Wildfl ower meadows Growing nuts Camellia japonica Asian vegies Banksias PRINT POST APPROVED PP 424022/00409 APPROVED PRINT POST Magnolias Hedges ISSUE 53 Winter herbs Winter 2010 For more gardening hints & tips, visit www.aboutthegarden.com.auwww.aboutthegarden.com QUEENSLAND HOME GARDEN EXPO www.homegardenexpo.com.au Issue 53 WWhat’shat’s The much anticipated Queensland Home Garden Expo will be opening the gates on 9-10-11, 2010 to thousands of enthusiastic Winter 2010 Û ? gardeners from across the state. Each year over 25,000 garden lovers and horticulture professionals ock to Nambour ring now Showgrounds, Sunshine Coast to enjoy Queensland’s premier gardening event. fl ooweringwe now? On par with Australia’s best garden shows, the including over 40,000 plants, all the latest in Plant lead a team of over twenty quality of displays, exhibits and lectures make garden tools, pots, books, tanks, mowers and speakers covering a wide variety About this issue... this one of the top Û ve garden shows in the power equipment, to name a few. The Giant of gardening topics. country and number one in Queensland. Kitchen Garden Feature continues to grow each Phil Dudman and Julie Ray will be Features Queensland Home Garden Expo is where year with the increasing interest in sustainable presenting The Gourmet Gardener, a nurseries and garden industry professionals living and gardening. You will Û nd some great new feature this year that will include Over the hedge 4 showcase their creative talents and share their tips on how you can make a difference to the some great tips for growing your own knowledge. With over 360 exhibitors there is an environment in your own backyard. fruit and vegies and some great Magnifi cent magnolias 6 amazing range of garden products on display Information and advice abound at the Garden ideas on how to turn them into gourmet Expo with continuous lectures on seven live meals. Let’s go nuts! 8 stages. Colin Campbell, Annette McFarlane, Not to be missed are the fantastic Ü oral Ross McKinnon, Jerry Coleby-Williams and Paul design creations and displays by more Grow Asian vegetables 10 than Û fteen Queensland Garden Clubs and Societies. Recipe — oven-baked spring rolls 11 All of this, plus great food, street Banksias 16 Foxgloves entertainment and free children’s playground and Ecotainment, combine Camellia japonica 18 to make Queensland Home Garden Expo a great day out. Winter wildfl owers 20 For further information visit Winter herbs 22 www.homegardenexpo.com.au Dog or cat problems? 23 Regulars Winter 2010 Garden Diary 12 Winter 2010 handy hints & tips 14 Subscribe to About the Garden 21 Violas Winter is my favourite time in the garden. The chill in the air that gives gardens a wonderful sense Pansies & Alyssum of peace on winter mornings fi lls us with energy later in the day as we potter about our gardening NAMBOUR SHOWGROUNDS QLD’S PREMIER GARDENING EVENT tasks. Winter is when some of our most beautiful more than 360 exhibitors including 60 Adults $14 fl owering plants put on spectacular nurseries Aged Concession $12 displays, so enjoy and God bless... 40,000 plants for sale daily Kids 15 & under FREE Con Searle landscape gardens – giant kitchen garden (all proceeds from car parking go to feature local service clubs) In the morning, prayer is the key that opens to us the over 120 free lectures Free shuttle buses roam Nambour half treasures of God’s mercies and blessings; in the evening, demo’s + workshops non – stop hourly meeting and dropping off to it is the key that shuts us up under his protection and 9+10+11 free advice from gardening experts Col every train. safeguard. — Anonymous Campbell, Annette McFarlane, Ross McKinnon GATES OPEN DAILY AT 8.00AM Û oral art, Û ora societies, artists, clay – workers • Managing Director: Conway Searle food courts, entertainment, free kids • Contributors: Claire Bickle, Noel Burdette, Frida Forsberg, .july 10 playground and lots more Alana Searle and Ashley Searle • Magazine Manager: Alana Searle • Design & Layout: Frida Forsberg — ATG Graphics Dept. • ATG Group Co-ordinator & Advertising: Jason Searle • Front Cover Photo: ‘Magnolia norbertii’ by Alana Searle About the Garden is published seasonally by Want more? About the Garden Pty. Ltd. ABN 21 076 919 992 Subscribe to About the 4914 D’Aguilar Highway, Kilcoy or P.O. Box 70, Kilcoy Qld. 4515 Phone: (07) 5422 3090 • Fax: (07) 5497 2287 Garden’s Seasonal Newsletter PHONE (07) 5441 4655 www.homegardenexpo.com.au Email: [email protected] The material appearing in About the Garden is subject to copyright. Other than as permitted by the Copyright Act, no part of this magazine To subscribesubscribe,, email may be reproduced without the permission of the publishers. No responsibility is accepted by About the Garden Pty. Ltd. for the accuracy