Zanthorrea Nursery’s

BUSH TELEGRAPH No 51, Spring 2001

WELCOME! WHAT’S ON AT ZANTHORREA? Garden Visit Christmas Celebration Saturday, October 13, 9.30am Sunday, December 16, 2-4:30pm Establising a spectacular native Join Alec and Jackie in the gazebo garden can be a challenging task. for a Christmas Celebration, with all the usual fun: the bush band, Two gardens near the nursery are balmy weather, cool refreshments looking wonderful and you are and a welcome rest from hectic invited to join us for a visit. Many Christmas shopping. Put this date thanks to Mr and Mrs Bockholt and in your diary now! David Wrigley who have agreed to Welcome to Zanthorrea’s new- show us their inspiring gardens. look newsletter, printed on 100% Bird-cam recycled paper. In this edition, we Have you visited Zanthorrea bring news about exciting new recently? An infra red camera and products, and some old has been installed in a nesting favorites. There are water saving box high up in a tree near the tips for your garden and the latest seedling benches by Joe Tonga. news from Kanyana. The television images of the inside Moving with the times, we are of the box may be seen inside now publishing lots of information the shop near the book corner. We online, in full colour of course. We will meet at Zanthorrea at have had the privilege over the The Zanthorrea website is updated 9.30am in the gazebo, and travel last few weeks of watching a pair regularly and now hosts a wide by private cars, meeting back at of ringneck parrots establish their variety of useful information about Zanthorrea at 11.30am for a cuppa. territory and make the nesting box growing Australian native plants in There will be a small charge their home. Four eggs were laid and the Perth region. Visit us online at: of a gold coin to visitors, and now at time of writing two have all proceeds will be donated to hatched. Mother bird is feeding the http://www.zanthorrea.com.au Kanyana. babies and their cheeps may be heard in the shop. RSVP: 9454 6260 (Limit 20) So rush in and catch the action Tips on perfect potting before the birds fly the coop! Saturday, November 17, 10am Join Jackie for a demonstration on potting perfect pots and baskets: , and Australian plants. Potted gardens make beautiful gifts for friends and We now have a great selection family. of new gifts and pots in stock, RSVP: 9454 6260 ready for Christmas giving – lots of locally crafted products and many Australian made gift ideas. Enjoy! Zanthorrea Nursery is proud to be accredited under the new national AGCAS scheme. -Jackie and Alec

page 1 Bush Telegraph, Spring 2001

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE AND NOT A DROP TO DRINK! There is widespread alarm about Mulching Materials such as lucerne hay, pea water restrictions this summer, but Mulching is a great way to save straw, seaweed, animal manures the reality is most gardens can lots of water - and it’s good for and compost are best used as a survive on twice weekly watering your garden in many other ways feeding layer underneath and within if they are well mulched. It may be too. the drip zone of high performance that we all need to make permanent plants such as fruit trees, or in the changes to the way we garden. An organic mulch will… vegie patch. (We’ll save money too!) • reduce evaporation loss from the surface Such ‘soft’ materials do not save It’s easy: water when used as a mulch. Lawn 1. Always add organic material • improve the soil organic matter clippings do not make a good such as Groganic and a teaspoon content as it breaks down mulch, they are best composted. of slow release fertiliser when • break down further over time Old newspapers can be used under planting to keep plants healthy. and feed the plants a mulch as a weed control layer. 2. Apply wetting agent to the • encourage earthworms and soil However, thick overlapping layers garden beds and lawn area in spring microbial activity of newspapers can prevent water to ensure water penetrates to the penetration. root zone. • restrict weed growth and make weeds which do germinate easier 3.Add a teaspoon of water storing to remove crystals such as Rainsaver in hanging baskets and pots, and even • prevent wind and water erosion when planting in summer. • protect roots from daily 4. Apply water appropriately temperature fluctuations and during the cool of the day. • improve the look of the garden. 5. Apply mulch to reduce water Mulching material loss by evaporation and insulate Raw materials like woodchips, the soil against the heat. (See John chipped tree waste or similar, Colwill’s advice re: mulch.) Applying mulches whether bought-in or home-made, For general garden use mulches For more information on water are ideal mulching materials. should be spread at 50-75 mm restrictions and water saving ideas, Where a mulch is watered regularly thick. Always leave a breathing visit the Zanthorrea website at it may be necessary to add some space of 50 mm around stems and extra nitrogen in the form of trunks of plants. http://www.zanthorrea.com.au animal manures, blood and bone etc, to prevent the natural breaking In garden areas mulches should down process from drawing be topped up as necessary; perhaps nitrogen away from the plants. twice a year in autumn and spring. Generally though, watering Mulches should never be raked mulched, unplanted areas is not a up, turned over, dug in or disturbed good practice. in any way. To do so will damage Gravel or stone are also good the fine feeder roots which plants mulch materials providing most of develop in the zone between the the advantages and lasting much mulch and the soil. longer. -John Colwill

