Pieris or pearl bush… a great companion for Daphne.

It’s flowering now, as is Daphne, although not with the same delicious fragrance. But it’s rather more interesting in its own way as the flowers appear at the same time as the distinctive new red leaves.

Pieris is also an ideal companion for rhododendrons and azaleas, preferring an acid, well-drained soil.

Pine needles are a great acid mulch, especially when the top layer of needles is pulled back and underneath is a rich mulch of composted needles. They are perfect for digging into the soil and on top.

If your soil is heavy clay, lightly dig it over and apply liquid Multicrop Groundbreaker, which has the advantage of soaking deeply down and sideways in the soil. Gypsum, so popular with garden advisers, will stay only where you have dug it in, which is usually only a spade depth. In addition, planting acid-loving shrubs on a mound helps with drainage.

SOME of the most popular Pieris include P. Formosa, which gives a clue to their origin and across the Eastern Himalaya. This variety was introduced into the West by plant hunters in about 1858.

One of the most famous of these was George Forrest, after whom many plants are named, including P. Forrestii, which is classified as one of the most beautiful of all shrubs with its brilliant red young growth and the large, slightly fragrant white flowers borne in long conical panicles, growing up to 2.5m. I included this variety with azaleas and a backdrop of a large camellia into my design of the courtyard of the National Film and Sound Archive.

OTHER varieties include P. “Bert Chandler”, which is bred in Australia by Chandler at his nursery in the Dandenongs. The young foliage is salmon-pink, changing to cream then white and finally green. It was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit in 1977.

Look out also for P. japonica, P. floribunda and P. “Christmas Cheer”, which are readily available in garden centres at this time.

Acacia Leprosa or “Scarlet Blaze”… the world’s only red wattle.

The wattles are already bursting forth in their brilliant yellow. Although hard to accept in any other colour, look out for the stunning Acacia leprosa “Scarlet Blaze”, the world’s only red wattle and selected as the State flower of Victoria for the Bicentenary of Federation in 2001.

As rare as the Wollemi Pine, a single plant was found growing in the north-east of Melbourne in 1995. From that plant many were propagated, which is just as well because the original plant is now dead.

Jottings…

• Cut back old foliage on ornamental grasses such as Miscanthus to encourage new growth.

• Prune apple and pear trees.

• Start preparing the veggie garden for spring planting. Add garden lime and work into the soil along with Neutrog Seamungus, which is a combination of seaweed and free-range chook poo. Beans in particular like a lime soil.

• Check bulbs, tubers and rhizomes in storage to see if any are rotting and remove from the healthy plants, especially dahlias.

• Prune crepe myrtle, which only flower on new season’s wood.

• Spray peach and nectarine trees with Bordeaux or Kocide once the pink of the flowers starts to show. Include the ground under the trees.

• Cow manure is the best for gardens, as it is weed free. Cows chew the cud which destroys even fine weed seeds. Remember, manure is not a mulch. Your home-made garden compost and manure goes on to the garden beds first and then mulch with Canberra Sand and Gravel’s Organic Mulch.

The post Gardening / A growing passion for ‘pearls’ appeared first on Canberra CityNews.

Roses… “Among the easiest and most rewarding of all plants, but they don’t have to be constantly watered, dead-headed, pruned and sprayed – just simply enjoyed”.

My traditional advice and that of rose breeders is that now is the time to get on with pruning. However, in the article “Time to drop the myths about roses” in the English “Country Life” magazine, Charles Quest-Ritson says: “Almost all the traditional advice on how to grow roses is baloney”.

Quest-Ritson is an authority on roses and author of the Royal Horticultural Society’s “Encyclopedia of Roses”.

He goes on to say: “Roses are wonderfully rewarding and easy to grow, but they have a reputation of being difficult. All that mumbo jumbo about pruning and earnest advice about pests and diseases – that is where the trouble begins.

“I don’t spray my roses and most of my plants get mildew or black spot or both. Does it matter? Fungal diseases never killed a rose. “Life is too short to spray and we are not here to underwrite the profits of the chemical industry”.

I definitely agree with that statement given my constant appeal to gardeners not to use chemical fertilisers and sprays.

On pruning, he says: “I do not prune at any particular time and only prune when I think they are getting too big, not flowering enough or need opening up.

“That’s the key to pruning, just think of them as another shrub. “Take hybrid teas for example, I do dead-head them if I have the time and sometimes let them go for three or four years without a proper prune, whereupon they start flowering much earlier and produce many more flowers.

“I grow at least 1000 roses of every type and they don’t seem to suffer from my failure to apply the traditional rose wisdom of ‘pruning in late winter to within an inch of their life’.

The idea that roses are gross feeders dated back to the 19th century fashion for growing roses for exhibition… Roses are garden plants and I do not have the time to lug barrow loads of manure round the garden in winter. Roses respond to feeding, all shrubs do. I water them when I find time.

“So let’s abandon the myths; I know, I know, roses are among the easiest and most rewarding of all plants, but they don’t have to be constantly watered, dead-headed, pruned and sprayed – just simply enjoyed”.

I’m sure anyone growing roses to win prizes will strongly disagree. However, for the average gardener, I agree with all these sentiments.

AND on August 17 I recorded our first blowfly of the season, open to challenge of course.
Jottings…

• Plant peonies and dahlias.
• Start mulching all garden beds. I recommend Canberra Sand and Gravel’s Canberra Organic Mulchup to 75mm thick.
• Prune and feed sasanqua camellias to encourage flower buds for next season.

Doings…

• THE first of the Horticultural Society of Canberra’s flower shows are on September 13-14.

• The Orchid Society of Canberra’s annual spring show will be held at the Wesley Centre, 20 National Circuit, Forrest. 9am-5pm on Saturday, September 20 and noon-4pm, Sunday, September 21. Admission is $5 for adults, $2 concession, and children 14 years or under are free. Refreshments will be available.

The post Gardening / The ‘baloney’ of growing roses appeared first on Canberra CityNews.

Massed flowers of Magnolia stellata in Cedric’s garden.

The magnolia family is huge with Hillier’s “Manual of Trees and Shrubs”, the bible of plants, listing 110 varieties, by no means all of them. Unfortunately, we have relatively few available in Australia, although more varieties have become available in recent years.

In 1703 the missionary Charles Plumier, famous for introducing fuchsias to the West, described a tree and flowers he first saw, calling it Magnolia after the French botanist Pierre Magnol.

