Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is just an overrated commercialized day and we don’t celebrate it our family …. Said no mother ever!

Mother’s Day is all about celebrating all the wonderful things your mum has done for you and forgetting about the things that niggle at you. Because don’t forget many of us are mothers too and I’m sure our children feel the same way if not now definitely in the future!

I heard an advert on the radio the other day that basically went like this “if your mum told you she doesn’t want a present this year, just time with you is present enough”, means you aren’t the best gift chooser and please don’t waste money on something I don’t want.

Now days it seems like we are spoilt for choice in the present department. Years ago a pot of chrysanthemums was the only choice you had for Mother’s Day. 

You know what? It’s still a darn good choice.

Chrysanthemums are traditionally given at Mother’s Day as they flower profusely during autumn and they contain the word mum! 

They are so many varieties of chrysanthemums available today; there is surely one to suit every mum. 

The US National Chrysanthemum Society has derived that there are 13 different types of flower forms and over 100 different colours.

Chrysanthemums are honestly one of the easiest plants to grow and are a perfect gift for green or brown fingered mums! Chrysanthemums have long lasting flowers and are relatively pest and disease free. 

Potted chrysanthemums can flower for several weeks indoors but thrive best if placed in full sun. They can be grown in pots or in the garden. To keep them looking fantastic and to promote more flowers all spent flowers and discoloured leaves should be removed and liquid fertilised fortnightly. After flowering chrysanthemums should be cut back to about 15cm (6") high and be given some organic link complete organic fertiliser. They can have up to three flowerings a year.

If you don’t like the traditional Chrysanthemum, Trevallan Lifestyle Centre is overflowing with living flowering gifts. Cyclamens, azaleas, pansies, anthruiums, orchids, camellias, roses are all in bloom, look fantastic and are easy to care for – even brown thumb mums should enjoy all of these! 

Team any of these plants with a beautiful planter and you have the perfect present even if your mum doesn’t have a garden. Planters are a little different from normal pots in that they don’t have a hole in the bottom. With a planter you just place the plant inside the planter, no potting. They are great for indoors as you can still give your plants a good drink without having the water running everywhere problem. Just don’t over water!

With every present you give though, don’t forget to give a little of your time as well. Even though we are adults we are still our mum’s children. She just wants the best for us – so ignore the so called mothering insanity and give her a hug and kiss and let you know you love her. Because while a mother’s love is unconditional we as children need to reassure them that our love is unconditional too!

Best Cut Flowers

I love the cooler weather. I know the days are still warm but the nights have that glorious cool tinge.

All the plants I love to surround myself with are now in bloom or coming into bloom.

I love gift giving at this time of year. I don’t do cut flowers, of course! I want my gifts to last a little longer but I also know not everyone has a green finger so I don’t want them to stress about my gift.

Which is why I always love giving
Cyclamens.

Cyclamens are the perfect indoor or shade plant for the cooler months. They have a long continuous flowering period – usually from April until October. They are available in a rich tapestry of colours ranging from white to pink, red and mauve, some are even bi-coloured. The leaves are even pretty coming in a range of shapes - from broad to rounded, kidney, or heart shaped. They may be blotched, patterned, or even marbled on the upper surface.

Cyclamens aren’t fussy which is why they are the perfect gift.

I always tell people “treat them cold keep them beautiful!”

Even though cyclamens grow fantastically indoors they love the cold; it seems to refresh and revitalise them. Every few days you should give your cyclamens a drink, wetting soil and foliage and put them outside for the night. They will appreciate the cold frosty morning!

I find just a good watering every few days is fine. I always like to place my cyclamens in a planter. Planters are a little different from normal pots in that they don’t have a hole in the bottom. With a planter you just place the plant inside the planter, no potting. They are great for indoors as you can still give your plants a good drink without having the water running everywhere problem. Just don’t over water.

