Real World Gardener-Horticulture, Gardening, Learning to Grow

DESIGN ELEMENTS

How to Create a Sense of Enclosure.

In the middle of winter, the only sun you can see may be outside.

So it would be nice to venture outdoors into the winter sun but what if you're overlooked?

 May not feel so welcoming.

So what can you do? 

Magnolia grandiflora 'Teddy Bear.' 4-5m height (pictured)

 

I talk with garden designer Peter Nixon of Paradisus Garden Design.

 

 

What you want is some sort of screening hedge or planting that not only hides that fence, but hides it well enough so you don't see any fence.

That would mean you need that the 'bole length' or the gap between ground level and the first branch, is at a minimum.

So what can you choose?

Here are Peter's best tips:Choose things that stay dense and non transparent from the ground.

Choose useful heights, especially if it's the northern boundary because you don't want to cut the winter sun.

Recommended plants

.

Magnolia hybrid "Fairy." ht 3m

Heliconia 'Hot Rio Nights.' for northern sub-tropical zones.(norther rivers and up). height 3m, lush paddle leaf.

Hibiscus boryanus- plant in areas where temperatures are above 5 Deg C

Drepanostachyus falcatum -Blue Bamboo is a clumping bamboo height 4m

 

You can underplant with smaller shrubs but you need to do this at the same time as you plant the larger shrubs otherwise the soil underneath will be compacted with the roots.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

How to Create a Sense of Enclosure.

In the middle of winter, the only sun you can see may be outside.

So it would be nice to venture outdoors into the winter sun but what if you're overlooked?

 May not feel so welcoming.

So what can you do? 

Magnolia grandiflora 'Teddy Bear.' 4-5m height (pictured)

 

I talk with garden designer Peter Nixon of Paradisus Garden Design.

 

 

What you want is some sort of screening hedge or planting that not only hides that fence, but hides it well enough so you don't see any fence.

That would mean you need that the 'bole length' or the gap between ground level and the first branch, is at a minimum.

So what can you choose?

Here are Peter's best tips:Choose things that stay dense and non transparent from the ground.

Choose useful heights, especially if it's the northern boundary because you don't want to cut the winter sun.

Recommended plants

.

Magnolia hybrid "Fairy." ht 3m

Heliconia 'Hot Rio Nights.' for northern sub-tropical zones.(norther rivers and up). height 3m, lush paddle leaf.

Hibiscus boryanus- plant in areas where temperatures are above 5 Deg C

Drepanostachyus falcatum -Blue Bamboo is a clumping bamboo height 4m

 

You can underplant with smaller shrubs but you need to do this at the same time as you plant the larger shrubs otherwise the soil underneath will be compacted with the roots.

What is Scientific Illustration? 

Host of Real World Gardener radio show Marianne, speaks with Sydney Botanic Gardens Scientific Illustrator, Catherine Wardrop

Catherine Wardrop

 Scientific illustration is one of many aspects of botanical research to aid plant identification and conservation at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.  How does it help?

Why do botanists still use drawings instead of photographs?”

Simply put, scientific illustrators create images of plants by referencing recent and historic herbarium collections. Catherine says "In my role, I use my artistic skill to translate the taxonomy, interpret microscopic botanical details, omit the unnecessary, document the essential and (hopefully) describe a species so well that it never has to be drawn again."

What do you need to know about a species before you start drawing it?

       Any knowledge of plants helps.Catherine had studied 5 years at arts school completing        an undergrad and post grad studies in visual art. Post grad was in plant and wildlife        illustration.

Is there a method when approaching botanical drawing?

 

Prostanthera lasianthos

    For a full plate which includes the habit of the plant, Catherine likes to do the microscope drawings first. It also involves a bit re-constructing. Scientific illustrator will include all parts of the life cycle of the plant.

Which plant species have proved challenging to draw?

    When you start drawing a new species that has no previous illustrations or specimens. 

How long have you been doing scientific illustration?

Since 1998 Catherine has illustrated native, exotic and invasive weed species at RBG Sydney and the most recent examples of her work are to be seen accompanying botanical descriptions in online publications of Telopea and PlantNET.

What is Scientific Illustration? 

Host of Real World Gardener radio show Marianne, speaks with Sydney Botanic Gardens Scientific Illustrator, Catherine Wardrop

Catherine Wardrop

 Scientific illustration is one of many aspects of botanical research to aid plant identification and conservation at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.  How does it help?

Why do botanists still use drawings instead of photographs?”

Simply put, scientific illustrators create images of plants by referencing recent and historic herbarium collections. Catherine says "In my role, I use my artistic skill to translate the taxonomy, interpret microscopic botanical details, omit the unnecessary, document the essential and (hopefully) describe a species so well that it never has to be drawn again."

What do you need to know about a species before you start drawing it?

       Any knowledge of plants helps.Catherine had studied 5 years at arts school completing        an undergrad and post grad studies in visual art. Post grad was in plant and wildlife        illustration.

Is there a method when approaching botanical drawing?