There are two varieties of magnolias, the North American evergreen and the Asian deciduous, my subject this week. Magnolia denudata and M. liliflora are the best known of all Chinese flowering trees, the latter having been cultivated for more than 1000 years.

The big, bold flowers of Magnolia soulangiana.

Introduced from Japan in 1862, it was honoured with a Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit in 1922. Magnolia soulangiana, which was also given an AGM in 1932, has always been extremely popular with gardeners with its huge, tulip-shaped flowers.

Magnolias have few growing requirements, preferring a good depth of soil plus plenty of organic matter such as compost.

Good drainage is essential. If this is a problem, plant on a mound of soil. Popular opinion, as with other acid-loving plants such as camellias and rhododendrons, is that they need copious amounts of water. Whereas, in fact, they are surprisingly drought tolerant.

With all these plants in our garden, even in the drought, I still only turned the drip system on one hour, once a week. This year, with regular rainfall, I have not used any drippers for six months.

IN older suburbs oak trees provide wonderful shade in summer, even though the acorns can be slippery underfoot. And yet those little cups are responsible for some of the world’s highest-quality leather.

The oak Quercus valonia’s acorns are the best.

In the UK, there’s a Devon tannery that’s been on the same site continuously since Roman times using oak bark to get the right amount of tannin to process the hides. Then acorn cups are crushed and added to the brew to increase the tannin levels.

The hides stay in the tanning brew for nine months with a further six months of processing to make some of the finest leather in the world from saddles to shoes. Even in Australia, acorns are a valuable source of food for pigs.
Doings…

• THE Bowral Home and Garden Show is being held this weekend, September 6-7. Details at homeandgardenshow.com.au

• THE Horticultural Society’s Spring Bulb and National Camellia Show, Wesley Centre, National Circuit, Forrest will be held on the weekend of September 13 (noon-5pm) and 14 (11.30am-3.45pm). On display will be the largest collection of daffodils in Australia plus the Australian Camellia show. Entry by gold coin.

The post Gardening / Hail the mighty magnolias appeared first on Canberra CityNews.

THE government nursery at Yarralumla is mounting a display of Australian plants at Floriade – and about time!

I cannot understand why Tourism Minister Andrew Barr isn’t insisting that every year there is a substantial area of the wonderful range of our plants, especially with the influx of interstate and overseas visitors to the spring festival.

This would be an ideal opportunity to link the display with the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

A wonderful contrast of the rich purple of Hardenbergia violacea with a wattle in the background.

Start the tour at the Visitor Centre to collect the “In Flower this Week” brochure. With this in hand, simply follow the bright purple and green numbered signs through the gardens. And the bird population at the gardens is unbelievable.

BARBARA Daly, a remarkable volunteer with the Friends of the Gardens, is retiring after writing the “In Flower This Week” brochure for an amazing 26 years.

To Barbara, this has been a joy and complete devotion to Aussie plants. Considered the longest-serving volunteer in the garden’s history, she was awarded a life membership of the Friends after 25 years of service to the gardens.

Other volunteers are now continuing “In Flower This Week”, which is also available digitally via the Botanical Gardens website.

THERE are at least a dozen Acacia in flower from the palest to the deepest yellow in the wattle garden. My favourite is Acacia covenyi, commonly known as the Blue Bush, now a rare plant in the wild.

It has a stunning contrast between the silver-grey foliage, so useful for flower arranging, and brilliant golden flower balls.

Another endangered wattle is Acacia gordonii, a compact bush now restricted to the north-west of Sydney.

Another favourite that I sneak into gardens where the owners have requested exotic plants is Philotheca myoporoides, or native wax flower. Now a mass of pink flowers, the added attraction is the fragrance of the leaves. A wonderful contrast pictured here of the rich purple of Hardenbergia violacea with a wattle in the background seen at the entrance of the Heritage Nursery in Yarralumla.

I FREQUENTLY hear people say you must plant Aussie plants to attract native birds. This is another garden myth. If the food/nectar tastes good, the birds don’t mind where the flowers are from. For example, honeyeaters love the nectar from camellias. I recommend a healthy mixture of Aussie and exotic plants to provide year-round food. Parrots get their daily fill from the emerging seeds of silver birch.

White winter flowering iris… just come into flower.

In April I purchased a few from Lambley Nursery, in Victoria, and to our delight these have just come into flower in our garden.

Jottings…

• NATIVE plants need to be fed, watered and pruned just the same as any other plant, at least in spring and autumn. Make sure the nutrients are low in phosphorus and preferably certified organic.
• IF you don’t have a birdbath in your garden, now’s the time to install one before summer. Also a ground-level water container for native fauna such as blue tongue lizards.
• AUTHOR Simon Rickard will discuss his new book on heirloom vegetables at the Horticultural Society of Canberra’s meeting at Wesley Church Centre, National Circuit, Forrest, 7.30pm, on September 15. All welcome.

The post Gardening / Local plants get a look in appeared first on Canberra CityNews.

Raised veggie beds are the answer.

Stop raspberries suckering with a pot in the ground.

In landscaping we use large, commercial, plastic, root-barrier boxes when larger shrubs or trees are planted in paved areas.

WARMER days encourage gardeners to start on the vegetable patch. But veggies can be grown by everyone almost anywhere – from a unit with just a balcony with a reasonable amount of sun to a small townhouse courtyard garden.

From herbs to carrots and potatoes, veggies grow well in pots. Be sure to use premium-grade potting mix. In the cheap $3 to $5-a-bag stuff your plants will be lucky to survive a few weeks. If you have access to some reasonable garden soil mix a quarter of this with the premium potting mix.

For those with a garden with limited space I recommend the corrugated raised metal beds. They are so easy to install and, if you move house, they are light and easy to take with you as opposed to veggie beds made from railway sleepers.

The raised beds are also great for reducing back problems.

Simply put in place and fill with veggie mix from a landscape supply yard. I filled a third of mine with old brick rubble for added drainage as most veggies, including parsnips and carrots, only need about 40cm soil depth.

THERE are raised beds and there are raised beds, and despite my best advice, one of my clients cheap ones from a DIY store and as soon as they were filled with soil they started to bulge out of shape.

I use corrugated veggie beds made by Tankworks in SA (local agent Territory Tanks in Pialligo, territorytanks.com.au).

