Red leafed chicory
Chicory flower
These plants do well in most soils and like full sun to semi-shade, are easily grown from seed and become bitter once the plants start to flower and go to seed. But before that happens you will get months of delicious and healthy leaves.
Chicory Cichorium intybus is a herbaceous perennial that grows from a strong tap root with large leaves. Blue flowers appear on long stalks in the second year. It is frost and drought tolerant, and makes a good winter salad crop in cooler regions. Young leaves have a delicious slightly bitter flavour. Older plants are eaten as vegetables. Some varieties are ‘Red Treviso’, ‘Palla Rossa’, ‘Catalogna Emerald’. Endive Cichorium endiva is closely related to chicory, grows in the same way and is a useful cool season salad plant. The flavour is mild, nutty and less bitter. Some varieties are ‘Pancalleri Fine Cut’, ‘Blonde Full Heart’, ‘Moss Curled’. Continue Reading
Your garden should not only be beautiful to look at but also a dynamic, balanced haven for all creatures (and plants) big and small.
These a just a few short extracts from my book Pest-Repellent Plants
from Chapter 1 Pests plants and predators
I hope this book will encourage you to embark on a journey of discovery, a journey that will add a fascinating new dimension to your gardening experience. Start by closely observing your garden and its inhabitants.
Everything in your garden depends on the other garden occupants and interacts with them. From the lowliest worm, centipede and ant … beetles, caterpillars and bugs … to frogs, lizards and birds … and finally to you. Your observations will show you the complexity and fragility of your garden ecosystem and some of the astonishing relationships that exist between insects and plants. Forget about bombarding everything that moves with a cocktail of the latest pesticides.
Instead, experiment with growing various masking and insect-repellent plants as well as plants that attract predators into the garden. Gradually you will build up a complete ecosystem where plants, pests and predators live in balance and remedies are needed only when this balance is upset.
My new book has finally arrived on the bookshelves around Australia. This is the second edition of the book of the same title that sold more than 20,000 copies with three reprints. This edition is completely updated with new information and new photographs. It covers the philosophy of pest-repellent gardening, that the garden should be a haven for all creatures and plants, big and small, not a battle ground. That sprays that kill (even organic ones) should be a last resort. That gardeners need to concentrate on healthy soil and healthy plants, as well as a diversity of planting, including predator attracting plants. We also need to provide homes and food for frogs, birds, lizards and bats, all of which feed on pests. Then the book looks at masking, repelling and killing plants and their numerous uses. As well as other solutions such as traps, trickery, netting and barriers to keep pests away from our precious plants. And common household items that are organic and can also be used against pests: soap, molasses, coffee, bicarbonate of soda, copper, sulphur and even water, to name but a few. The final section looks at the pests.
I encourage you to spend time in your garden, get to know your insects, as not all insects are pests and only spray once you have tried all the other solutions. Ask your local library to get a copy, buy the book from your local bookshop or buy it online in our store. Pest-Repellent Plants
The beautiful silky purple petals of the ephemeral saffron flower with bright orange red stigma.
I planted my saffron bulbs (Crocus sativus) three years ago, and then waited and waited as year after year a few insignificant leaves poked their way through the soil each autumn, hung around ’til early spring and then quietly disappeared again. But this year was different. Early in the morning three days ago I wandered outside and started watering, meditating on many things, enjoying the morning ritual during this dry, warm autumn weather. Suddenly I realised that something had changed, there amongst those same spindly leaves that had appeared a week or so before, was a beautiful, purple flower with three distinct orange red stigma. Continue Reading
Another small piece of the display garden
A small piece of Home Life by the Tree and Shrub Growers Victoria garden
Beneath the fabulous old trees of the Carlton gardens and in the Heritage listed Exhibition Building, it is not possible to imagine a better setting for a flower and garden show. And I think the 2012 show is one of the best in recent years. Although I don’t agree with all the judges decisions, there are some very deserving winners including the gold medal equal best in show Home.Life by the Tree and Shrub Growers Victoria (see above and below). Carolyn Blackman of Vivid Design has done a great job of displaying the variety of flowers, herbs and vegetables being promoted by Oasis Horticulture; and as usual the Debco Avenue of Achievable Gardens is a delight. Better I think than any other year. As I write this there are still two days of the show to go, and the weather, which has been perfect for the last three days, looks as if it is going to remain kind. So, if you have any interest in gardening, or just love beautiful things, make your way to the Flower and Garden show this weekend. If you can’t go, or just want a taste of what you will see, look at the pictures in the rest of this article.