Cyclamens appreciate a regular liquid fertilise. I alternate every fortnight between Triple Boost and Silica and Potash Liquid fertilisers. The Triple Boost keeps them healthy and the Silica and Potash keeps them flowering. It is a good idea to remove the spent flowers. A spent cyclamen flower should never be cut off. Instead, remove tired blooms and stems by gently twisting off at the base and pulling them away from the main tuber.

Cyclamens grow from a tuber and tend to die down during our hot humid summer. If you are lucky though and find a cool, dry, shady spot in the garden (that isn’t taken by you) they can continue to grow. If your cyclamens do die down keep them in a cool, dry, shady position and water sparingly and hope they reappear in the cool months again. If they don’t regrow think about it like this – A bunch of cut flowers that lasted over three months. Wow now that’s value for money!

A cyclamen will warm your soul even on the coldest morning. So don’t forget to spread the love this weekend.

The Dirty Dozen

I'm getting a little gardening bored. It's still too early to be planting my winter vegetables and my vegetable patch is cleaned, composted, mulched and waiting. My few gardens are fertilised, trimmed and waiting for cooler weather to start planting out more. My lawns are fertilised, soil wetted and weed killed - just waiting on rain to green them up. 

So what does one do when garden bored - they start dreaming big. I think I have about 40 seed packets of the things I'd like to grow this winter. 

So I may have gotten a little over excited. So how do I narrow it down? 

Lucky for me I came across an interesting article on the extremely high amounts of pesticide residue on frozen berries. The interesting thing was most of the residue of pesticides banned in Australia. This happens because most frozen berry companies get their berries from a variety of overseas sources. 

The old mind clogs started turning over and after a bit more research I discovered the 'Dirty Dozen' and the 'Clean Fifteen'.

These are two lists released by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) each year.

 The Dirty Dozen, a list of the fruits and vegetables likely to contain the highest amounts of pesticide residue. The Clean 15 is a list of fruits and vegetables least likely to contain pesticides.

The EWG take into account how people typically wash and prepare produce - for example, apples were washed and bananas peeled before testing.

The “Dirty Dozen” for 2013 were (number one being the most highest in pesticide residue)

1. Apples

2. Strawberries

3. Grapes

4. Celery

5. Peaches

6. Spinach

7. Sweet bell peppers

8. Nectarines

9. Cucumbers

10. Potatoes

11. Cherry tomatoes

12. Hot peppers

The EWG also added kale/collard greens and summer squash as a plus last year as they may contain organophosphate insecticides, which EWG characterizes as "highly toxic" and of special concern. 

Did you know that all of these you can grow at home in pots or gardens?

Armed with this information planning my winter vegetable patch has become a little easier.  Apart from cucumbers all of the 'Dirty Dozen' can be grown at home this winter.  Cucumbers prefer warmer weather. 

I honestly don't know why cherry tomatoes are on the list. I have no idea why anyone would need to spray these. If anyone has ever grown cherry tomatoes you would know how easy these plants are and how unsusceptible they are to disease and insects. 

I have also potted a raspberry, a fig and a dwarf peach just for fun too. 

I know you are all wondering what the 'Clean fifteen' are. So here it is

1. Asparagus

2. Avocados

3. Cabbage

4. Cantaloupe

5. Sweet corn

6. Eggplant

7. Grapefruit

8. Kiwi

9. Mangoes

10. Mushrooms

11. Onions

12. Papayas

13. Pineapples

14. Sweet peas (frozen) 

15. Sweet potatoes

Don't get gardening bored, plan big and include the 'Dirty Dozen' in your backyard. 

Gardens and Unicorns

Did you make a New Year's resolution? Have you kept it?

I read a funny saying the other day about New Year's resolutions. It read "My New Years resolution is to become a unicorn". I think many of us tend to over exaggerate our expectations of ourselves. In doing this our New Years resolutions become a bit of a fantasy.

For this reason I don't make New Years resolutions anymore.

I like to say instead - I have set my intentions for the year ahead.

So if right now you had to set your intentions for year ahead, what would they be?

Would any of those intentions be green orientated?