Jottings…

• Plant josberries, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries.
• Refer to “Pest-Repellent Plants” by Penny Woodward (Hyland House Publishing) for organic solutions for house and garden pests. Available at most bookshops.
• For weed-free manure for your veggie garden use cow manure, as the cows chew the cud and destroy all weed seeds.
• Feed Clematis montana rubens as the new shoots appear at this time.

The post Gardening / Luscious berry time is back appeared first on Canberra CityNews.

Dahlias are a feature for the late summer/autumn garden.

It is best to leave planting the tubers until mid-October to early November.

But it is important to get the ground ready now using plenty of compost from your own compost heap, as you know what is in it. Composted leaves and cow manure are all great when well worked into the soil without artificial chemical fertilisers. Have tomato stakes ready to put in before planting dahlia tubers.

Canna flowers… give a real lift to any garden in summer and into the autumn.

Canna comes from the Latin word meaning “cane” or “reed”. It is related to bananas and ginger. Originating in southern US through to Argentina and initially introduced to the West from the West Indies in the 1600s, Canna supports a large horticultural industry with the rhizomes providing the world’s richest source of starch and its leaves for stock fodder.

The rich red, yellow or orange flowers give a real lift to any garden in summer and into the autumn.

Cannas can also be grown in large containers.

TWO of the biggest environmental weeds – ivy and Vinca major, known as periwinkle (with those lovely blue flowers) – are difficult to get rid of and using a herbicide will generally not work irrespective of how strong a solution is used as the glossy leaves will not absorb the chemical.

But here is a suggestion that works well. Firstly, the leaves need to be cut to ground level exposing cut ends with shears or a whipper-snipper. Then immediately, I repeat, immediately spray with a strong solution of Glyphosate. Follow the directions on the container. The strongest solution available to the home gardener is glyphosate 420, which is available from all garden centres. Add a few squirts of household detergent as a surfactant to help the glyphosate stick.

TAKE care what you feed your plants. Look at the N:P:K ratings on the back of the fertiliser bag. N is for nitrogen, P for phosphorus and K for potassium.

N is good for top, leafy growth, P for root growth and K for fruit and flowers. Too much nitrogen = too much growth = not many blooms. Look for a rating of 8:4:8, except for Australian plants, which need very low phosphorus.

The post Gardening / Prepare now for dahlia delights appeared first on Canberra CityNews.

Perennials for year round colour and effect.

For example, pansies and violas for winter and petunias for summer, repeated year after year at considerable cost.

Perennials are the way to go – plant them now for flowers for all seasons for years to come. The big plus is they provide hundreds of extra plants at no cost.

For example, I planted three standard 150mm pots of different salvias last spring, which provided brilliant late summer and autumn colour. In late autumn they were cut to ground level and divided.

Each of the original 150mm pots, after dividing, yielded at least 10 extra plants or a total of 30 more plants.

At the end of the coming autumn I can divide each plant again to yield several hundred more plants. More than enough for my garden plus potting up for church or school plant stalls.

Perennial plants provide colour without continual replanting. As one variety finishes flowering, the next is springing into action. Some die down after flowering and others stay evergreen.

For suggestions by season go to cedricbryant.com click on Cedfacts and scroll down to “Perennials for year round colour and effect”.

EXPERIENCED gardeners know that weed mat can kill plants because water doesn’t penetrate the mat.

In a garden I was redesigning recently I noticed that weed mat had been used extensively and, despite the regular rain of the last few months, the ground under the weed mat was rock solid and bone dry. Not a worm in sight – and no worms means no plant growth. Although it may sound ridiculous, weeds generally don’t come from under the ground, but on top, spread by birds, wind etcetera. With a foot of concrete under the mulch, weeds will still appear. Where weed mat is used, plant roots grow just under the mat and fine roots tangle through it.

TEMPERATURES need to be consistently over 20C, not just sudden short bursts of warmth, to release the fertiliser used in slow-release resin pellets.

This means that besides not being organic, plants will not be fertilised just when you want, which is now.

Plant a selection of flowers in pots for greater effect.

If shrubs die in this type of container it is almost impossible to get the dead plant out of the pot.

Think about a selection of plants to give continuity of colour over a long period. Preferably plants that flower at different times.

Use the best premium grade organic potting mix and water in with Maxicrop Seaweed plant nutrient to establish strong roots. Plus raise the container off the ground.

Jottings…

• Cut back penstemons almost to ground level.
• Re-pot house plants into the next size pot using premium-grade potting mix.
• Plant gladioli a few at a time over a few weeks for continuous flowering over a longer period.
• Core lawns and apply Multicrop liquid Groundbreaker for improved water penetration. Call Paul Howard Lawn Coring on 0412 483846.
• Cut back and divide agapanthus. It’s not easy and I use a tomahawk, which doesn’t seem to worry them.

The post Bryant / Get past ‘quick thrill’ annuals appeared first on Canberra CityNews.

A simple way to check if the drip system is working.

For the first time in seven months, I have turned on our system, more to test it than for serious watering.

But flushing out the system cannot be done unless a tap is fitted at the lowest point in the system. Next, clean the filter, which is always recommended even for town water.

A drain tap on the drip system is very important.

Now is the time to add new mulch, but be sure to lift the drip lines on top of the soil or old mulch. Drip lines always go on top of the soil and under the mulch. Finally, dig a few holes in various places to see how moist the ground is and if starting to dry out turn on the drip system.

Normally, I recommend that one hour a week of drip watering is sufficient for most gardens, although new gardens may initially need several hours to build up the moisture levels.

Most drip systems deliver two litres an hour for each outlet. The simplest way to test the system is place an empty two-litre ice cream container under the drip line. After an hour the container should be full.

While this may sound boring, all the above is vital for the survival of your plants through summer.

In Canberra we receive an average annual rainfall of 619mm, but the annual average evaporation rate is 1800mm. Water is vital to all forms of life.

More detailed information at cedricbryant.com, Cedfacts Information Sheets “In-Line Drip Irrigation Systems” and “Mulch Your Garden to Conserve Moisture”.

IT’S always suggested that plants should be grouped according to their water needs, which may be good advice from the garden TV shows or in magazines, but in most cases rarely practical.

Although in saying this, in our front garden I have almost all the plants originating from the Mediterranean, which is ideal for our local climate. You will have the opportunity to see this when we open our garden in a few weeks. I haven’t fixed the date yet, but my readers will know first in “CityNews”.

