Bush Telegraph No 85 Autumn 2010 Gardening Down Under Rejuvenating the Vege Patch Potato Time Time to Plant Everlastings It’S Also Time to Plant Spuds
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BushNo 85 Autumn 2010 Telegraph Greetings What’s news? Garden Talks As I write, we have had 17 weeks Best Medium Garden Centre WA Create a Wildlife Habitat at Zanthorrea without a drop in our Congratulations to the team at Discover how easy it is to create rain gauge. Hopefully by the time Zanthorrea for winning Best Medium the habitat to bring wildlife back to our newsletter reaches you, the Garden Centre “WA finalist”. The your garden. season will have broken with some National winner will be announced Saturday 17th April 10am refreshing rains. With our record hot at NGIA conference in Darwin in Morning tea & question time. and dry summers, autumn is indeed late April. Wish us luck. the best time to plant. Gold coin donation to Kanyana. It’s an exciting time in the vege RSVP 94546260 garden, and Samara and Alix have Pests and Predators planting suggestions for autumn veges. Samara maintains the display Would you like to learn about what organic vege garden at Zanthorrea, ails your plants. Join Jackie for a talk and is a keen gardener. We now on pests, predators and disease and stock Heirloom varieties of veges what to do about it. grown by team member Alix. Call in Saturday 15th May 10am. Jackie and Alec with judge Sabrina Hahn and check out the exciting range. Morning tea & question time. and team members Lorretta and Dan On page 3, Daniel has Gold coin donation to Kanyana. recommendations for successful Winner! RSVP 94546260 planting in our dry climate and Judy Close was delighted to win features some of his favourite easy Easter opening hours the Zanthorrea Christmas garden care plants. hamper pictured below. Zanthorrea is open every day over Welcome to our two new team the Easter long weekend. Danielle members. Toby, who impressed us has prepared an Easter egg hunt while on school work experience, now for the kids. Hope you have time to works 4 days in the growing area with pop in and check out the wonderful Alec, and helps Chris in the gardens. plants and giftware at the nursery. Fletch has joined Zanthorrea STOP PRESS! after many years experience in his family’s garden centre Garden Look out for the erection of our Affair. Fletch has had a few years latest sculpture in the display break and is now looking forward to Team member Janine with Judy gardens. A 5m totem is being carved returning to horticulture. by local hills artists Gordon Mitchell Free the Bear Fund Inc. There are plenty of new plants and and Pieter Baarspul. Pictured below, Claire Hooper and products to discover at Zanthorrea. Mary Hutton with Jackie launch We do hope you come visit us soon. Grevillea ‘Woolly Bear Mian’ last Happy Gardening! December. Proceeds from this Grevillea – Jackie Alec and the team go to the Free the Bear Fund Inc. Garden Week Don’t miss the excitement and spectacle of Perth’s own Garden Week, held this year at Perry Lakes, Gordon and Pieter work on the sculpture from 8th April to 13th April. During the construction of our At Garden Week, Jackie will talk on new building, we were required to “Australian plants for dry gardens”. remove a large tree. The sculpture is Sunday 11th April, 2pm our way of honouring our tree. Zanthorrea Nursery 1 Bush Telegraph No 85 Autumn 2010 Gardening Down Under Rejuvenating the vege patch Potato time Time to Plant Everlastings It’s also time to plant spuds. It’s so Early spring each year there easy and great fun. are carpets of pink and white everlastings throughout Kings Park and at Zanthorrea. By the time we are admiring them, it is a bit late to plant. As the weather begins to cool we Just dig a trench, place your seed harvest the last of our summer crops potatoes in the bottom, and cover and begin to consider replanting the with soil and straw. As the stems and patch with cool season veges. It’s leaves peep through, add another time to rejuvenate the vege patch. layer, continuing until the trench Once the patch is cleared is filled. This is called ‘hilling’ the re-invigorate the soil with some potatoes and ensures masses of the organic matter and a dressing of stem tubers we call potatoes. So once we have had a good soaking fertiliser. A layer of sheep and cow – Jackie rain, it’s time to prepare the soil and manure or some compost and a plant seed. Weeds can reduce their generous sprinkling of blood and Gardening Survey growth, so hoe them out. Mix your bone will replenish the soil ready With April just around the corner, seed in a bucket or wheelbarrow for hungry winter greens. people’s thoughts will turn once with some soil improver or compost