December 31st, 2020
PLANT OF THE WEEK
Scientific Name: Bickinghamia celsissima
Common Name: Ivory Curl Tree
Family: Proteaceae
Etymology:Buckinghamia....after Richard Grenville, Duke of Buckingham.
celsissima....from Latin celsus, high or lofty, a reference to the habit of the plant in the wild.
Origins: Rainforests of Queensland.
Height: grows to 30 m in natural environment, but 7-8 metres in the home garden. Often used as a street tree.
Flowering: Summer to late Autumn, depending on the location, when the entire crown can be almost entirely covered with spectacular and large (30cm ) racemes of pendant white to cream sweetly perfumed flowers. Often covered in bees happily taking in the nectar and pollen.
pendant white to cream sweetly perfumed flowers. Often covered in bees happily taking in the nectar and pollen.
Fruit: Wooden follicles that contain several seeds. Fresh seed germinates fairly easily, producing plants that can flower within three years.
- You will find that it can be grown throughout most of Australia, including as far south as Melbourne. However Buckinghamia celsissima doesn't do well in Canberra, because it hates frosts, and it won't flower in the humidity and heavy rains of the northern tropics.
- If left to it's own devices it will go straight up like a telegraph pole and you will miss the spectacle of the flowers.
- Tip pruning judiciously will give you a shrub as in the picture where the flowers can be observed at close quarters.
- It can be pruned reasonably hard, but be warned, it will recover slowly.
I'm talking with native plant expert Adrian O'Malley
December 31st, 2020
PLANT OF THE WEEK
Scientific Name:Agonis Flexuosa
Common Name: Willow Myrtle/ Peppermint Willow (pictured)
Family: Myrtaceae
Etymology: derived from the Greek word agonos, translated as "without angles," in reference to the drooping branches of some species
flexuous means "bending" or "curvy," referring to the way the branches arch gracefully.
Origins: Native to Western Australia
Height: to 10 metres
Flowering: Late spring-branches are covered in fragrant tiny white flowers.
There are various cultivars available such as Agonis 'After Dark" (pictured) and Agonis 'Jervis Bay, Agonis 'variegata' and Agonis 'Burgundy.'
Also there is a dwarf form Agonis "Nana.'
Another fairly spectacular tree when in flower which although small, there are heaps of them.
The burgundy or dark foliage is a superb contrast to all that green you may have in the garden.
Soil preference is sandy to medium soil, but not clay soils.
This one's not frost tolerant.
Adrian says you would grow it for the attractive foliage and attracting furrowed bark.
I'm talking with native plant expert Adrian O'Malley
December 31st, 2020
PLANT OF THE WEEK :
Blueberry Ash
Common Name:Blueberry Ash
Scientific name: Eleaocarpus reticulatus
Family:Elaeocarpacea
Etymology:Elaeocarpus - From the Greek elaia meaning 'olive' and karpos meaning 'fruit';
reticulatus - Latin word meaning 'net-like' referring to the leaf venation.
Tree Height: 6-15m (various cultivars Prima Donna 8-10m)
Flowering:April - October
Origin: Australian rainforests along the east coast.
This is a beautiful tree with sculptural leathery leaves that show off a 'bloom' much like you see on some eucalypt leaves.
Leaves are medium sized (12cm) with a drip tip apex and serrated edges.
Starting off as mid to dark green the leaves age to a bright red which contrasts well, being opposite on the colour wheel.
The flowers are also quite a feature resembling clutches of lily of the valley flowers in either pink or cream all over the tree.
The fruits are small blue berries, hence the common name. The fruits are liked by many birds including currawongs, parrots, cockatoos and native pigeons.
Fruits can persist on the tree until the next flowering.
Although the height can grow to 15m you can keep it to as small a height as you would like even 2-3m if preferred.
- Adrian says they shed foliage 12 months of the years so don't plant them near your gutters.
I'm talking with Adrian O'Malley, native plant expert.
October 31st, 2020
Warraburra Nura Native Garden
In Conversation with Alice McAuliffe Creative Producer
You may not know of garden in on the 6th floor of a building that you the public can visit.