THE Canberra Bonsai Society Annual Show will be at Daramalan College, Dickson, 9am-5pm, on Saturday October 11 and 9am-4pm on Sunday, October 12. There’ll be demonstrations at 11am and 2 pm and Bonsai Basics sessions at 10am and 1pm each day.

Good book, win it!

THE recently published “Dig Deeper” by Meredith Kirton (Murdoch Books, rrp $69.99) is a serious garden book with appeal to anyone just starting a garden to people like me, who think they know it all until they start reading this book!

Sensibly divided into the four seasons the book has colour photos on every page to accompany the excellent text. I highly recommend it. There’s a copy for one lucky reader to win. Write your name, suburb and contact number on the back of an envelope and send to “Dig Deeper” “CityNews”, GPO Box 2448, Canberra 2601, by Friday, October 24. The winner will be announced in the edition of October 31.

Jottings…

• Still a month to go before planting tomatoes outdoors.
• If finished fruiting, citrus trees can be cut back for shape and more fruiting branches.
• Prune back shrubs that have been frost damaged.
• Prune sasanqua camellias now as flowering has finished.
• Nip out sweet pea shoots when they have reached a desirable height to encourage lateral growth and more flowers.
• Finally, “garden to please yourself, then at least one person enjoys the garden”.

The post Gardening / Flushed and ready for summer appeared first on Canberra CityNews.

Hydrangeas… long flowering from spring to late autumn.

Celebrity gardener Don Burke says they would have to be included in the top 10 best flowering plants in the world.

Hydrangeas are often seen growing in old gardens. While they prefer semi-shade, they are much hardier than most folk think and I have seen them growing in full sun. I remember seeing an old garden in Yass where the hydrangeas were facing east and received full sun a good part of the day.

They are popular with flower arrangers not only for the blooms but for the dried flower heads. I knew of one lady who sprayed the dead flower heads with blue paint to give the appearance of them being in flower in winter!

Hydrangeas are a genus of about 70 species originating in most Eastern countries with the exception of the wonderful oak leaf hydrangea, H. quercifolia from the US. The most common types are the mop-heads (resembling pom-poms) and lacecaps (with round, flat flower heads).

It is tempting on a really hot day to race out and give them more water when you see the leaves wilting. However, if left alone they will almost certainly be sitting up perky as ever by the following morning. Hydrangeas will not tolerate wet feet and good drainage is essential. If the ground is well prepared and the plants mulched with organic mulch, a good, deep soaking once a week is sufficient.

White hydrangeas will stay white and the colour will not change. The coloured varieties, Hydrangea macrophylla, can change according to the soil. An acidic soil (with a pH below 7) with the presence of aluminium or iron will produce blue flowers. An alkaline soil (above a pH of 7) will produce pink flowers.

If you want to change the colour of hydrangeas (though why I don’t know) there are products available from local garden centres. They  need to be applied regularly over the next few weeks while the buds are forming.

African daisies… The range of colours is extraordinary.

The range of colours is extraordinary, as seen here at the Heritage Nursery in Yarralumla. The daisies are extremely drought hardy and should not be over watered; although they should be watered regularly.

Interestingly, in Victoria and WA they are considered an environmental weed even though they do not set seed readily. In Canberra they are mainly treated as an annual although with a mild winter they will continue into the next season. 

MAJOR’S Mulch, 100 per cent lucerne mulching pellets (resembling pellets of chook poo), is a new organic product available at garden centres.

It is perfect for small areas such as courtyard gardens or veggie beds or pots.

It adds nutrients to soil, moisture retention and is a great worm food. A 10-kilogram bag will cover seven square metres. More information at majorsmulch.com.au

Jottings…

• Look out for Bacopa (Sutera cordata) from South Africa. Not a plant I was familiar with, but it looks perfect for hanging gardens.
• Bulbs’ leaves can be cut to ground level 4-6 weeks after flowering. It is unnecessary to wait until the leaves die completely.
• Feed roses with Neutrog Seamungus, a certified organic combination of seaweed and chook poo.
• Mulch under strawberries to discourage snails.
• Steve Falcioni, of Organic Crop Protectants, will discuss the latest organic products at the Horticultural Society’s meeting at the Wesley Church Centre, Forrest, 7.30pm on Monday, October 20. All welcome.

The post Gardening / Hardy hydrangeas full of flowers appeared first on Canberra CityNews.

Tree peonies in the Riek’s garden make a spectacular show.

Coming to the end of their flowering season are the tree peonies, Paeonia suffruticosa, with their huge flowers up to 15 millimetres across.

Last week I visited Dr and Mrs Edgar Riek’s garden to view their tree peonies and, wow, what a sight! They had dozens of varieties growing to two to three metres tall, many were bred by Dr. Riek.

Author Peter Valder, in “The Garden Plants of China”, says that “no flower in China has ever surpassed the tree peony in winning and holding public esteem”.

Dicentra spectabilis is now the tongue-twisting Lamprocapnos spectabilis!

This past week I saw at the Heritage Nursery, Yarralumla, an extremely rare Dicentra that was totally new to me under its new name Lamprocapnos “Valentine”, with deep red flowers.

IN our garden we only use certified organic fertilisers. Note I said “certified”, as there are garden products labelled “organic” but not necessarily “certified”.

There is a difference, as specified in the Australian Standard AS6000 for “organic and biodynamic products”. These can be certified by various registered organisations such as Australian Organic Certified (AOC), the National Association of Sustainable Agriculture of Australia (NASAA) and Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA).

These organisations also certify all horticultural products for farmers. Look for their logo on fertilisers etcetera to ensure they are “certified organic”, which is important when growing home vegetables.

ONE such certified product is Neutrog’s Go Go juice, which is teeming with microbes that activate the natural processes in the soil, speeding up decomposition of the residential organic and mineral compounds. It is applied to the soil in addition to the organic plant foods you normally use. This ultimately increases the nutrients’ availability and stimulates growth of plants.

SOURCES from interstate horticultural societies say the Horticultural Society of Canberra presents the best flower shows in Australia. Be the judge this weekend for the spectacular Iris, Rhododendron and Azalea Show at the Wesley Church Centre, National Circuit, Forrest, 11am-5pm, on Saturday, October 25, and 11.30am-4pm, on Sunday, October 26. Entry by gold coin donation.

