My dirty little secret

Every year around this time my secret love affair starts.  It starts off slow with only a hint of the love and pure joy that will come as the days turn into weeks and finally months.  Then very quickly it’s gone. All the happiness and pleasure gone and I come crashing back down to earth. 

I have to keep my love a secret as so many people disagree with me plus this love is just so, so, so common!

But I’ll let you in on my dirty little secret…. I love Jasmine Polyanthum. They give my end of winter start of the wester/ly winds blues the TLC I need to continue.  I know spring will be here soon.

I love nearly everything about this plant. I love the soft feather like foliage, the deep green lushness of its leaves.  I love the way it soft stems intertwine themselves and fall gracefully down.  I love how the pink buds form at the end of winter, letting me know the end of this cold is close.  I love watching the deep pink buds open to the purest white flower. But most of all I love the scent.

I love the scent wafting in the air, just a hint of spring.  I love getting up close and breathing deeply letting the fragrance fill me.  I love how it captures me and makes me want more. Oh how glorious it would be to be surrounded by Jasmine Polyanthums. 

Every year I forget what their scent does to me. Then I start to notice them everywhere. This beautiful dense climber with pink buds and then they buds open and I’m in love all over again. 

While Jasmine Polyanthums are beautiful at this time of year reality hits around autumn and winter when they have a tendency to look a little shabby.  I have found that a good fertilise with Organic Link Fertiliser and trim after flowering (October, November) and just before flowering (July) helps keep them looking neat and beautiful. 

Jasmine Polyanthums love the full sun but can grow in some shade.  They are a very vigorous climber and can cover an area quite quickly.  If you don’t have anywhere for them to climb don’t worry they look glorious in hanging baskets or trailing over the edges of retaining walls.  I have even seen some Jasmine Polyanthums climbing on chain link fence but they were highly trimmed and it looked like a box hedge.  These plants are hardy – they don’t mind a little bit of dry weather or a little bit of wet weather.

Jasmine flowers are also commonly used as aphrodisiacs so make sure you like your neighbours before you use it on your fencing!  Also for many people the scent can be very overpowering and even a bit sickly so do be mindful of where you plant it.

This weekend give your love life some TLC and bring a Jasmine Polyanthum home, it can stay inside for a few days too but only if necessary!

My Favourite Scentous Month

I love July.  It has to be my favourite month.  Not only is it my birthday month but my favourite plant is starting to flower.  I first discovered this plant when I was a little girl climbing trees in my parent’s garden.  At the time I thought that my mother and father had especially planted this tree for me so I had flowers on my birthday. I just could never work out why they planted it under my sister’s window and not mine!  Even when I smell the flowers today I get transported back to their garden and a time of simple existence.

I find the best way to give my life some TLC especially during one of the coldest months of the year is to have a Rondeletia amoena.  Whether it be in the garden or a pot this plant is a must for all gardeners.  Some may class it as old fashioned, for me it’s timeless!

The genus name, Rondeletia, commemorates Guillaume Rondelet, a 16th century French naturalist. The species name, amoena, is from the Latin meaning 'lovely' and lovely it is. Rondeletia amoena is an evergreen shrub or small tree to around 3m tall. It has dense green foliage making the perfect tree for hedging or as a feature.  Energex even thinks it’s a wonderful plant and recommends it for planting under power lines.

Rondeletia amoena are just beginning to produce their clusters of deep pink buds which will slowly open to salmon-pink, perfumed flowers.  They will flower from now until the end of spring.  These deliciously scented flowers do not have an overpowering scent. If you are anything like me though you’ll want to sit all day in the garden and breathe in this divine scent.

Rondeletia amoena’s are a versatile plant that can be grown in full sun or part shade.  It is a very tough, drought-tolerant plant for any style of garden from tropical to formal.  These plants are hardly bothered by pests or disease and they even attract butterflies!

 Whether you have a green-thumb or slightly brown tinged one Rondeletia amoena are for you. A small trim after flowering and a seasonal fertilise with an organic slow release fertiliser, I use Organic Link, will promote a denser form and more beautiful plant.

This weekend spoil yourself and take a trip back to your childhood.  Rondeletia amoena are the best and easiest way to give yourself and garden some TLC during the cold month of July.

Aphids

Some weekends start off perfectly - the slow and steady rise from sleep to wakefulness, the smell and taste of a fresh brewed coffee and the deliciousness of a cooked breakfast.  Finally as the sun starts to warm up the garden you get motivated to go outside and enjoy the day by being productive outside.

 You take a slow stroll around the garden creating a mental checklist of what needs to be done when you stop short.  What on earth has happened to my beautiful plants?  They were fine yesterday (or whatever day I was last out here!) Now suddenly they are in dire need of a little TLC. The perfect weekend is slowly spiralling downhill.