Is this the year for that vegetable patch or to start landscaping the back yard. Maybe it's something really simple like this year I intend to start caring for my plants more.

Nothing too over the top - we don't want yards full of unicorns!

I think the first step is being honest with ourselves. So many of us don't like being wrong. I of course don't have a problem with being wrong because I'm always right......

I find my biggest hurdle in sharing gardening knowledge is asking people to be honest about their soil.

In theory we all water well and fertilise our plants. But how much of this water and fertiliser is really getting into our soils and how much is the plant really getting?

With this continued horrible heat we are experiencing our plants will dry out much sooner than we think. Plus this heat and wind has a tendency to suck any excess moisture out of the soil and foliage of the plants.

Soils can become hydrophobic so quickly and this hydrophobia can lead to unhealthy plants and sometimes even the death of a plant. Even if you think you are a great waterer - hydrophobic soil can strike anywhere, anytime. It can happen in gardens, lawns and pots.

The problem with hydrophobic soil is that it doesn't just stop water from getting to your plant it can also stop fertilisers from penetrating the soil.

While mulching and composts can help, I find the quickest and easiest way to combat hydrophobic soil is with a soil wetter.

I know I've mentioned this before but I see this being a common problem. I also know from experience what a difference soil wetters can make. I use Searles Penetraide at Trevallan Lifestyle Centre and at home. There is a granular and a liquid. I prefer the liquid, my mother and sister prefer the granules. Both do a fantastic job.

Another product I love to use in this heat is my liquid fertiliser 'Silica and Potash'.

Regular use of Silica and Potash Foliar Spray reduces heat and frost damage as well as wind burn. It improves plant growth, flowering and fruit count. It also makes plants physically tougher – tough plants are more resistant to pest and fungal attack.

This weekend get rid of the unicorns and get a healthy thriving garden instead.

Lucky Me

I was lucky enough to be a 2012 Finalist for the Nursery and Garden Industry Australia (NGIA) Young Leader Award. The Young Leader Award seeks to identify, recognise and reward the outstanding achievements of individuals in the Nursery & Garden Industry, who display exceptional commitment and passion towards their business, the industry and leadership potential for association and industry schemes. Six finalists Australia wide are chosen.


What did I win - The opportunity to network with the most amazing people.

My tangible prize was a fully paid NGIA conference at the Gold Coast Marriott Resort, a trip to Melbourne for a discussion on the Pot levy, which lucky for me coincided with the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, a trip to Sydney for a marketing seminar and a training session of my choice in my state.

Before the award I was slowly taking off my rose coloured glasses and thinking this industry may not be for me. Now I am all fired up again. I want to do everything and be apart of it all.

This award has let me meet a lot of people I would have never have had the opportunity to meet. Gardening Celebrities like Jason Hodges, Tino Carnevale (ok so all I said was Hi but I still met them!), Hortiman and Claire Levander. I got to meet the owners and managers of My Garden Centre Crushes (garden centres I look up to) Rivers of Yarrambat, Vadoulis Garden Centre and Brookefield Garden Centre. I met the CEO and President of the NGIA. I met so many amazing people like Leigh Siebler (editor of Greenworld magazine, just one hat he wears) and other Garden Centre owners that I have read about in the magazines and plant production nursery members. There is too many to mention really.

There were five people though that have affected and left me most inspired. These were my fellow finalists. I believe meeting them has helped me put back on my rose coloured glasses and given me the stamina to push on and give this industry everything I have to offer.

They are Brooke Stanway (Tavistock Nursery) who won the Award, Maroun Maait (Apline Treemovals), Alastair McLean, David Parlby and Danielle Shallow.

We are viewed as the leaders of the NextGen of the Australian Nursery and Garden Industry. After meeting with and being apart of this amazing group I believe that the Australian Nursery and Garden Industry can only go from strength to strength.

Keep an eye on us we are the future and you'll be seeing us everywhere reminding you to Improve your Plant/Life Balance!