THE Friends of the Australian National Botanic Gardens popular plant sale will be held from 8.30am to 11am on Saturday, November 8. All plants are propagated by The Friends from material growing in the gardens. Plants priced $3 and $5. Be early and bring your own boxes and/or bags. A plant list will be available from 1st November at www.anbg.gov.au/friends

Jottings…

• When planting trees always dig a square hole to prevent roots spiralling and becoming root bound.
• If you have a bulb-planting tool use this to plant potatoes. This saves digging a big area. Simply lift out the circle of soil, drop the seed potato in and put the plug back in place. Now is the time to plant potatoes.
• When buying plants cover them in the car with an old sheet. The heat through the windows can scorch the plants before getting them home

The post Gardening / Peonies leaping from the ground appeared first on Canberra CityNews.

Shades of lilac to suit every gardener’s colour taste.

ANYONE can have a wonderful spring garden, just look at Floriade, but the real challenge for gardeners is maintaining colour throughout the year.

A stunning, flowering shrub to fill the gap between early spring and when roses flower is the lilac.

Lilacs are either Syringa vulgare from the Balkan Peninsula or the smaller-growing Syringa persica from Persia.

Their delightful fragrance is filling the air right now and, with a beautiful range of colours, lilacs are also perfect for cut flowers.

They were first introduced to Britain in the 16th century by the well-known royal gardener and plant hunter John Tradescant.

Between 1876 and 1927, French plant breeder Victor Lemoine and his son, Emile, introduced more than 150 new cultivars and, suddenly, the popularity of lilacs took off and it became de rigueur to grow them.

Two examples of their breeding program include S. “Madame Lemoine” (1890), a pure white double and S. “Katherine Havemeyer” (1922), with spectacular purple-lavender blooms.

Both are still available and were given the prestigious Award of Garden Merit by the UK’s Royal Horticultural Society in 1937 and 1969 respectively.

A few comments on their care:

• They grow in almost any type of soil, although the better the soil the greater the rewards.
• Lilacs will not tolerate wet feet, originating in the hilly Balkan Peninsula, so plant in the highest place in the garden.
• Plant lilacs in full sun. Most lilacs today are grafted to prevent suckering, although if you see any suckers cut them off immediately.
• Unlike most deciduous shrubs, do no prune lilacs in winter when dormant, but in late spring immediately after they have finished flowering.
• Lilacs can be cut back hard, I recommend reducing by up to a third at any one time.

THE spectacular Ceanothus or “Californian Lilac” is now in flower. Despite the common name “lilac” it is no relation to lilacs and is a native to California.

They cannot be compared to lilacs in that the flowers have no fragrance and only come in shades of blue. Despite this, it is an evergreen shrub worthy of a place in the garden for its blue colour.

Most commercial growers in Australia seem only to grow Ceanothus “Blue Pacific”, awarded Shrub of the Year in 1979. I really can’t understand this, as there are more than 70 cultivars ranging from low, one-metre growers to two-three metres, of which all grow well here.

One of my most frequently asked questions is: “I have cut back my Ceanothus as it was getting woody and it does not seem to shoot again”. Quite correct, I advise, and it almost certainly never will. A light trim immediately after flowering and never into the old wood. This is the only Ceanothus that has this problem.

AUSTRALIAN White, Tasmanian Purple, Korean Red and Shandong aren’t varieties of wine but garlic. Look out for Penny Woodward’s new publication “Garlic – an organic guide to knowing, growing and using garlic” (Hyland House), essential reading for anyone into garlic.

Jottings…

• Find a place for the old French (1858) thornless climbing rose Rosa Zephirine Drouhin with the most exquisite fragrance of any rose.
• A great veggie for the children to sow is radishes.
• Lift and divide daffodils planted in the wrong spot, ie. too much shade and store in a cool dry place until March.
• Start liquid feeding container plants.
• To counter mildew on roses a good organic cure is to mix one part full-cream milk (not “lite”) mixed with eight parts water. Spray thoroughly under the leaves as well as on top.

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The climbing rose “Zephirine Drouhin”.

Along the drive in our garden is the truly wow factor of Rosa “Zephirine Drouhin”, a thornless, old French (1858) climbing rose. Pictured is just one rose on a north-facing wall.

This variety was a favourite of one of the most famous gardeners of all time, Gertrude Jekyll (rhyming with treacle) who had a pergola 100 metres long with 50 of these roses planted each side growing over the pergola.

In the UK, garden centres declared it the most popular rose sold. It is available here.

Close behind in popularity is the ubiquitous Rosa “Iceberg”. Even in Canberra so many paths leading to front doors are lined with standard Icebergs, a rose first made popular in the famous white garden at Sissinghurst Castle in England.

ELSEWHERE in the garden, there is the stunning fragrance of Michelia figo or Port Wine Magnolia. Introduced into Western gardens from China in 1789, it is closely related to magnolias.

If you don’t have any at home, head to your local garden centre and drink in the perfume.

Equally heavenly in scent is Michelia yunnanensis, described by Paradise Plants as the embodiment of the timeless mystery and peaceful contemplation of the temple slopes of China.

THE head gardener of Sissinghurst Castle gardens, possibly the most visited in the UK, says: “If a plant is not thriving where it is, you have either got it in the wrong place or you haven’t got the right place for it.

“If it is a special plant and not too big, move it at least once or even twice. If it is still is not thriving get rid of it, life is too short”.

In one garden, for example, I moved three-metre-tall camellias from the back to the front garden. And palms, five metres tall, from Yass to Sanctuary Cove in Queensland.

Floral art is a feature of the Horticultural Society’s shows.

It features a huge stall selling plants at cheap prices and there is a display of floral art, which offers floral-art students or flower-shop owners a wealth of new ideas.

Jottings…

• It is safe to plant tomatoes, although have covers on hand in case of late frost.
• Break up mulch that might have compacted with heavy rain with a hoe, removing weeds as you go.
• Remove the last of the winter flowers, such as primulas, and start planting summer-flowering annuals such as petunias.
• Plant dahlia tubers now. As with tomatoes, put stakes in first for tall-growing varieties.
• Besides the obligatory bird bath as the days warm, have a water bowl at ground level for the geckos and blue tongue lizards. They just love the snails!

The post Gardening / When a garden makes scents appeared first on Canberra CityNews.

HOT, cold, hot, cold seems to be the weather pattern this spring, which makes it a challenge for gardeners and plants alike.

With regular winter rain at the right time, this spring has been one of the best for years. However, with continuing low temperatures at night, it is not only frost that kills tomatoes, but low temperatures generally.

