BushNo 67 Spring 2005 Telegraph Welcome What’s News? Happy Birthday! Busk Walk Celebrating spring. October 15th, 9.30am Celebrating our birthday! Join Jackie and Alec for a stroll in Sunday 18th September 4pm the local bush. Check out what is flowering, and learn the names of In early September 1975, we the beautiful plants flowering in opened Zanthorrea Nursery and spring. Stay for a cuppa if you have who’d have thought we’d be here 30 the time. years on! We can’t let the occasion slip by without a celebration. Meet at the Zanthorrea gazebo. Spring! Join us to celebrate on Sunday 18th The wonderful wildflowers at this September, from 4pm until dark. time of year are so inspiring. After Sausages will sizzle and cakes will the long damp and cold winter be cut. (Our fabulous staff are not we can’t help but step out into the only knowledgable horticulturists, garden or visit the bush! but make delicious cakes.) Free The Kings Park Festival and Walk cappuccino and other cold bubbly the Zigzag are just two events where refreshments will be served. Enjoy we can walk among the wildflowers. the garden centre after hours. They’re not to be missed. RSVP 94546260 to help with RSVP 94546260 By choosing compact and colourful catering. plants, it is possible to create a Walk the Zigzag tapestry of wildflowers in your own backyard. The added bonus will be 2nd October from 8.30am - 1pm the small honeyeaters who visit to This event just gets bigger and enjoy the nectar. better. Organised by Kalamunda The nursery gardens are also in Shire, it is a wonderful way to walk bloom and worth a visit. Bring a down the zigzag and see local friend and ask our friendly team to displays along the way. make you a cuppa. Sit a while in PS: Call in for a free cappuccino the atrium and enjoy the peace. and biscuit before heading home. We look forward to your visit. Flowering now: Calothamnus quadrifidus (We are a 15 minute walk from the bottom of the zigzag.) Best wishes Memories * Don’t miss Kings Park Wildflower – Jackie Alec and the team We are planning to put together Festival , 22nd to 26th September a display of early photos of the nursery and the team past and present. Any photos would be most welcome. Show us your garden! Inspire other gardeners and send in a photo or two of your Australian native garden. The best of the digital will be displayed on the website (with your permission) and regular Flowering now: Hardenbergia comptoniana photos used in a display in the Flowering now: Verticordia chrysanthella nursery Zanthorrea Nursery 1 Bush Telegraph No 67 Spring 2005 Then and Now Brief history of Zanthorrea The “now” plant for Kanyana. Canning Stock Route During the early months of 1975, We have a little and old forest of plans were made for a nursery Banksia ericifolia in the display which was to become Zanthorrea. gardens just past the children’s play Alec’s mother Jean Hooper had area. These have proved very tough enlisted our help at weekends and reliable and seem to be in in her garden design business in flower for ever. Gooseberry Hill. The plants she I was pleased to see a new compact wished to include in garden plans reddish form come into cultivation. were rarely available at nurseries, As it is bird attracting, we have so she did what all good pioneers selected it as our fund raiser for Over the past 40 years I’ve often do - she grew her own. Kanyana Wildlife Centre. $1 from seen the faint wriggly line of the Before too long, word was out that the sale of each plant goes to help CSR on maps and thought “that there were healthy hardy plants for the birds and animals at Kanyana. would be interesting!” sale in Gooseberry Hill, and Jean’s This year I was lucky enough to cottage business quickly grew. have the time, and nab one of So discussion between Jean, the few sought after private spots carpenter son Alec and his wife on Kings Park’s seed collecting Jackie centred on how to turn this expedition. Chief seedsman at successful backyard business into Kings Park, Luke Sweedman, ran one which would support us all. the 2+ week camping out trip and it In February, we bought a partially was a real experience. We crossed degraded bush block, and cleared four deserts and although the the north east section, leaving bush southern section hadn’t had much where we could. rain we collected many species of eucalyptus, casuarina, hakea and a very rare ptilotus. Banksia ‘Red Rover’ is claimed to Among the many things to surprise grow only 1.8m by 1.2m. I suspect me were the number of camels this is only the five year size and (bad thing) visible dingos and their unless you wield the secateurs calls at night (great) and forests of - maybe take a few of the long