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!

Got Milk

Why is it so hard just to buy milk? You all know the advert on TV with the guy who just wants milk but the shop assistant rattles off about twenty different choices. All he wants is milk that tastes like milk! In the end the relief on his face when the shop assistant just gives him what he wants is priceless.

I’m not a huge fan of being overloaded on choice.  Electronic equipment, like computers and their programs, is one area where I’d rather there is no choice just a simple answer.  I’m not a person that likes to spend hours trolling the internet and magazines looking for the best computer program for my needs. I appreciate going to a specialist computer shop, talking to an expert and them recommending me the best program for my needs.

I feel the same about gardening.  Gardening shouldn’t be hard – back breaking maybe but not hard. Getting good gardening advice shouldn’t be confusing either.   If you have a problem with your plants, need some general gardening advice or even just need to buy a living gift, I recommend you go to a specialist garden centre as they have expert staff on hand at all times ready to help.

Have you ever been confused and overloaded by the choice of gardening products on the market, I know I do sometimes.  I often wonder just how many versions of trace element mix can there be!  Every gardening magazine, lifestyle show and the guy next door all have their favourite gardening tips. 

If confusion and past not so ‘good tips and helpful hints’ have stopped you enjoying the great outdoors, it’s time to take control and visit an expert – your local garden centre, like Trevallan Lifestyle Centre.

Your local garden centre’s staff are the gardening experts – they should be able to listen to your needs and recommend the right product. Good garden centres shouldn’t need to offer a large choice especially in insecticides and pesticides. You don’t need to know that there are ten brands on the market that kill slugs and are safe for dogs.  You just need one and one that works. So a garden centre need only stock the one brand that they as experts perceive is the best.  Sometimes a small range of similar products (for example potting mixes)  is necessary as people’s needs are different. The garden centre’s experts should then be able to inform you of the differences and recommend the best one suited to your needs.

Your local garden centre is not only staffed by experts but those experts are usually local and have all suffered the same gardening problems that you are currently suffering.  Garden centre staff enjoy helping you through your gardening problems, taking the confusion away and giving you back the joy of gardening.

Next time you decide to improve your plant life balance and give your life some TLC make sure you visit the gardening experts - Trevallan Lifestyle Centre - your local garden centre.

Vintage Garden Plants - Hydrangeas

I like plants.  You’ve probably already guessed that but what I mean is I love the diversity plants offer us in our lives. I love how the same plant can be used in a formal garden or a cottage garden and still look fantastic. I love how the popularity of certain plants is cyclic just like our fashion industry.

I adore old fashion plants or vintage styled plants (vintage makes me sound more fashionable!).  I think there was a reason our grandmother’s gardens were full of certain plants.  It was because they didn’t require much TLC to look fantastic all year.

Hydrangeas are one such plant. These wonderful, hardy shrubs would certainly have to be included on the list of the best flowering plants in the world.

Hydrangea flowers are absolutely stunning and with over 500 different cultivars there is sure to be one to suit everyone.  There are two main groups of flowers these cultivars are split between – Mopheads and Lacecaps. Mophead flowers are large round flower heads resembling as the name implies the head of a mop. In contrast, lacecap flowers bear round flat flower heads with a center of subdued, fertile flowers surrounded by outer rings of showy, sterile flowers. The hydrangea flowers usually appear from early spring through to late summer.  It is the colours of the hydrangea flower that I find most amazing. The colours range from white through to red, pink, purple, and blue but the amazing part is I can change the colour of my flower!

Beautiful Array of Hydrangea Colours

http://www.ppdl.purdue.edu/ppdl/weeklypics/6-20-05.html

The acidity of your soil determines the colour of the flowers. If the soil is acidic the flowers will be blue to electric or even peacock blue but if the soil is more Alkaline the flowers will be pink through to red, neutral is purple of course. The white cultivars remain white regardless of the soil pH.  To make sure you get the colour you want you must change the soil pH before flower buds form.  Start treating your soil around August with lime for pink flowers or sulphur for blue flowers. 

Even though the hydrangea flower is impressive, the foliage too can be quite remarkable.  Most hydrangeas have large lush dark green oval leaves, often with serrated edges but some have variegated green and white leaves.

 I find hydrangeas to be very hardy once established.  They are best grown in part shade but I have seen some beautiful plants grown in full sun.  I find the flowers on these bushes tend to burn off too quickly though in our hot summer sun.  Many of the cultivars available are compact but a quick prune in Autumn will help promote next seasons flowers.  Due to the compactness I find they do well in both pots and gardens.

New Release Strawberries and Creme
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tesselaar/4171329525/

Hydrangeas are one of my vintage must haves for your garden as they require not much TLC.  Plus the anticipation of wondering what colour will it flower this year is a cheap but wonderful thrill all gardeners experience.