Continue Reading
Green fennel flower and leaves
All fennel flowers are attractive to bees and other beneficial insects
Fennel Foeniculum vulgare is a perennial that grows to two metres or more, and at least 50cm across. the leaf has a strong anise scent and flavour, and the buttery yellow flowers appear in summer and autumn. The more common green fennel is a noxious weed in some regions so it should not be planted. It’s better to grow bronze fennel (F. vulgare ‘Purpureum’), which is similar to green fennel, but has purple/bronze leaves, does not spread as easily and is not a noxious weed. Alternatively grow Florence fennel (F. vulgare subsp. vulgare var. azoricum) for its delicious aniseedy stem bases. Fennel seed is sown in spring or autumn and plants will self sow easily, but Florence fennel does best if seed is sown from August to December in warm temperate regions, and September to February in cold temperate climates. Continue Reading
Golden yellow flowers and deliciously scented leaves.
The tree marigold (Tagetes lemmonii) is also known as mountain marigold, Mexican bush marigold and tangarine marigold. It is a delightful, vigorous, tough plant that grows as a sprawling large bush or small tree to 1.5m with narrow, segemented light green leaves that smell like lemon, mint and tangarine combined. Flowers are bright golden yellow and appear in autumn and winter providing bright splashes of colour for many months.
Grow new plants from seed planted in spring or by taking cuttings in spring or autumn. Tree marigold will grow in most soils as long as they are well drained and it likes a sunny but sheltered position. I’ve found that it needs very little water so it’s a great candidate for that hard to reach spot where it won’t get much attention and where you might regularly forget to water. Cut it back every now and then to promote flower growth and keep the bush from becoming too straggly.
A cornucopia of produce
I’ve had a cornucopia of cucurbits this year, with lots of ‘Black Beauty’ zucchini and and bright yellow button squash. The pumpkins are not producing as prolifically because I planted them in an out of the way position with not enough sun, but the plants are still growing and the pumpkins are getting bigger. Unfortunately, for the last few weeks the powdery mildew has also been growing. Powdery mildew is a fungus that attacks cucurbits (zucchini, marrow, pumpkin, cucumber etc) and grapevines, some fruit trees and a range of other plants including begonias and roses. It first appears as pale grey spots on the surface of leaves, spreading to cover the whole leaf and stem. If untreated, eventually the whole plant will shrivel, brown and die. Powdery mildew is most prevalent in moderately dry regions, when the weather starts to cool in autumn and where water sits on foliage for long periods. Almost counterintuitively, it is less likely to be a problem in wet weather as well as very hot, dry weather.
Insects and bees love the nectar in elephant garlic flowers
Elephant garlic, also commonly called Russian garlic, is occasionally found listed in seed and bulb catologues and seed saver lists. In some regions it is found naturalised on old house sites and it is a welcome, or sometimes, unwelcome inhabitant of many suburban gardens – but it is not garlic.
So what is it? Its botanical name is Allium ampeloprasum (Ampeloprasum Group) ‘Elephant Garlic’ and it is actually a close relative of the leek, A. ampeloprasum (Porrum Group). It is only more distantly related to true garlic (A. sativum). Other common names are giant garlic, great-headed garlic, Levant garlic, Yorktown onion, and in French, ail d’orient, and German, pferdknoblauch. Continue Reading
Spanish lavender needs to be pruned in summer.
Italian lavender 'Avonview'
In the cool of the early morning and late in the afternoon I have been tidying up my garden. We had so much rain in spring that everything grew rapidly with lots of plants being overgrown, swamping nearby plants. I am just now finding time to do something about this and while most of the garden should have been cut back weeks ago (I always seem to be running weeks behind), now is the perfect time to prune most lavenders. They have been glorious right through spring but now the flower heads have largely finished and are starting to brown off, so its time to cut them back. All the Spanish and Italian lavenders (Lavandula pedunculata and L. stoechas) benefit from an allover trim. Just hold a clump of flowers in your hand and cut back well below the flowers, taking about a third of the leafy stem as well. You should end up with a compact, shaped shrub with no flowers. One of the joys of pruning lavender is the scent, I find it makes me feel cheerful and clearheaded. Not unexpected as in aromatherapy lavender is calming and antidepressant. Continue Reading
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