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Gardening / Time to prune those climbers
Time to start summer pruning wisteria.MANY climbing plants will possibly be getting completely out of hand at this time. How do you deal with them and when is the best time to deal with this rampant...
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Gardening / Rain brings out the best
Purple Coneflower… “What a wonderful display in the garden,” says Cedric.AFTER a burst of hot weather at downtown Watson, we recorded 95mm of rain in the first three weeks of January. The growth on...
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Gardening / Off with their heads
Silver leafed shrubs provide a wonderful contrast in the garden.SILVER-leafed shrubs provide a wonderful contrast against green foliage of flowers in the garden. As an example, Acacia convenyi has been...
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Gardening / Feeding with a pinch of salts
AUTUMN time is feeding time in the plant world. With citrus trees starting to develop fruit, now is a good time to apply plant food. I have just given my potted lemon tree a mixture of, yes, Epsom...
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Gardening / Perennials always hit the spot
The spectacular autumn show of Sedum “Autumn Joy”.PERENNIALS are still the best plants for filling in bare spots in a garden. I know that I rave on about them, but there’s a range of flowers for every...
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Gardening / Thinking small for modern gardens
A spring display of Prunus “Versicolour”.THE concept of Canberra as the garden city or the bush capital is fast disappearing as house-block sizes shrink the space of suburban gardens. The early parks...
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Gardening / Going to jelly for crabapples
Malus “Gorgeous”… for great crabapple jelly.ONE of my favourite fruit trees is the crabapple Malus “Gorgeous” for one reason alone – its fruit makes the very best crabapple jelly, and I just love...
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Gardening / Passion to grow new plants
Flower trials at the UK’s Royal Horticultural Society Gardens, Wisley… each plant submitted for appraisal is assessed before it can be named.IT’S always exciting to see new plants appearing in garden...
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Gardening / Gosh, wow, what a fragrance!
The rich apricot fragrance of Osmanthus aurantiacus.WITH an amazing apricot fragrance and apricot-coloured flowers, Osmanthus aurantiacus is a “gosh, wow” plant and certainly one to tickle noses. I...
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Gardening / Walter wanted lots of corks
The historic cork oak at All Saints Church Ainslie… was it a commemorative tree?IN 1917 Walter Burley Griffin brought acorns of the cork oak, Quercus suber, from Spain with the vision that the new...
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Gardening / Growing gardens in no time at all
A floral display at Aileen’s eight-month-old garden.HERE are two Canberra gardens started from scratch and developed in a relatively short time. Firstly, Aileen’s. She is retired and has established...
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Gardening / The mighty bee battles chemical sprays
Honey bee… chemical sprays are having a dramatic effect on bees.BEES are vital to the environment and a third of the food we eat is pollinated by bees. The value of insects pollinating crops and plants...
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Gardening / Time to plant magnolias
Rich colours… the magnolia “BlackTulip”.AUTUMN is an excellent time to plant magnificent deciduous magnolias. Most gardening magazine articles feature magnolias when they are flowering in spring, but...
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Gardening / Hedges with a splash of colour
Beautiful flowers of Pineapple guava, ideal as a hedge.HEDGES don’t have to appear a boring exhibition of varying shades of green with no or few flowers. The run-of-the-mill hedges are Viburnum...
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Gardening / When the sap stops flowing, start pruning
Pyracantha or Firethorn… a major environmental weedy shrub.AUTUMN and winter are the times to prune. Once leaves have fallen from deciduous trees, it is an ideal time to prune fruit and ornamental...
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Gardening / One bite and you’re hooked!
Just how many persimmons will grow on a tree?IT is surprising the number of people who have not tried eating persimmons and yet those who have immediately love the delicious flavour. My own...
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Gardening / Right time, right place for roses
Rosa “Gertude Jekyll” has an astonishing fragrance.ROSE-planting time is almost here and over the next few weeks the garden centres will be awash with roses. It is preferable not to plant roses in the...
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Gardening / Leaves give way to winter plans
Viburnum carlesii is perfect for fragranceAT last, all the leaves have dropped and it is time to re-evaluate gardens for winter – as well as summer. A good rule is to have at least one-third evergreens...
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Gardening / Gold medals for the Gallipoli rose
AMONG the roses on sale this winter is the new Gallipoli Centenary Rose, bred to commemorate the Anzac Gallipoli Centenary. This gold-medal winner is a strong-growing, deep-red rose with an amazingly...
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Gardening / Colourful rewards of patient years
Daphne Perfume Princess… more flowers than any other daphne. IT takes years of crossing and recrossing hundreds of plants before they are ready for commercial production and sale. To illustrate, here...
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