of information contained in the text, illustrations or advertisements. Although believed to be accurately and correctly sourced, thereof disclaims any liability against itself, editor/s or employees arising from any person acting on the material herein. The opinions expressed in the [email protected]@abboutthegarden com au magazine, or by contributors, do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. ©Copyright 2010 About the Garden Pty. Ltd. Over the hedge Part I. lavender star e Hedging has played an important role in gardens for centuries. lavender star Sheena’s gold Pruning tip: Increasingly sought-after in high density urban areas, hedges When pruning bring leafy appeal to the walls and fence lines of modern GramichamaG amichama Min-a-min bronze, caramel, beige, Another large-leafed plant is the Murraya paniculata dwarf cherry and olive...all at the your hedge, environments. Hedging can bring a sense of structure to a ‘Min-a-min’ unusual Gramichama (Eugenia is a delightful form same time! make the base garden, defi ne outdoor ‘rooms’, create privacy and bring a brasiliensis). This little known plant of murraya which has miniature • Best kept at 60cm sense of elegance to a variety of garden styles. is a relative of our native lilly pilly. It foliage and grows to no more • Tropics to warm slightly wider than one metre high. When Noel Burdette carries shiny, evergreen foliage and temperate than the top. has a tropical appeal. It produces clipped, it resembles the English • Dislikes heavy frost sweet, edible, black fruit in early Buxus species but is far better • Non-fl owering This will help Picture: Informal hedges of summer. A beautiful and productive suited to warmer climates. A well-grown hedge can sunlight reach (from left) leyland cypress, plant. Like the standard murraya, brunfelsia, lavender and a • Best kept to 2–3m high it produces clusters of softly be stunning and with extra lower branches, thought on suitable species, border of Japanese roof iris. • Tropics & subtropics perfumed fl owers in summer. Its encouraging • Edible fruit adaptability allows it to be easily its beauty can be enjoyed for many years to come. Choosing your plants smaller species). Although your hedge may The most popular hedging plants are the kept as low as thirty centimetres thick, even Brunfelsia or grown to its full height of one Plants ideally suited to hedging are compact- look a little sparse to begin with, the end result Lilly pilly (Syzygium spp.), Sheena’s Gold Read about more great growth from the Another perfumed beauty is the metre. Min-a-min is a superior, growing shrubs or small trees with naturally will be worth waiting for and your hedge will (Duranta repens aurea), and Mock Orange hedging plants in the well-known Yesterday, today and long-term option for warm ground up. dense growth all the way to the ground. They be healthier and need less water in the long (Murraya paniculata). These species have tomorrow (Brunfelsia latifolia). climate gardeners who want the spring issue of About must respond well to light, regular clipping term. Deep, regular watering and a fortnightly proven themselves worthy time and again, In spring and early summer, look of English Box. the Garden. and should be long-lived and adaptable as application of Searles Fish & Kelp Plus for however, there are many species that are this distinctive shrub becomes • Best kept at 1m or lower replacing a dead plant in a mature hedge can the fi rst three months will encourage each plant equally beautiful, strong and attractive. smothered with hundreds of highly • Tropics to Sydney create an uneven look for years. Although to develop a strong and sturdy root system. Lavender star fragrant, violet blooms that gracefully • Perfumed the ideal hedging plants will tolerate light This will help reduce long-term root competition Feed your garden........... Lavender star (Grewia occidentalis) age to lavender and then to white, shade, the best hedges are grown in full sun. between plants within the hedge. An application of Searles Re-Wetting Granules at the time This was the plant of choice many years resulting in three different colours Allyn Magic There are only a handful of hedging plants Another wonderful low hedge Recycle your food waste of planting will also be benefi cial. If planting before Sheena’s gold superceded it on the same plant. It is best pruned that can tolerate shady conditions long term is Allyn Magic (Acmena sp.). along a fence line, plant at least 60–70cm in popularity. Lavender Star is still a directly after fl owering in midsummer and these tend to result in ‘informal’ shaped This is a lilly pilly that is especially with the fabulous away from the fence. This will encourage even trustworthy and extremely drought hardy and then again in autumn. This is hedges.