November 24th, 2017
TALKING FLOWERS
Sweet William
Sweet William
Dianthus barbatus (Sweet William) is a species of Dianthus native to southern Europe and parts of Asia which has become a popular ornamental garden plant.
Sweet Williams flowers are in the Caryophyllaceae family.
Sweet Williams are herbaceous biennials or short-lived perennial plants growing to 13–90 cm tall, with flowers in a dense cluster of up to 30 at the top of the stems.
Each flower is 2–3 cm diameter with five petals displaying serrated edges.
Mercedes recommends that you strip the leaves off the stalk before putting in a vase with water only midway up the stems.
Flowers should last 6 - 10 days in the vase.
I'm talking with Mercedes Sarmini of www.flowersbymercedes.com.au
November 24th, 2017
DESIGN ELEMENTS
Great Garden Seating.
What’s the last word in garden seating for you?
Perhaps you can’t be bothered with garden benches, tables and chairs and an old milk crate or just perching on a step will do.
However big or small your outside space and whatever your taste and budget, there is an alfresco seating option perfect for you.
But with so much choice, and we've certainly moved on from the good ole’ cast iron table and two chair setting which is terribly cold on the bottom, not to mention hard.
Perhaps you’re looking for a spot for an evening drink, a place to lounge or an area that will accommodate the whole family for lunch?
Things have moved on considerably in the last thirty of forty years though with new fabrics and materials that look like "rattan."
Let’s find out what’s Peter’s last word in garden seating.
I'm talking with Peter Nixon, principle of Paradisus Garden Design www.peternixon.com.au
PLAY: Best garden seating-15th November 2017
|
|
|
Anne Johnsons' Garden photo M Cannon
|
|
|
Anne Johnsons' Garden photo M Cannon
|
You can make a complete living room if you have the space with a couch, easy chairs, ottomans and attending side tables.
Make sure all the materials are long lasting and weather proof.
Peter's favourite on a hot summer day is loll about on a lazy hammock strung between two shady trees.
A garden with lots of places to sit is a user friendly garden. "Sitting places" don't have to just be just seats.
You can sit on top of a wall, a grassy slope, the edge of a pond, on garden steps, or even a large rock
Seating and lighting go together so rather than the awful floodlight stuck on the side of the garage, why not think about 12V lighting to compliment night time seating with your friends and family?
If you want to know more or if you have any questions about garden seating, why not write in to realworldgardener@gmail.com
November 24th, 2017
PLANT DOCTOR
Citrus Pest Watch
Hopefully you’ve finished your spring cleaning but now it’s time to check out that citrus tree you’ve got in your backyard.
Our plants put on lots of fast growth in the garden but so do the bugs good and bad.
Being pro-active is the best way to beat the pests that seem to plague citrus more than any other plant in the garden.
Some gardeners do this by spraying their citrus over the winter months with horticultural oil.
For a lot of insect pests, sprays are effective if you’ve timed it correctly, because as the pests mature or evolve into the next stage, sprays may become ineffective.
Let’s find out what to look out for. I'm talking with was Steve Falcioni from www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au
PLAY Citrus Pest Watch_15th November 2017
Two types of pests to watch out for and for some states, the extra pest of fruit fly.
Group 1 is the sap suckers which include aphids, mites, mealybugs and the citrus stink bug.
The best time to hit these pests in Spring, particularly the citrus stink bug. The reason being that coming out of winter, the juveniles are small, pale green and susceptible to the oil sprays such as Eco Oil.
|
|
|
Citrus pests photo M Cannon
|
Group 2 are the chewing pests. such as citrus leaf miner and caterpillars. The leaf miner pest is actually a very small moth that lays its eggs on new leaf growth.
The hatching larvae then tunnel into the tissue causing the leaf disfigurement or curling and the silver trails.
Leaf miner can be organically controlled with pheremone traps that are hung in the trees.
As for the caterpillars, a lot of the will turn into beautiful butterflies, so decide what you would rather; a few chewed leaves or some orchard swallowtail butterflies?
If you have any questions about citrus pests either for me or
Steve, why not email us realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675
November 17th, 2017
TALKING FLOWERS
What does the botanical name mean?
Speciosissima is the superlative of the Latin adjective 'speciosus', meaning 'beautiful' or 'handsome'. Telopea means seen from afar.
Waratah (Telopea) is an Australian-endemic genus of five species of large shrubs or small trees, native to the southeastern parts of Australia (New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania).
The one we see walking in the bush is the red flowering version and is also the NSW state emblem.
Can be tricky to keep alive in the garden.
If you've tried to grow a Waratah, make sure it has great drainage.
Dreamings about the Waratah focus upon the tragic consequences of lost love.
Two Wonga pigeons live together in a rich, lush forest. One day the female bird notices her mate is no longer by her side, so she searches for him, calling out for him. She cannot find him, so in a panic she flies above the canopy of the forest where a hungry and ever-vigilant hawk sees her and, swooping down, grabs her and clutches her in his sharp talons. She manages to wriggle free and plummets down, finally falling onto a white Waratah blossom, her blood staining its petals to red. From then on, Waratahs are generally red; it is very rare to find one that is white.
I'm talking with Mercedes Sarmini of www.flowersbymercedes.com.au
November 17th, 2017
Creating a Great Garden Path
You probably do have a garden path, in but does that path work for you?
Is your path so dominant that you end up having a path with a garden rather than a garden with a path?
Perhaps your garden path doesn’t dominate but it just doesn’t work for one reason or another.
So what do you do?
Let’s find out.
I'm talking with Peter Nixon, principle of Paradisus Garden Design
Peter mentioned a few variations on the garden path.
Salt textured concrete is the favourite.