flowering 2-3m Grevillea wickhamii lasting cut flowers inside - it may (excellent). sneak over 2m when it gets as old as our 20 year Banksia ericifolia Jackie and Alec lived on site in specimens. a caravan with trips up to Jean’s The tall flower spikes are up to for daily showers. Alec’s skills 20cms long and occur through in building were invaluable and winter and spring. With occasional Jackie’s teaching wage was used to summer water, this NSW banksia is purchase timber and shadecloth. at home in rocks and in the hills as Meanwhile Jean continued to grow well as our sand over clay. Alec hundreds of plants both at her New release Banksia, $9.90 Gooseberry HIll property and down Grevillea wickhamii on the new site. I was sad only that Jackie has to Find out more about Kanyana at: Finally we were ready, and in stay back at the nursery, so missing www.kanyanawildlife.org.au September 1975 we opened our the trip and the other 29 interesting doors to our first customers. people in our expedition! Perhaps you were one of them? – Alec Hooper 2 Zanthorrea Nursery Bush Telegraph No 67 Spring 2005 The Australian Garden Potting mixes for native plants Invasive plants Spring Waterwise Tips It’s obvious that soils and potting There are many garden plants Weeds: Remove or whipper-snip mixes are an important factor in that have jumped the backyard weeds before they seed. They can how well plants grow. Aussie native fence, and invaded our bushland. rob plants of precious water. plants are found in a wide variety of Watsonia and freesias are pretty soils from sandy coastal to hills clay, as a picture in spring, but replace so gardeners ask which potting mix naturally occurring species. Not is best. only the bulbs and perennials, Due to added interest in potting Australian native species such as mixes suitable for potting Australian wattles and sollya have proved a native plants, we at Zanthorrea problem in some areas of Australia. carried out some tests throughout Each area has its own collection winter. From our results we found of environmental weeds, and it the native plant soil from Richgro is important that we do not plant was the best across the board for the species which have proved to be Mulch: Spread a 5 - 10cm layer various species tested. escapees in our locality. of coarse much to cover the At Zanthorrea, we take this issue ground, reducing weed growth and seriously and have put together a evaporation from the root zone of list of “no-grow” plants and also plants. a list of “not recommended near Pruning: Tip prune lushly growing natural bushland” species. plants after flowering. (Check the zanthorrea website for Go easy with fertiliser: For our invasive plant policy.) reticulated gardens only, a small ** National Weedbuster week is amount of slow release fertiliser is held each year during the 2nd week all that is needed. of October. Check reticulation outlets, and We are now stocking the 30litre repair blockages and breaks. bag for $7.90 Waterwise Garden Appraisal: Due to different conditions in For information about the Water summer, we plan to repeat these Corporation subsidised “Waterwise tests to see how the different potting Garden Appraisal”, contact mixes perform in summer, and one of the horticultural team at would value any feedback you may Zanthorrea. have. In the vege garden: – Ross Local Sollya heterophylla is Once the weather warms, it’s time STOP PRESS: Bird Cam an invasive plant in Tasmania to plant tomatoes, capsicums, chilli, A pair of ring neck parrots have eggplant and zucchini. From the Production Team taken up residence in the bird box over the seedling benches. Check We have a few more miniature ‘roo out the action on the bird cam paws Anigozanthos gabrielae now monitor in the nursery shop. available at $7.95. Other plants of interest - shade loving Hibbertia dentata, lots of Grevillea ‘Honey Gem’ from $8.45, pink woolly Verticordia monodelpha and the bright green Albany Southern Cross Xanthosia rotundifolia. – Alec Zanthorrea Nursery 3 Bush Telegraph No 67 Spring 2005 What’s flowering Spring Outdoors Uveto Sun Safe gloves Cast Iron Mosquito Coil Burner Alec and Jackie use these when Tired of mozzies biting your ankles cycling, but they are equally useful while you relax outdoors. This for the fair skinned lantern will hold the mosquito coil driver, bushwalker or safely. $34.95 gardeners to protect against damaging UV radiation. Washable and long lasting. $19.90 • Hybrid kangaroo paws (above) • Native wisteria • Yellow feather flower No Flies net Didgeridoonas Stubby Quilt Simply slip the fly net onto your hat Wrap it around your bottle or for effective protection against all stubby to keep your drink cool.