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SPRING CAPERS What to do in the garden? Three easy-to-grow Five top colourful hardy • Time to plant all those yummy plants: plants, from Zanthorrea veges - tomatoes, , eggplant, corn, rockmelon, beans, White: silverbeet. There are lots of healthy Ricinocarpus tuberculatus, a deep ones to choose from. Straw is a green WA plant that grows to 3m+ great addition to the garden. - nice and bushy with white star • Herbs are easy to grow – , flowers in late spring, from $6.95. , are perfect for tasty summer meals. Red: • Plant hardier flowers this year. Grevillea pinaster, one of the best Vincas, petunias, marigold and Midyum bird food sources, grows to 2m+ nicotiana add lots of colour in (Austromyrtus dulcis) and flowers most of the year, from pots. This small spreading shrub is $6.95. • Tip pruning will reduce reduce found naturally in coastal NSW and Callistemon phoeniceous, a WA water stress and keep plants looking southern . Pretty white bottlebrush which even grows good. flowers are followed by mauve and locally, with big red vivid • Use slow release fertiliser, even white speckled berries which have brushflowers in spring. 140mm on lawns - this ensures plants a sweet aniseedy flavour. Children pots @ $7.95. love them, and so do we! receive adequate nutrients. Yellow: • Reduce lawn areas where possible scented myrtle Grevillea olivaceae, this tough and replace with hardy native ( citriodora) West Australian comes in yellow, ground covers. A small rainforest tree which orange or red. With spring flowers • Mulch, mulch, mulch! grows easily in Perth gardens or on a bushy 3m shrub. in pots. It yields delightful fresh Purple: lemon scented which may Bush Tucker: be used in Asian cooking or to Eremophila maculata, another Early settlers in their attempt to make a pleasant tasting which is plant with varying colours, recreate the English landscape were reputed to have a calming effect. we have a great batch of purple not only blind to the beauty of our ones now at $7.95. Grows to 1m x native flora, but failed to consider Riberry, or small 2m in any sunny spot. its nutritional value as well. lilly-pilly It has taken almost two hundred (Syzygium luemannii) years for attitudes to change, and The attractive reddish fruit of TIP: To add spot colour to there is now much interest in the riberry is a popular ingredient your waterwise garden, plant the unique flavours and potential of many wildfood dishes, and is brachyscome, correa, scaevola, medicinal value of indigenous harvested commercially. You can helichrysum and kangaroo paws. plants. grow riberry in a pot. (For more details, ask for your free Plant List from the nursery)

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NEWS FROM KANYANA Bobtail Flu Kanyana Plant of the Month With the lovely, warm spring At Kanyana, the volunteers will days, everyone is moving around in place the sick lizard in a hot box the garden. Bobtails (shingleback (25 deg C) in the intensive care area lizards) are becoming active after of the hospital. It will have a daily the cold winter and you can see nebuliser, antibiotic injections for them soaking up the sun or moving 6–8 weeks and will be tube fed in the leaf litter where they can with a reptile supplement mixture find their food. until it starts to feed by itself. When the flu symptoms abate and As our ongoing sponsorship of the body weight is back to normal, Kanyana, Zanthorrea will donate the lizard will be released back into $1 from the sale of each Grevillea its original territory to live out its ‘Bronze Rambler’. ‘Bronze long life – around 40years with Rambler’ was selected because it some reports of up to 70 years. is drought hardy, very useful in the Bobtails mate for life . garden and bird attracting. It you find a bobtail in this This lovely grevillea will grow condition - wrap it carefully in a “Yorn”, Zanthorrea’s wooden easily in both Perth sands and the towel, place it in a shoebox and sculpture, is a good example of a heavy soil of the hills. Planted either bring it in to Kanyana or healthy, wild bobtail, which should with a spadeful of Groganic and call the WILDLIFE HELPLINE on gape and hiss when you approach a teaspoon of Osmocote, it will 94749055 to locate a wildlife carer and its tail should be thick and survive with weekly waterings over in your area. plump. summer. This disease is contagious to other These shinglebacks are large Useful for covering big areas, bobtails and has spread in the skinks and store excess food as each plant grows about 30cms high last 4 -5 years resulting in quite fat in their tail. Sadly, a lot of by 3m wide. Planted at 2m centres a drop in numbers in the Perth lizards have been struck down by they make a good weed smotherer. a very nasty upper respiratory tract metro and hills areas. The head infection - the bobtail flu. This veterinarian at Perth Zoo and Attractive in a couple of ways: makes them so lethargic and sick CALM wildlife scientists, are Firstly the finely divided leaves are that they can’t eat. currently investigating this disease a bronze/red colour when the new which they suspect is caused by a growth comes out. The flowers are Clear fluid bubbles from their eyes virus. reddish mauve toothbrushes and and nose, they snuffle and sneeze occur from August to March. and their tail becomes thin and flat So keep an eye on your backyard as they use up their fat reserves. bobtails and please take care when Ready for sale are lots of 125mm Also they show little or no response cutting grass and digging in pots @ $6.95 each and some larger when approached, making them overgrown areas - their favourite ones. Plant a couple and help vunerable to dog attacks. Without hiding places. the native birds and animals at Kanyana and in your garden. treatment they may die. -Ruth, Kanyana Wildlife Centre -Alec

155 Watsonia Road, Maida Vale Western , 6057 Phone: (08) 9454 6291 Fax: (08) 9454 6260 Zanthorrea Nursery is a member [email protected] of the Plants Plus group. page 4