From the website, “Waraburra Nura is a public medicinal plant garden at the University of Technoly (UTS) Sydney, developed by UTS ART in partnership with Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research (JIIER). Established in 2018, the garden is located on level 6 of the UTS Tower.
'Nura' is a local word meaning country or the place that you are from.
Let’s find out more.
I’ve being talking with Alice McAuliffe who is a creative producer .
- Alice recalled that Waraburra Nura didn't start so much as a garden but as a way of creating a third dimension for artworks by various aboriginal and torres strait islander artists.
- Alice put forward a proposal the idea to put in a few boxes with plants initially but the idea grew.
- The process to create the garden involved designer Nicole Monk. Garden boxes were sent up from Melbourne.
- Garden soil had to be light so that the weight would not be too heavy for the balcony plus a possible 100 people. Aunty Fran Bodkin (Dharawal Senior and botanist) advised that the soil should contain pumice.
- Plants were chosen because they had medicinal properties, and together created associations which increased their medicinal properties.
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This garden is open to the public on weekdays during student hours
'
About the garden' section on the website states that “Waraburra Nura (Happy Wanderer’s Place) is a space for visitors to connect to Country in an urban environment. The garden utilises combination planting, an Indigenous agricultural practice which enhances the rich medicinal value of each plant.
All of the plants in Waraburra Nura are native to Wa’ran (Sydney) and have been cultivated by Darug, D’harawal and Gadigal peoples for generations.
If you have any questions about Waraburra Nura, drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write to 2rrr PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675
October 31st, 2020
DOCKRILLIAS EP 4
I’m sad to say this is the final in the series about native orchids.
If by now your interest in growing native orchids hasn’t been piqued, I would be very surprised.
Like most avid gardeners, as soon as someone in the know starts spouting information about a particular plant that has fabulous attributes, you will want one.
So it is with dockrillias.?
Let’s find out more.
I’m talking with Adrian O’Malley, horticulturist and orchidophile
Adrian mentioned a primary hybrid between dockrillia schoenina x dockrillia teretifolia.
The most commonly available dockrillias are:
Dockrillia teretifolia,
Dockrillia fairfaxii,
Dockrillia linguiformis,
Dockrillia cucumerina,
Dockrillia striolata,
Dockrillia. pugioniformis, which are all cool-growing orchids.
Dockrillia rigida and Dockrillia calamiformis, grow in tropical Australia, but do well in intermediate conditions, that is somewhere between tropical and cool.
If you have any questions about native orchids, drop us a line to
realworldgardener@gmail.com or write to 2rrr PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675
October 30th, 2020
THE GOOD EARTH
What About Ollas?
Gardeners already know how to save water in the garden because dry times can happen at any time of the year, not just summer.
Saving water in the garden could be anything from mulching to using drip irrigation and creating wicking beds.
The whole idea is to make water last longer in your garden, whether it is from rain or using garden hoses.
Tip: Make sure your soil can absorb a lot water.
Check if it is water repellant (hydrophobic).
Add a lot of organic matter to improve the water holding capacity.
If you're using dripper hoses, cover them with mulch so the eater doesn't evaporate rapidly.
But did you know that ollas have been used to irrigate gardens for thousands of years?
You might be now thinking what are ollas exactly?
Let’s find out.
I’ve am talking with Margaret Mossakowska sustainability educator at moss house of
Ollas reduce the amount of water lost to evaporation, especially in hot dry climates.
The tip is, ollas are buried in the soil before you do your planting.
When planning your garden, know that water leaving the olla is approximately equal to the radius of the olla.
If you have a particularly large garden, you will need a larger olla or several small ollas spaced evenly.
If you have questions or have information to share, drop us a line to
realworldgardener@gmail.com or write to 2rrr PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675
October 8th, 2020
DENDROBIUMS Part 3
Cultivation and care
If you been listening to the series on dendrobium orchids you might now be wondering how best to look after them?
You might even be asking do I need a greenhouse or shadehouse like Adrian has for his 200 or so orchids, or can you grow just one or two without too much fuss somewhere in the garden?
Let’s find out..
I'm talking with Adrian O’Malley, native plant and orchid expert.
The three most important things for care of your dendrobiums are location, watering and fertilising.
