
|
|
|
Liriope
|
January 26th, 2015
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" />
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation (CBF).
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 Lesley Simpson, garden designer.
 |
| Japanese themed garden |
Is your garden planted out to a theme or did you just fill it up with plants that you like without thinking too much about it?
Why should you bother with a theme, it looks pretty good doesn’t it?
That’s a lot of hard work isn’t it?
Garden themes don't have to be complicated.
 |
| Baroque garden-photo M Cannon |
Your theme can be very general like a vegetable garden or a flower garden. You can show how creative you are with a theme garden, and theme gardens show something about the owner of the garden.
Actually, a patch of lawn with just a hills hoist does that as well, but you’re not one of those are you?
If you have any questions about how to create a theme garden why not write in?
January 26th, 2015
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" />
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation (CBF).
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
How old are those spices in your kitchen cupboard?
Five years, ten years, or even older?
Are they any good if they’re that old?
 |
| Cumin seeds. |
Well with this next spice, if it doesn’t have a strong and spicy-sweet aroma, then you’d better chuck it out.
Cumin is the classic north Indian seed spice but it has a much wider used than curry.
Cumin is a key element in Mexican and Egyptian food and a key ingredient in Dukka - an Egyptian spice mix you can use to dip your bread into. This mix consists of seeds of cumin, coriander, and sesame as well as almonds or hazelnuts and sumac. There are other variations.
Other places where you may find cumin is in sweet shortbread biscuits, Dutch Leyden cheese and in pickling.
Spices and herbs will keep for a long time if you store them properly.
Whole spices can last 4 years!
Ground spices like mustard can last for 2-3 years and you can use them in lots of different recipes like making your own tasty homemade salad dressings.
Herbs last anywhere from 1-3 years, depending on the herb.
 |
| Cumin seeds and cumin powder |
So if you don’t use Cumin seed that much, buy it whole rather than powdered, and grind it up yourself either using an electric grinder or by hand with a mortar and pestle.
If you have any questions about cumin or have a great recipe, send it in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.
Find out what cumin can be used in besides curries by listening to the podcast.
January 18th, 2015
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" />
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
Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation (CBF)
PLANT DOCTOR
with Steve Falcioni, general manager www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au
One of the most easily recognised pests in the garden and one of the most prolific, especially when the really warm weather hits and that's aphids.
Aphids also one of the pests that most likely has the most amount of chemicals you can buy to kill it.
Did you know though, it’s one of the pests that also has the most amount of beneficial insects that attack it?
There’s at least four so before you go out into the garden armed with garden gloves and sprayers, you need to know what you’re really squashing or squirting, because it may just be one of the good guys.
Learning to recognise the difference between pests and good bugs might sound a bit challenging, but there are books on predatory bugs that you can either buy or borrow from your library.
You can also research them on the internet.
We mentioned, lacewings, hoverflies, ladybirds, and parasitic wasps,-in particular their larval stage which does the eating of the pests in your garden.
These four would be a good start to get to know.
Not only will you be saving your good or predatory bugs but you’ll be saving money from not having to buy so many insect sprays.
 |
| Mummified aphids |
If you have any questions about your good bugs or aphids or a photo, send it in to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.
January 10th, 2015
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" />
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
PLANT OF THE WEEK
with Karen Smith, editor of www.hortjournal.com.au
Duranta repens
Brazilian sky flower, Brazilian skyflower, duranta, forget me not bush, forget me not tree, golden dew drop, golden dewdrop, golden dewdrop duranta, golden dewdrops, golden tears, pigeon berry, pigeon-berry, pigeonberry
Native to southern USA (i.e. Texas and southern Florida), Mexico, Central America.
A garden and hedge plant used a lot in the wetter and sub-humid areas of Australia.
Duranta grows upright into a shrub or small tree usually growing 4-6 m tall, but occasionally reaching up to 7 m in height.
Several newer cultivars, which are thought to be less invasive, are still very popular in cultivation (e.g. Duranta erecta 'Sheena's Gold', Duranta erecta 'Geisha Girl', Duranta erecta 'Alba' and Duranta erecta 'Variegata').
Would you like to grow a bushy evergreen shrub with weeping branches, pale green leaves and deep blue perfumed flowers with white centres that are at the ends of the weeping branches?
Sometimes called golden dewdrop, skyflower and pigeon berry. Sound alright doesn’t it?
Did you know that Duranta was named after Castor Durantes - a Roman physician and botanist?
Durant repens the species is a large, fast-growing, shrub that makes a great screen or background plant, but is too vigorous and tall to use against the foundations of a house or in small areas. Go for the smaller growing cultivars like Geisha Girl.
The clusters of fragrant, pale blue flowers attract butterflies in summer and are followed by bunches of golden-orange berries that’s popular with birds.
If you have any questions about growing pigeon berry or Duranta, why not write in to realworldgardener@gmail.com
January 10th, 2015
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" />
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
AND THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY
DESIGN ELEMENTS
with Lesley Simpson garden designer.
There’s a recent study which shows the Australia’s Noisy Miner bird is more responsible for the decline of our little native birds than previously thought.
People have always thought that Indian Mynahs were to blame, but the Noisy Miner is more aggressive.
So how do we make it unattractive to those aggressive birds and attractive to the smaller birds?
 |
| Lorikeets photo M Cannon |
Of course just because you planted all those small spiky shrubs in your garden doesn’t automatically mean you’ll get those small birds.
These birds only fly short distances, and your neighbours need to plant the bird attracting plants as well.
If you have any questions about how to create a bird attracting garden why not write in?
January 10th, 2015
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" />
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 Margaret Mossakowska from www.permaculturenorth.org.au
Summer is not only just warm for us, but for our beloved creatures as well.
Keep pets cool over the summer break by making sure all of your pets have cool and shady areas.
Cats and dogs are able to move around and seek shade, but small animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs and birds can’t move from their cages or runs if you have chickens..
Let’s find out about keeping chickens cool.
PLAY: Chooks_keeping_cool_7th January 2015
Check and make sure that your caged animals are not in direct sunlight and that their cages are protected from the sun as the shade moves.
Here’s some tips from the RSPCA.
If your animal seems to be in discomfort, try wetting its feet and misting water onto its face.
This is an option for dogs, cats, ferrets, poultry and caged birds as many animals control their inner temperature through their feet.
It’s important not to saturate a bird's feathers as this can cause them to go into shock.
If you have any questions about your chickens or a photo, send it in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW
1675.<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
-
Did you know that Liriope muscari or lily turf is an understory plant in China, Japan, and Korea where it grows in shady forests?