Tomatoes are a tropical plant and exposure to temperatures below 13C can cause a severe physiological disorder such as cold-induced phosphorus deficiency.

At low temperatures tomatoes are unable to absorb phosphorus that is available in the soil, which can set their growth back.

Usually they recover as the days become consistently warmer, which is one reason why it is pointless planting out tomatoes too early, even if you want to beat every other garden in having toms before Christmas!

CISTUS is a hardy Mediterranean plant that will survive in almost any garden.

Cistus crispus… a profusion of flowers all summer.

Cistus is commonly referred to as “rock rose” due to its similarity to old-fashioned roses. But this common name also refers to many other plants such as Helianthemum, which raises the warning that it is wise to use common names with caution or possibly end up with the wrong plant.

The grey leaves of Cistus are a useful contrast to other plants. To varying degrees, its leaves are coated with a highly aromatic resin called Labdnanum, which reduces evaporation enabling it to survive high temperatures with low water usage during a summer drought.

Cistus “Nightfall”… drops all its petals at sunset.

Anyone new to growing Cistus should not be disturbed if all the petals drop at sunset, by next morning it will be in full flower again!

“LE Potager Encore” will be a fascinating talk by Paul Kirkpatrick, of Estate Gardening, Jamberoo, at the next the Horticultural Society of Canberra meeting at the Wesley Centre, National Circuit, Forrest, from 7.30pm, on  Monday, November 17. All welcome.

THE Geranium and Fuchsia Society’s dazzling spring display is at St. James Church Hall, Gillies Street, Curtin, 9.30am-4pm, Saturday, November 22. Beyond demonstrations, teas and a plant stall, I talk on all things gardening at 11.30am.

Jottings…

• Always spray under leaves when combating insect pests.
• Apply Epsom salts to yellow leaves on Daphne. A heaped teaspoon to nine litres of water.
• Take the mower blades a couple of notches higher as the days warm.
• Prune Banksia roses after flowering

The post Gardening / Why tomatoes grow slow in the cold appeared first on Canberra CityNews.

Fuchsias… despite growing well in Canberra, fuchsias are out of fashion with gardeners, which is a pity.

Despite growing well in Canberra, fuchsias are out of fashion with gardeners, which is a pity.

As the plant loses its leaves in late autumn, gardeners see just bare sticks and pull them out, assuming they are dead. Unless in a very sheltered position, they will lose their leaves but come spring, as in our garden at present, leaves appear as the days warm.

Fuchsias originate in central and South America and tolerate a wide variety of climates. The ideal position is morning sun until about 10am, followed by filtered shade (70 per cent shadecloth is ideal) the rest of the day. However, too much shade will produce long, leggy plants with few flowers.

Fuchsias need well-drained soil to which organic matter is added and mulched with organic material such as lucerne.

They are ideal for hanging gardens, but must never be allowed to dry out. A gentle shower with a fine-mist spray is beneficial on very hot days.

When first potted up or in the ground, apply Maxicrop Seaweed Plant Nutrient to promote root growth. When established, apply liquid Neutrog Seamungus (a combination of seaweed and chook poo) every couple of weeks from now until April.

In spring, as the new shoots start appearing, prune out any dead stems. Pinching the ends off lanky growth will encourage more branches and flowers in the growing season.

The Geranium and Fuchsia Society Spring Display is at St James Church Hall, Curtin, 9.30pm-4pm, Saturday, November 22.

WITH sprinklers banned from 9am to 6pm, it’s good to water lawns in the cool of the evening, especially on days over 30C, when the evaporation rate can exceed 150-200mm.

If you notice sudden bare patches in the lawn at this time it may be lawn grubs, which kill grass by chewing the roots. Give the lawn a deep watering and then apply Multicrop Eco-Grub. Go over the lawn twice to ensure you have covered all areas.

APHIDS attacking flowers and veggies alike are the bane of every gardener. Here are a couple of certified organic products with one important feature in that there is no withholding period before applying and eating edible crops.

Multicrop Pyrethrum Long Life, made naturally from a variety of chrysanthemum, lasts up to 20 days and is effective against aphids, mites and a whole range of chewing/sucking insects, without killing the beneficial insects such as hover flies and ladybirds.

Organic Crop Protectants is an organisation pledged to promoting certified organic products under their “eco” label . Its Eco-Neem is a highly stable and effective product from extracts of the neem tree and will attack all the insects listed above.

A READER has written querying the organic certification status of Neutrog’s Go-Go Juice. I had reported that it was certified, but my correspondent says the product is not certified according to either the company’s website or at the Australian Organic Certification website. I have written to the manufacturer for clarification.

I always welcome readers’ comments and you can email me at cedricbryant@grapevine.com.au

Jottings…

• Check fruit trees for dead, diseased or damaged branches, which can affect ripening fruit by allowing access to fruit fly and other pests.
• With rising temperatures leave trimming of fine-leafed hedges such as Buxus or Box now until autumn. The sun will scorch the soft new growth at this time – and does it really matter if a few leaves are out of place?
• Grass right up to the trunk of fruit trees can reduce the crop by up to 40 per cent. If possible, mulch out to the drip line with Sand and Gravel’s Canberra Organic Mulch.

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Do not be taken in by this pretty passionfruit flower!

It easily escapes from gardens bordering bushland through its suckering habit and it’s time the ACT government took action to include it on the environmental weeds list.

Leaves of the wild passionfruit, a garden invader.

It is a grafted passionfruit on to wild passionfruit rootstock but if the grafted top part dies the wild rootstock will take over – and I mean take over – spreading rapidly through the garden and everywhere else!

The fruiting Nelly Kellie passionfruit has a large, glossy leaf, but the wild rootstock has (as illustrated here) a five-fingered dull green leaf. It may still have amazing flowers but these do not produce fruit.

Once the wild rootstock gets a hold it is almost impossible to eradicate as hundreds of suckers spread easily to all parts of the garden. It can develop a trunk as thick as a human wrist and I have seen it grow to the top of gum trees.

Cutting the main stem and treating it with undiluted glyphosate will not stop subsequent suckers growing.

TO win a gold medal at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show in the UK is quite something. But for an Australian team, under Phillip Johnson, to win the Best in Show award last year was amazing. For the last few years Fleming’s Nurseries, of Victoria, has sponsored aspiring garden designers at the world’s greatest flower show, Chelsea, and have previously won gold medals.