 

Prostanthera lasianthos

    For a full plate which includes the habit of the plant, Catherine likes to do the microscope drawings first. It also involves a bit re-constructing. Scientific illustrator will include all parts of the life cycle of the plant.

Which plant species have proved challenging to draw?

    When you start drawing a new species that has no previous illustrations or specimens. 

How long have you been doing scientific illustration?

Since 1998 Catherine has illustrated native, exotic and invasive weed species at RBG Sydney and the most recent examples of her work are to be seen accompanying botanical descriptions in online publications of Telopea and PlantNET.

PLANT OF THE WEEK X 3

Common Name:Golden Guinea Flower: Snake vine

Latin Name: Hibbertia scandens

Family: Dilleniaceae

Etymology: Hibbertia...after George Hibbert, a patron of botany; scandens.... "climbing", because of the climbing habit of the species.

Flowering:spring, summer but spot flowers throughout the yearDescription: a scrambling climber or vine anywhere between 2 to 4 metres. Glossy mid green leaves with buttercup yellow flowers with prominent golden stamens.

Hibbertia scandens

What else?Let’s find out…That was Adrian O’Malley, qualified horticulturist and native plant expert.Hibbertias are sometimes called Guinea Flowers because the flower shape and colour looks like the ancient Golden Guinea coin.When Adrian has seen it in the bush, it's mostly in open forest or gullies. 

The flowers shape and colour is a dead give-away for the hibbertia species.The "snakes" are the tendrils that twine themselves together and climb up.

Perfect specimen for sloping sites where it can scramble freely.If you have any questions of course, why not email [email protected] or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

PLANT OF THE WEEK X 3

Common Name:Golden Guinea Flower: Snake vine

Latin Name: Hibbertia scandens

Family: Dilleniaceae

Etymology: Hibbertia...after George Hibbert, a patron of botany; scandens.... "climbing", because of the climbing habit of the species.

Flowering:spring, summer but spot flowers throughout the yearDescription: a scrambling climber or vine anywhere between 2 to 4 metres. Glossy mid green leaves with buttercup yellow flowers with prominent golden stamens.

Hibbertia scandens

What else?Let’s find out…That was Adrian O’Malley, qualified horticulturist and native plant expert.Hibbertias are sometimes called Guinea Flowers because the flower shape and colour looks like the ancient Golden Guinea coin.When Adrian has seen it in the bush, it's mostly in open forest or gullies. 

The flowers shape and colour is a dead give-away for the hibbertia species.The "snakes" are the tendrils that twine themselves together and climb up.

Perfect specimen for sloping sites where it can scramble freely.If you have any questions of course, why not email [email protected] or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

THE GOOD EARTH

Hot Compost

 

How many of you out there still do not have a composting system of some kind?

There’s no excuse, even if you only have a small balcony, everyone should be composting their kitchen scraps instead of it going to landfill.

You just need some space for your compost.

you could have compost bays, compost bins, or any structure that can hold up to 1 cubic metre of compost.

Compost bins at Margaret's House: Photo by Margaret Mossakowska

 

There’s so many systems out there to accommodate all kinds of limitations that you might have.

You can even make a compost heap without building or buying anything.

I'm talking with Margaret Mossakowska from www.mosshouse.com.au

Let’s find what to do .

 

Vermin: put Rapid mesh under you bins if you have rodents invading your compost.

Alternatively, put food scraps into a worm farm, and use you compost bins just for green waste.

Worm farm that is smelly:

Too many food scraps will make the worm farm smelly and anaerobic. Mainly nitrogen rich.

The way to fix it is to add more carbon rich material such as shredded newspaper, coffee chaff or straw.

note: coffee chaff is free by-product of coffee roasting, that is husks of coffee beans. You just need to ask.

Compost Bins/Bays

To make a hot compost you need to assemble at least 1 cubic metre of material in one go.

Wait for it to heat up to 55-60 C, usually after 2-3 days, then you can turn it.

Use a compost thermometer so the compost doesn't get over 60 C. This temperature is enough to kill weed seeds and insect eggs.

Commercial compost is biologically dead because it is heated to  more than 70 C.

Ratios are important: 4 buckets of carbon rich material to 1 bucket of green clippings/food scraps.

Molasses can be added to compost to innoculate it, or use comfrey, nettles, nasturtium soaked in a bucket of water.

Margaret now runs workshops that you can attend without leaving your home because they’re via Zoom, that’s on your computer.

If you have any questions, why not email [email protected] or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

THE GOOD EARTH

Hot Compost

 

How many of you out there still do not have a composting system of some kind?

There’s no excuse, even if you only have a small balcony, everyone should be composting their kitchen scraps instead of it going to landfill.

You just need some space for your compost.

you could have compost bays, compost bins, or any structure that can hold up to 1 cubic metre of compost.

Compost bins at Margaret's House: Photo by Margaret Mossakowska

 

There’s so many systems out there to accommodate all kinds of limitations that you might have.

You can even make a compost heap without building or buying anything.

I'm talking with Margaret Mossakowska from www.mosshouse.com.au

Let’s find what to do .

 

Vermin: put Rapid mesh under you bins if you have rodents invading your compost.