Adrian’s tips is let them completely dry out in winter, but if temperatures are in the high 40’s, you may need to mist them several times a day.
If they look pinched they need watering.
Adrian has an inline fertilising system which is attached to a hose but before the tap. He then places a rock mineral fertiliser in that inline system which leaches a very small amount into the water each time he waters the orchids.
Adrian also recommends using two types of additional fertilisers depending on the time of year.
Fertilisers high in potash to promote spring flowering, and fertilisers high in nitrogen to promote growth.
Tip: Add a handful of dolomite lime over the bark mix every couple of years to counteract the acidity of the media as it breaks down.
If you have any questions about Australian orchids, drop us a line to
realworldgardener@gmail.com or write to 2rrr PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675
October 8th, 2020
Dendrobium sp. episode 2
Dendrobium hybrids
Australia has 50 native species of dendrobiums and dockrillias and most of these grow mainly somewhere along the east coast of Australia.
The ones that grow in Qld, in quite warm temperature to tropical areas, don’t grow so well further south and one might need a greenhouse to grow some of these.
But those that originate in Victoria or NSW don’t do so well in the tropics.
This is where hybrid dendrobiums of these native orchids come in
Let’s find out..
I'm talking to native plant expert and orchidophile, Adrian O’Malley
Hybrid dendrobiums are numerous and as an example can be crosses of Dendrobium speciosum and Dendrobium kingianum.
This particular cross gives you Dendrobium x delicatum which can have either with or pink flowers and even perfume.
A famous one that Adrian mentioned is Dendrobium Hilda Poxon (pictured above).
This is a cross between Dendrobium speciosum x Dendrobium tetragonum
October 8th, 2020
PLANT OF THE WEEK
Dendrobiums sp. Episode 1
Scientific Name:Dendrobium speciosum
Common Name: Rock Orchid, Sydney Rock Orchid
Native Habitat: growing on granite cliff faces or boulders.
Plant type: Lithophyte
Description: consisting of pseudobulbs or canes that can be up to 45cm long. Large leathery leaves than can last up to 12 years on the plant. Flowering August to September.
Flowering:Arching racemes that can have up to 100 fragrant flowers per stem.
Climate zone: Outdoors in tropical to temperate climates, but shadehouses in colder areas.
Some gardeners think that growing orchids can be a bit tricky or only for the orchid afficionado.
They may have experienced one or two failures that has tainted their perception of orchids for life.
But I think, give orchids another go, because there’s ones out there that are hard to kill.
This one’s no exception.
Let’s find out what it is.
I'm talking with Adrian O’Malley, native plant expert and native orchid afficionado.
One of the most spectacular Australian orchids and one of the easiest to grow.
- When establishing your new orchid, you can attach it with coated wire or plastic rope to a tree, or boulder in your garden.
Adrian has his own orchid house in his backyard where he grows about 200 different types of orchids and yes, they are all types of Australian native orchids.
Be like Adrian, and grow some yourself.
If you have any questions about Australian orchids, drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write to 2rrr PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675
September 27th, 2020
SPICE IT UP
Black pepper, White Pepper: Peppers of All Sorts
Until recently, this next spice, black pepper, was one of the most traded in the world.
We’re talking thousands of tonnes of black pepper, can you imagine? But why was that and how does this it grow?
On a tree, a shrub or is it an orchid?
Did you know that to get black peppercorns, the berries are harvested when they are green?
I’ve being talking with Ian Hemphill from www.herbies.com.au
The peppercorn that we know is
Piper nigrum vine native to south India.
All peppercorns are harvested by hand.
Gardeners in the tropics and possibly sub tropics can grow this vine up a trellis or a tree outside in the garden.
Pepper is a jungle plant so that the roots need to remain cool,
The vine will fill a trellis in about three years. Berries that are picked when they're fat and green can be dried to make black pepper.
In the wild, or in plantations where they are allowed to grow up palm trees, the hermaphrodite pepper flowers are pollinated by rain running down the catkin. This occurs during the monsoon
So if you want to grow one in your home garden, watering the flowers should mimic this.
Berries allowed to mature and turn red, can be peeled and inside is a seed.
This is actually white pepper.
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