You can press large leaves into the concrete before it's completely dry and weigh the leaf down with a brick overnight.
The next day, peel off the leaf and you'll be left with an impression; not one that jumps out at you, but a subtle impression that you need to be almost on top of before you realise how marvellous the path really looks.
November 17th, 2017
TOOL TIME
High Reach Cleaning Made Easy
Do you Spring clean or have you put that task off for a little while?
You might think cleaning is a bit of a stretch for a gardening show, but the house is in the garden and it needs to be clean too.
Not to mention garden furniture and ornaments that could probably do with a clean.
You might be temped to get up on a chair or a ladder, but why become another statistic of falls in the home or garden?
Let's face it our reflexes may not be as good as they used to be?
Getting up on ladders to prune is bad enough but for cleaning it’s even worse, because you tend to wave your arms about a bit more vigorously
Let’s find out how to do it safely.….
I'm talking withTony Mattson from www.cutabovetools.com.au
The safest way to clean up high is to use a lightweight extension pole with your feet planted firmly on the ground.
Look for lightweight aluminium extension poles that extend from 2-6m, costing around $100.
This should reach the eaves on a two-storey house if the house is on level ground.
Taller than that you need a carbon fibre pole which is around $AUS400
Something to remember
If you are using a ladder you should always have 3 points of contact at any one time.
Shoulders should be near the top of an extension ladder, but no higher.
If you’re carrying something then you’re in trouble.
If you have any questions about high reach cleaning either for me or Tony, why not email us realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675
November 9th, 2017
TALKING FLOWERS
Carnations
There are a lot of meanings for the carnation flower and each one varies with the different colours.
The scientific name of the carnation is Dianthus caryophyllus.
This translated means the "flower of love" or "flower of the gods" and one of the oldest cultivated flowers in the world.
The carnation dates back to the Roman era.
Carnations take up food dye very well so that the green carnations you see people wearing on St Patrick's Day is dyed that colour.
Carnations are easily grown in the home garden preferring limey or alkaline soil.
Home grown carnations have a stronger scent than those grown in greenhouses.
All the more reason to grow your own.
I'm talking with floral therapist Mercedes Sarmini of Flowers by Mercedes
November 9th, 2017
DESIGN ELEMENTS
Creating Tactile and Sensory Gardens
For those gardens with just green leaves you need to zhoosh up the place with some touchy feely leaves.
So that when you walk along the garden path, you can brush your hand along the leaves of the plants for a nice intoxicating scent of just for the feel of the leaf;peculiar, sensational or otherwise.
But what else are gardens for?
|
|
|
Chelsea Flower Show photo M Cannon
|
Let’s find out. I'm talking with Peter Nixon, principle of Paradisus Garden Design
PLAY: Tactile and Sensory gardens_25th October 2017
Peter mentioned these two mostly
Sinningia bullata is like a fibrous bowling ball.
Kalanchoe beharensis-(pictured right) Madagascar felt plant has contorted silver grey leaves that looks wicked.
The best place to get these succulents is at African Violet societies for the sinningia and Succulent societies for the Kalanchoe beharensis.
Let’s not forget the textured aromatic leaves of Pelargoniums.
November 9th, 2017
SPICE IT UP
Lavender in Cooking
Lavendula angustifolia
Lavender was first used in Herbs du Provence which is dried herbs used in slow cooked dishes.
But the correct lavender to use in any cooking is important if you want the flavour to be pleasant and not reminiscent of camphor.
Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula spica or the ones to use.
|
|
|
English Lavender
|
Commonly called English Lavender.
But did you know that so much of this plant is grown in France that they called it French Lavender rather than English Lavender.
The true French lavender is Lavandula dentata, which has serrated leaf margins and much larger almost woollier flowers. French lavender seems to flower for most of the year.
This one has a high camphor content which is unpleasant to taste.
Lavandula angustifolia or English lavender has smooth sided leaves and a very slender flower and a long stalk.
Confusing if you want to use the correct plant’s flowers in cooking.
Let’s find out more about Lavender in cooking.
Remember:The Lavender we should use in cooking is English lavender or Lavandula angustifolia, has a smooth leaf and the flower head is on a skinny long stem.
Ian mentioned how Lavender bottles, a lost art. Just search the web on making instructions...there are plenty.
If you have any questions about which Lavender to use in cooking then why not email us realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.
November 2nd, 2017
TALKING FLOWERS
Bird of Paradise
Strelizia reginae
Native to South Africa but naturalised in other parts of the world such as Madagascar and Mexico.
The scientific name comes from Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Fun Fact
They are pollinated by sunbirds, which use the spathe as a perch when visiting the flowers.
The weight of the bird when standing on the spathe opens it to release the pollen onto the bird's feet, which is then deposited on the next flower it visits.
Strelitzia lack natural insect pollinators in areas without sunbirds.
You can try to hand pollinate in order to try and get the plant to set seed.
This has proved largely unsuccessful and better methods of propagation is to try and prize a section of the leaf and rhizome for transplanting.
The plant as a whole does not successfully transplant either.
I'm talking with flower therapist Mercedes Sarmini.
Recorded live during Real World Gardener show, in the studios of 2rrr Sydney
Fun Fact
They are pollinated by sunbirds, which use the spathe as a perch when visiting the flowers.
The weight of the bird when standing on the spathe opens it to release the pollen onto the bird's feet, which is then deposited on the next flower it visits.
Strelitzia lack natural insect pollinators in areas without sunbirds.
You can try to hand pollinate in order to try and get the plant to set seed.
This has proved largely unsuccessful and better methods of propagation is to try and prize a section of the leaf and rhizome for transplanting.
The plant as a whole does not successfully transplant either.
I'm talking with flower therapist Mercedes Sarmini.
- Older Posts »