Even through the cold months insects and disease can play havoc in our gardens.  An easy way to keep insects and disease at bay is to keep our plants healthy.  Fertilising with a complete organic slow release fertiliser every three months or at the change of season is a great way of helping our plants stay strong and able to fight off disease and insects.  Sometimes though even the best laid plans go astray and plants unfortunately will get disease and insects, it even happens to the best of us green thumbs!

At the moment I am finding that aphids are having a feast in my garden.  With the warm days many of my plants have tender, yummy, new shoots appearing, just what aphids love.  There are many different species of Aphids; they are all small sap sucking insects that vary in colour from green to yellow and black. Aphids don’t just suck the life from your plants they also transmit virus diseases such as broad bean wilt. Natural predators are lady birds but if you don’t have enough of these you may need to spray with the chemical Imidacloprid.  The brand I use is Conguard by Searles.  

Azaleas will also benefit from a spray of Imidacloprid (Conguard) at this time of year.  If your azalea leaves have lost their colour and lustre (may look sandblasted) and have black spots on the underside of their leaves – you have Lace Bug. Severe infestations of lace bug can lead to reduced plant vigour and loss of leaves. You may need to spray a few times to control your infestation and unfortunately once the leaves have that sand blasted look they will stay that way.  A good trim and fertilise though will help promote nice new healthy growth to cover the unsightly affected growth.  If you don’t like spraying with chemicals a new range of azaleas have been released that are lace bug resistant. This is called the Encore Range.  My favourite is Autumn Twist.  It is mauve with a dark purple stripe thru the flower.

The Imidacloprid based sprays work on a Systemic action – absorbed through the foliage and moves throughout the plant to control insects.  They are safe to use on most plant types and you need very low concentrations to be effective.  The most important thing I find is that Imidacloprid based sprays are low toxic to beneficial insects such as ladybirds and bees.

Start and end your weekend perfectly by giving not only your garden but the birds and the bees some TLC.

Camellia Japonica

Over the years my grandfather has tried to teach me a lot.  He tried to teach me to fish but I could never stand still long enough to catch anything! He tried to teach me to cylinder mow but I could never get the hang of mowing in a straight line. He even tried to teach me to be a little quieter and we all know that didn’t work!  The one thing he did teach me well though was how perfect Camellia Japonicas are. 

Do yourself and your garden a favor and treat yourself to a Camellia Japonica.  These glorious plants are sometimes called the rose of winter but should be called the jewel of winter because they put on a fabulous flower display in the cooler months of the year when the rest of the garden often looks dull and bare.

Japonica flowers are what make this plant so perfect.  I get such joy in seeing the buds open to these so flawless and diverse flowers.  I have found over ten different descriptions of Japonica flowers. The most common are single, double, peony and formal double.  The shade of the flowers are just as diverse and can vary from red to pink to white and sometimes have multi-coloured stripes or specks.  The flowers are not small either with many flowers being at least 15cm in diameter.  What is even better is these plants flower in abundance and the flowers last for ages.  A childhood memory is of water bowls all over our house filled with japonica flowers. 

Camellia Japonicas have the darkest green glossy foliage.  The leaves are quite broad, thick and smooth making the plant look lush and dense.  Japonicas will grow superbly in full shade or part shade.  In climates where deciduous trees are popular japonicas are usually planted underneath so they are protected from the hot summer sun but are free to shine while they are in flower and the tree is naked.  Japonicas don’t mind if they are planted in the ground or in a pot.  They don’t like wet feet though so make sure your soil is well drained and slightly acidic, around pH6.  They are quite hardy once established.  I find they do best if they are mulched well and are given a good fertilise about every three months with a slow release complete organic fertiliser.

Why doesn’t everyone have one of these glorious plants?  Over the years they have gotten a bad reputation because they are slow growing and some varieties can take years to flower.  Many people also suffered with Bud Drop which causes loss or decay of buds.   

Beautiful plants do not grow overnight and it is nice to have a plant that does not need constant trimming.  Some Japonicas can take years to flower mainly the formal doubles, the others flower very easily.  We also now know that bud drop can be caused by over watering, high temperatures, or pot bound roots.  Some things we can fix others we cannot!

A Camellia Japonica in a pot on a veranda is the perfect way to give your dull winter life some TLC and bring some happiness back into your garden!

Welcome

Hi and Welcome to Trevallan's Blog.  I hope you enjoy this ride.  I am so excited about sharing with you all.  By the end I hope we all have a green finger (even if its just the pinkie), beautiful homes, scentous scents and look even more fantastic than we already do.  The blog is only just beginning so its not the prettiest but give me a chance and we can all grow and flourish together.  Remember Trevallan's motto its all about "Giving your life some TLC"