Inevitably Phillip has become an international name in garden design and, unsurprisingly, his first book has followed. Titled “Connected” (Murdoch Books, rrp $59.95), it is an inspiration to all new garden designers or those who want to design their own garden.

“In this day and age we are becoming more and more detached from nature,” he writes.

“We’ve forgotten how healing it is to be surrounded by beauty. Connecting with the earth is one of the most invigorating and energising things you can do.”

His gardens range from small suburban gardens to large rural properties and this book, with great photography and watercolour drawings of plans, is one of the best on the subject I have seen.

Jottings…

• Remove all winter crops in the veggie garden such as broad beans after harvesting.
• Hopefully there will be no more frosts, so get on with planting/sowing silverbeet, sweet corn, cucumber and tomatoes.
• Unlike most other plants, when planting tomatoes, bury it halfway up the stem. Those tiny hairs will all put out roots for a stronger plant.
• Plant citrus trees either in the garden or in containers (hints at cedricbryant.com, click on ‘Cedfacts’).
• Lightly trim all evergreen shrubs after flowering. Not more than one third off at any time, particularly important with Australian plants.
• Continue to feed all plants with organic plant nutrients. Apply to the drip line and keep away from the trunk/stem of the plant.
• If you see evidence of pear and cherry tree slug, a non-chemical fix is to throw fine sand all over the tree. The slugs stick to the sand and fall off.

The post Gardening / The scary truth of passionfruit appeared first on Canberra CityNews.

Star Jasmine over pergolas, archways or as a screen plant.

Two plants, on either side of our drive, immediately come to mind; firstly, the stunning climbing rose, Rosa “Zephirine Drouhin”, with a fragrance any perfume manufacturer could only wish for.

As they fade, the Chinese Star Jasmine, Trachelospermum jasminoides, comes into full flower on the other side of the drive. The fragrance of its clusters of tiny white flowers are almost overpowering.

To complete a trio to test the senses at this time is Philadelphus x virginalis or Mock Orange in flower in garden centres now. It is not to be confused with Choisya ternata, the evergreen Mexican Orange Blossom. Out of more than 65 varieties of Philadelphus, P.x virginalis is probably the best with its double, highly fragrant flowers. The UK’s Royal Horticultural Society gave this shrub its Award of Garden Merit in 1926.

The huge flowers of Clematis “General Sikorski” offer a spectacular show.

After a lattice screen fixed to timber posts had disintegrated over time, with the loss of an entangled climbing rose, I retained the uprights and horizontally placed wires, spaced every 30cm.

This provided perfect support for six different varieties of Clematis trained along the wires that included the winter flowering Clematis napaulensis to the first of the spring clematis, C. montana rubens, with small, pink flowers and purple-tinged leaves all summer.

I am also training it to climb through the branches of a nearby maple, Acer “Bloodgood”, which has deep purple leaves all growing season.

Clematis are so easy to grow. The main secret is a cool root zone and the old-timers’ idea was to place one or more roofing tiles over the root zone. This is just as applicable as it was 100 years ago. Lifting the tiles the morning after a very hot day will reveal condensation under the tile.

MOST French lavenders flower early in spring and finish well before the English summer-flowering lavenders. An exception has been Lavendula “Princess”, introduced last year and featured on this page in August. It has been flowering continuously since then, proving its worth in any garden and I highly recommend it.

Jottings…

• Hoses lying on lawns in hot weather cause scorch marks.
• Water restrictions apply with no sprinklers 9am-6pm.
• Deadhead Rosa “Zephirine Drouhin” with hand shears once the first flush of flowers finishes.
• It’s time to clip back, by 50 per cent, Michaelmas daisies, Salvias and chrysanthemums.
• IN a recent item promoting organic products for gardens, I wrote that Go-Go Juice was “Certifed Organic”. This is not the case. Its manufacturer, Neutrog Fertilizers, confirms that the product is not certified, but an “organically based, high-microbial solution with a wide range of benefits not found in non-organic chemical compounds”.

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Poinsettias, the perfect Christmas table decoration.

Lyla Wright with a Wollemi pine, the true Aussie Christmas tree, at Heritage Nursery, Yarralumla.

Alternatively, if you want the spirit of Australiana for your tree consider the dinosaur pine, the Wollemi.

Another traditional Christmas decoration is Euphorbia pulcherrima or Poinsettia, with its brilliant red flower bracts.

A native of Mexico, it is a tropical plant that is difficult to keep going through our winter. I suggest you treat it as a potted plant just for Christmas decoration.

Interestingly, although not a native of Australia, when the Brisbane City Council was formed in 1925 it adopted the Poinsettia as its floral emblem.

THE holiday period can be a time of stress for gardens and needs all the help it can get from family and friends. But if all else fails, consider getting hired help, perhaps a regular garden maintenance person who knows your garden. It may be a cheaper option than coming home to dead plants.

NORMALLY I do not recommend using saucers under pots in the garden because they inhibit drainage leading to root rot and the demise of the plant.

The exception is during the holiday season when a saucer of water combined with a well-mulched pot top will help while you’re away. Don’t forget to change the batteries of the automatic watering system’s back-up, then give the whole garden a good deep soaking just before you leave on holiday.

Depending on their size, indoor plants are much easier to manage while you’re away. If you have a bath, place an old towel in the bottom (so plant pots don’t scratch it), then fill with about 50mm of water and place the plants in the bath. This will keep them going for several weeks.

GIFT vouchers from your local garden centre are better than the risk of buying friends or relatives plants. Vouchers can be to buy plants or new secateurs or even fertilisers.

A garden consultation is a good gift for someone new to town or someone moving into a new home, as is a copy of “The Canberra Gardener”, written by the Horticultural Society of Canberra especially for our local climate.

Like many other garden designers, I offer garden consultation gift vouchers.

A healthy crop of mint… Tosolini’s coffee shop shows the way with small herb gardens.

Innovatively, Tosolini’s, in Bailey’s Arcade, uses the spaces between the box-hedging plants to grow herbs for use in its kitchen.

All of Cedric Bryant’s gardening columns are searchable at citynews.com. au

cedricbryant@grapevine.com.au

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A mini veggie garden… look for the sort of polyurethane boxes thrown out by supermarkets.

Many schools have gardens and it is encouraging to see children growing their own veggies and looking after chooks.

So let’s help them to continue their projects at home in the holidays.