We are now stocking the long again to the garden. In fact, a to hold moisture for germination awaited ‘Rock Dust’, an all natural recent survey commissioned by and to provide some nutrient for source of mineral trace elements. the Nursery Garden Industry of the new seedlings. Water in well if possible, or sow seed on a rainy Try some rock dust in the vege Australia (NGIA) indicated that day! patch to re-mineralise the soil a staggering 72% of Australians plan on purchasing plants for their and experience some of its many Kanyana’s Plant of the Month benefits. garden this autumn. But the way we garden can have a significant Peaches & Cream Check out our new range of impact on the environment, both (Eremophila racemosa) This 1m organically grown vegetable locally, and beyond, and, with bright green bush gives yellow and seedlings from Heirloom Farm. 40% of Australians associating their white buds and flowers from winter Heirlooms are tried and true non- garden with doing their bit for the to summer. hybrid backyard varieties such as: environment, the decisions we $1 from each plant will go to • Broccoli ‘Di Cicco’ make in the backyard have never Kanyana to help support the • Kale ‘Red Russian’ been more important. wonderful work done by the • Kale ‘Nero di toscana’ “Gardeners play a serious role in volunteers. For more information • Celery ‘Pink stalked’ the long-term health of the planet, about Kanyana, go to: and gardening sustainably is a great • Lettuce ‘Australian Yellow Leaf’ www.kanyanawildlife.org.au way to go about it” • Brussel sprout ‘Ruby’ For advice on getting a vege patch Great gardening tip started or what to plant now, come When hand watering during dry and have a chat with us. times, carry a squeezy bottle of –Alix and Samara diluted Eco-wet. If the water pools and won’t soak in, hit it with a little soil wetter. Eremophila racemosa 2 Zanthorrea Nursery Bush Telegraph No 85 Autumn 2010 Autumn Planting Time to plant pachyphylla and ‘Gungurru’. The After WA’s hottest, driest summer summer flowering E. erythrocorys since record keeping began, we are still in stock too- they have are all looking forward to doing flowered brilliantly in Perth this some serious planting. Don’t be too summer. despondent if your garden is looking tired and dry as autumn and winter rains will soon give it a boost- hopefully! Autumn is a great time Acacia howittii ‘Green Wave’ to plant- the weather is cooler and limited number of unusual species plants establish much better than available too. The ever popular they would in summer. At the same Banksia ‘Birthday Candles’ is also in time, the soil is still warm enough to stock and is a great addition to the encourage strong root growth. The garden. nursery is always looking great in Eucalyptus erythrocorys autumn too, with lots of new plants We have a fine batch of coming in so we look forward to Austromyrtus dulcis (Midyim Berry) seeing you soon. available at the moment. It is one As always, Grevilleas have a of the best bush tucker plants strong presence at Zanthorrea in around with small white berries the autumn. Excellent performers that are sweet and yummy. It fruits available include ‘Superb’, which prolifically in autumn and is a flowers almost all year; ‘Red Hooks’, lovely low shrub that is hardy and Banksia ‘Birthday Candles’ which is an excellent tall screening will grow in full sun or part shade. shrub with bold toothbrush type Other plants worth checking out flowers and ‘Frosty Pink’, which is an in the nursery include Eremophila Alec favourite that is low growing, ‘Peaches & Cream’ and Eremophila hardy and floriferous. Old reliables ‘Minnie Pink’, Leptospermum G. crithmifolia and ‘Winpara Gold’ sericeum (Esperance Tea Tree), are in good numbers and are great Ricinocarpus tuberculatus (Wedding for verge planting and screening/ Bush), several rare and unusual hedging respectively. Verticordias and loads of Callistemons and Melaleucas. Austromyrtus dulcis We also have an excellent batch of the very popular Acacia howittii ‘Green Wave’. This low, spreading form can be seen growing beautifully in the raised garden near the new staff room. It is dense, hardy and Grevillea ‘Frosty Pink’ ideal as a groundcover for slopes, rockeries and embankments. Verticordia nitens Eucalypts are another plant that is This year we will have a very good best planted in the cooler, wetter These planting ideas are just the range of Banksias available. They autumn and winter months. We are tip of the iceberg at Zanthorrea so are among my favourite group of well stocked with usual favourites we hope you can come in and see plants and late autumn/winter is the like E. torquata and victrix, and the variety for yourself. Autumn is a best time to plant them.