Alternatively, put food scraps into a worm farm, and use you compost bins just for green waste.

Worm farm that is smelly:

Too many food scraps will make the worm farm smelly and anaerobic. Mainly nitrogen rich.

The way to fix it is to add more carbon rich material such as shredded newspaper, coffee chaff or straw.

note: coffee chaff is free by-product of coffee roasting, that is husks of coffee beans. You just need to ask.

Compost Bins/Bays

To make a hot compost you need to assemble at least 1 cubic metre of material in one go.

Wait for it to heat up to 55-60 C, usually after 2-3 days, then you can turn it.

Use a compost thermometer so the compost doesn't get over 60 C. This temperature is enough to kill weed seeds and insect eggs.

Commercial compost is biologically dead because it is heated to  more than 70 C.

Ratios are important: 4 buckets of carbon rich material to 1 bucket of green clippings/food scraps.

Molasses can be added to compost to innoculate it, or use comfrey, nettles, nasturtium soaked in a bucket of water.

Margaret now runs workshops that you can attend without leaving your home because they’re via Zoom, that’s on your computer.

If you have any questions, why not email [email protected] or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

PLANT OF THE WEEK X 2

Scientific Name: Hardenbergia violacea

Common Name: Native Sarsparilla, Happy Wanderer

Family: Fabaceae

 

Grows:the species form grows to 6m. There are many other forms that grow only as a sub-shrub or smaller climber.

Etymology: Hardenbergia...after Franziska Countess von Hardenberg.

violacea...referring to the typical flower colour

Cultivars: 

"Happy Wanderer" (very vigorous, purple flowers)

"Pink Fizz" (pink flowers - climbing, not vigorous)

"Mini Haha" (compact, shrubby - purple flowers)

"Alba" (white flowers)

"Free 'n' Easy" (whitish flowers, vigorous climber)

"Blushing Princess" (shrubby - mauve-pink flowers)

"Purple Falls" (trailing - purple flowers, good for rockeries)

"Bushy Blue" (shrubby - blue-purple flowers).

If you love the colour purple in the garden you’ll love this next plant because it’s got it all. It’s tough, it flowers for ages, and you don’t even have to do too much to look after it. Let’s find out more...I'm talking with Adrian O’Malley, qualified horticulturist and native plant expert. PLAY: Hardenbergia violacea_1st July 2020 There’s so many Hardenbergias to choose from that come in not just creepers or climbers, but small little shrubby things that spread a bit. Some of the shrubby forms of Hardenbergia are very useful for mass plantings, rock gardens, retaining walls and banks for home gardens and larger landscapes. There are some good shrubby forms on the market such as ‘Bushy Blue’, ‘Purple Spray’ and ‘Regent’ which can grow from 60cm tall (‘Bushy Blue’) to 1.5m tall (‘Regent’). ‘Mini Haha’ is a compact dwarf form but it is not as robust as other types. There’s also ‘Meema’ will grow to approximately 450mm tall with a 2 metre spread which is ideal for outcompeting weeds and creating a ground cover with a shrubby appearance. If you have any questions of course, why not email [email protected] or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

PLANT OF THE WEEK X 2

Scientific Name: Hardenbergia violacea

Common Name: Native Sarsparilla, Happy Wanderer

Family: Fabaceae

 

Grows:the species form grows to 6m. There are many other forms that grow only as a sub-shrub or smaller climber.

Etymology: Hardenbergia...after Franziska Countess von Hardenberg.

violacea...referring to the typical flower colour

Cultivars: 

"Happy Wanderer" (very vigorous, purple flowers)

"Pink Fizz" (pink flowers - climbing, not vigorous)

"Mini Haha" (compact, shrubby - purple flowers)

"Alba" (white flowers)

"Free 'n' Easy" (whitish flowers, vigorous climber)

"Blushing Princess" (shrubby - mauve-pink flowers)

"Purple Falls" (trailing - purple flowers, good for rockeries)

"Bushy Blue" (shrubby - blue-purple flowers).

If you love the colour purple in the garden you’ll love this next plant because it’s got it all. It’s tough, it flowers for ages, and you don’t even have to do too much to look after it. Let’s find out more...I'm talking with Adrian O’Malley, qualified horticulturist and native plant expert. PLAY: Hardenbergia violacea_1st July 2020 There’s so many Hardenbergias to choose from that come in not just creepers or climbers, but small little shrubby things that spread a bit. Some of the shrubby forms of Hardenbergia are very useful for mass plantings, rock gardens, retaining walls and banks for home gardens and larger landscapes. There are some good shrubby forms on the market such as ‘Bushy Blue’, ‘Purple Spray’ and ‘Regent’ which can grow from 60cm tall (‘Bushy Blue’) to 1.5m tall (‘Regent’). ‘Mini Haha’ is a compact dwarf form but it is not as robust as other types. There’s also ‘Meema’ will grow to approximately 450mm tall with a 2 metre spread which is ideal for outcompeting weeds and creating a ground cover with a shrubby appearance. If you have any questions of course, why not email [email protected] or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675