One easy way to grow veggies is in the sort of polyurethane boxes thrown out by supermarkets, but look for the ones with drainage holes in the base. Fill them with premium-grade potting mix.

Easy-to-grow seedlings include lettuce, cucumbers, spinach, capsicums and tomatoes. Quick-growing veggies such as radish give almost instant results when seed sown, while carrots take a little longer. Carrot seed is very fine so don’t cover the seed with soil, but rather place a piece of shade cloth over it. After a few days, when the shoots start to appear, the shade cloth can be removed.

To overcome snails use Multicrop’s Slug and Snail Killer, which is safer for pets or even blue tongue lizards.

WHY is home-grown fruit, such as the seasonal nectarines, peaches and apricots, so much tastier than that bought at the supermarket?

One reason is that supermarket fruit, including tomatoes as a fruit, is picked green or just showing a bit of colour. Whereas at home we wait until it is ripe with the sun developing the full fruit flavour.

It is important that once all the fruiting has finished to give the trees a summer prune. The Royal Horticultural Society considers summer pruning just as important as winter pruning.

OFTEN violent summer storms can bring the hazard of broken tree branches. This week I noticed that a large branch of our silver birch had broken and was suspended over where I normally park the car! When pruning, follow the three “Ds” principle – look for and remove any dead, diseased or damaged branches. This accounts for 90 per cent of pruning.

Look also for branches rubbing against each other, which can damage the bark, the skin of the tree, giving access to pests and diseases. Finally, stand back and look at the overall appearance to ensure it has an even shape.

ALL the berry fruits, such as raspberries and strawberries, will be fruiting abundantly over the next few weeks.

It is important to keep feeding them, preferably with a liquid plant nutrient such as certified organic Neutrog Seamungus (a combination of pelleted chook poo and seaweed), which is good for everything you grow – from veggies, trees and shrubs to lawns.

Quoting a BBC garden broadcaster on chemicals in the garden: “I used to use an annual chemical weed-killer, moss killer and fertiliser application on my lawn. But one day I watched as a blackbird pulled a worm from the treated soil to take back to the young ones in a nest. I reckoned that chemically laden food was not something I would feed my own children, so I now use only organic products and if a few weeds are in the lawn, so what!”

TWO great places for using children’s excess energy are the Australian National Botanic Gardens and Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Gardens. Both have a great range of activities for children.

The post Gardening / The special gift of gardening for kids appeared first on Canberra CityNews.

Glorious crabapple spring blossoms in Canberra.

The spectacular autumn colours of Chinese pistachio.

But don’t overdo it – small jobs can be done in the cooler times of early in the morning or late evening.

Now is the time to:

• lift and replant flowering bulbs, such as daffodils, that may be overcrowded or in too much shade. Forget those complicated charts on bulb planting depths; simply put the same amount of soil over the bulb as it is thick, ie a daffodil bulb that is 5cm thick, simply plant 10cm deep.
• prune roses at any time in January to promote a flush of blooms in autumn.
• dead-head spent flowers on annuals, such as petunias, for a continuous colour display. At the same time, apply a liquid feed such as Maxicrop Seaweed Plant Nutrient.
• Keep nipping out centre shoots of chrysanthemum and fuchsias to encourage more lateral shoots and more flowers.

THE past spring and summer have been some of the best gardening seasons for a long time. With only occasional bursts of hot weather tempered by regular rainfall this has been an ideal time for fruit trees, when a heavy abundance of fruit can result in broken branches. So it’s good to provide support and pick the fruit as soon as it’s ripe.

Keep citrus trees watered by building an earth bank around the tree, but well back from the trunk. This bank, which should hold at least several buckets of water, will only need filling once a week. Apply Neutrog Seamungus pelleted plant food around the drip line.

WITH our massive evaporation losses on hot days, mulching is the key to good gardening. Most landscape designers recommend Canberra Sand and Gravel’s Canberra Organic Mulch to a thickness of at least 50-75mm.

If existing mulch has compacted, usually due to storm rain, I suggest lightly hoeing or raking it over, which can be combined with weeding. Be careful not to puncture the drip irrigation lines and keep mulch back from the trunk of trees and shrubs to prevent collar rot.

CANBERRA has a wide variety of garden clubs, the oldest being the Horticultural Society of Canberra, which was founded in 1926.

The club’s publication, “The Canberra Gardener”, is available from most bookshops and newsagents. It is written especially for our climate by members of the society.

Anyone wanting more details about matching their interests with a particular garden club please contact me at cedricbryant@grapevine.com.au

All of Cedric Bryant’s columns are available at citynews.com.au

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Hardy chrysanthemums for a super autumn show.

Spring bursts forth with a floral spectacular of blossoms and bulbs, followed by every shade of green, as the new season’s leaves appear on deciduous trees and shrubs.

Autumn crocus to compete with spring tulip bulbs.

FROM March, it will again be time to consider planting spring bulbs.

Grassed areas in Commonwealth Park, only just recovering from the last Floriade, will shortly be torn up for planting bulbs for this year’s Floriade. This may be the last at its present location, with a recent announcement from the National Capital Authority.

It is time that a permanent site is found and the Arboretum has been suggested, but this is unsuitable because it’s not level, is too far from normal transport links and has inadequate parking. I’d be pleased to hear your suggestions at cedricbryant@grapevine.com.au

WATERING, possibly the most important aspect of gardening (even more than fertilising), is also the most neglected. Many gardeners don’t realise the extremes between rainfall and evaporation. We have started this year brilliantly with regular rainfall; however, this is far from typical. A couple of Decembers ago we received just 75.6mm of rain with an evaporation of 275.4mm.

This demonstrates why drip irrigation is the only effective way of watering the garden. Most of the water, whether by sprinkler or hand held hose, is absorbed into the mulch only to be lost with evaporation within a couple of hours.

Drip irrigation is always placed on top of the soil and under the mulch. This means the water goes directly to the plants’ roots. It is never too late to start installing drip irrigation.

GARDEN tool manufacturers are missing a golden opportunity by making long-handled tools from rakes to spades and forks. I changed all my garden tools to long handles at least 30 years ago. I recommend if you are buying new tools, not necessarily for yourself but perhaps for ageing parents or friends, to consider long handles.

Jottings…

• After rain, keep applying Multiguard Slug and Snail Killer around veggies, berry plants and strawberries in particular. This is safer for pets.
• Trim lavenders back to just above the old wood, both top and sides.
• Feed and keep water up to citrus trees as the fruit matures.

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