Sapping the Life from your Trees

To me every plant has its place. Just because I think its place is in the bin doesn’t necessarily mean you should feel the same. Every garden should be as diverse as its owner.  Take pride in expressing your individuality in your garden.  Just because Jamie Durie likes it doesn’t mean you have to.

 Some plants though do not deserve anyone’s TLC.  These plants make up Australia’s Most Wanted Weed List or Weeds of National Significance.  Lantana would have to be number one.  This plant has successfully taken over nearly every rainforest and bushland along the east coast of Australia as well as some areas in West Australia and Northern Territory.  As a way to help combat this evasive weed a Bio-control called Aconophora compressa (Lantana Treehopper) was introduced in 1995 throughout Queensland and New South Wales.

 Bio-control is importing a natural enemy to combat pests. It has been very successful in controlling a range of introduced plants that are pests to agriculture, the environment, and human health. Bio-control methods also help reduce the need for pesticide use. The decision to use a Bio-control is not gone into lightly. The lantana treehopper was screened as a bio-control agent from 1990 to 1994 and its release was unanimously supported by 22 state and federal agencies.

 The Lantana Treehopper camouflages itself very well against the bark of the tree. The insects are brown in colour and can grow up to 8mm long.  It has a horned body so it makes the plant look like it has thorns.  It sucks the sap out of the host plant and exudes large amounts of honeydew, a sugary solution in which black sooty moulds can grow. The treehopper can cause die back, stunted growth and flowering, unhealthy leaves and eventually death of the plant.

 Unfortunately this bio-control hopped onto some of our ornamental shrubs and trees.  This is ok though as this bio-control can be controlled through spraying with an insecticide and trimming or removal of affected plants. The two most viscously attacked plants are fiddlewoods and duranta but it has been seen on other ornamentals as well such as Jacarandas and Pandoreas.

 Fiddlewood a West Indian native is now considered an undesirable introduced tree as their roots are very invasive.  The Department of Primary Industry (DPI) recommends removing the affected fiddlewood and replacing it with a desirable native tree. Duranta – Sheenas Gold or Geshia Girl are so extremely fast growing and resilient that a severe trim, a fertilise with Organic Link (a good quality organic slow release fertiliser) and a follow up spray is all that is necessary. 

 If spraying is necessary the chemical Imidacloprid (Searles' ConGuard) is recommended by the DPI.  I have found Pyremuythum based sprays are also effective.

 This weekend give your life some TLC by getting dirty and making sure you have no nasty critters hiding in amongst your flowers.

 Department of Primary Industry Information Guide

Fairies Give Good Advice

Over the years the Garden Fairies have been good to my garden. Last night though I had to ask them why don’t some of my plants flower? Why don’t my fruit trees fruit profusely or if they do why is the fruit misshapen?  I just had to ask why all my coloured foliaged plants like crotons and dracaenas have lost their colour?

The Garden Fairies replied “Your garden just needs some TLC and a little Potash!”

Potassium Sulphate or Sulphate of Potash is commonly called Potash.  It is an essential element necessary to the lives of all plants. It aids in disease resistance and frost protection by strengthening the plants cell walls.  It helps in seed and root development. It encourages strong new growth and helps with the formation of flower buds and fruit. Potash can improve the quality and the colour of flowers and enhances the formation of proteins and sugars in fruit. Potash can even help plants with slender stems and large flower heads such as Iceland poppies and Gerberas hold their heads erect.

 

If a plant is deficient in potash, it will express an overall weakness especially in its stem.  It will have yellowing leaf margins and grow more slowly.  It will be disease prone and its fruit and flowers will be small and poorly coloured and sometimes tasteless.

Many Australian soils are low in potassium (potash).This can be added by itself or as part of a complete fertiliser. Potash by itself is available in a liquid or granular form and is usually certified organic.  The liquid form is added to water and used as a foliar spray. Used like this it is quick acting but not long lasting and needs to be repeated on a fortnightly basis. This is best for promoting flowers especially on annuals.  The granular form is added to the soil and watered in.  The granular is slower acting but lasts a lot longer.  This is best for correcting deficiencies, promoting fruit and stimulating coloured foliage. If you use mainly a manure based fertiliser like blood and bone or chicken manure you will need to add potash as these products don’t naturally contain it.

Complete fertilisers, whether they be chemical or organic, usually contain potash.  An N:P:K ratio can usually be found on the fertilizer label. The N:P:K ratio stands for Nitrogen (greening, growing), Phosphorus (roots) and Potassium (fruiting, flowering). Some fertilisers contain almost equal parts N and K this is great for general fertilising. Fertilisers with a high K are better if you are trying to correct deficiencies or promote fruiting and flowering.

This weekend I’m playing with my Garden Fairies and giving my garden some TLC and a little Potash.  In a few months I’ll share with you the spoils of my labour with an abundance of fruit and bunches of glorious flowers.

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.