Real World Gardener-Horticulture, Gardening, Learning to Grow

Preserving, Pickling, and Drying Wild Picked Mushrooms

If you want to pick wild mushrooms, then you only have one opportunity which is this Autumn.

Where do you go? Any State Pine Forest as they are open to the public.

Take a guide with you if your are new to wild picking mushrooms.

Saffron Milk Caps

 So what do you do with them if you pick 5 kg of mushrooms to take home? 

Let’s find out about this wonderful problem.

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

If you’re going wild picking, pick the ones with gills underneath, Saffron Milk Caps or ones with sponge underneath, which are the Slippery Jack. 

Slippery Jack Mushrooms

If you’re not sure, go with an experienced guide, like Margaret before you go foraging.

Slippery Jacks by the way taste similar to Porcini mushrooms.

Remember Margaret’s tip: microwave ovens don’t dry mushrooms.

Pickling mixture can be the same as for cucumbers. If you have any questions either for me or Margaret, you can email us [email protected] or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

 Petunias: New Varieties

Some gardener, myself included, have tended to think that these next flowers are mainly for Summer, and get replaced with the likes of Pansies, Sweet Peas and others for the cooler months.

These plants are often sold as potted flower colour, but you can start them off as seed, although be warned, the seed is as fine as dust.

Now there’s heaps of new varieties that are worth trying and will flower for longer.

Let’s find out about them.

I'm talking with Karen Smith, editor of www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley owner of www.thegreengallery.com.au

Petunia Hot Lips, Potuna and Night Sky are all perennial petunias and ones to watch out for.

Perennial Petunias have the advantage of lasting a few years in the garden as opposed to their annual counterparts.

Interestingly Jeremy mentioned that even though these plants are propagated by tissue culture; in other words are clones, they sometimes change colour on the same bench.

Petunia Hot lips flowers sometimes changes to all white or all maroon, whereas Petunia Night sky sometimes loses its stars! But the stars do come back.

Petunia Night Sky

They have excellent cold tolerance, are renowned for being tough with weatherproof blooms.

If you have a question either for me or the plant panel, why not drop us a line to [email protected] or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

Plant Viruses Uncovered

If your plants look unhealthy but there’s no sign of pests or disease, then chances are the plant has a virus.
Rose Mosaic Virus
On the other hand if you have some unusual patterns on your rose and camellias leaves, these don’t harm the plant and are fine to leave alone. 
Viruses that effect edible plants are a different problem all together. 
Let’s find out about this problem. 
I'm talking with Steve Falcioni General Manager of www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au 

Steve mentioned the "tomato spotted wilt virus" which as the name suggests, affects tomatoes, but it also affects 500 other plants!

The Cucumber mosaic virus affects all members of the Cucurbit family, where the rose mosaic virus only affects members of Rosaceae.

How virus's in plants are spread?

Lavender, Lavender, Lavender.

Need to relax? Or get a good night's sleep? 

You need cleansing, calming lavender in your life. 

Lavandula angustifolia: English Lavender for cooking

Lavenders are a fabulous, long-lasting cut flower and you can dry them to use in sachets and pot pourri. And by the way, lavender is a great insect repellent.

Lavender is a favourite, whose flowers range from white to deep blue purple and include pink.

You can cook with Lavender flowers but you must use Lavandula angustifolia or English lavender flowers.

The other varieties have too much camphor and will make food taste a little bitter.

Use your Lavender spice flowers in cakes, biscuits, pasta and salads.

I'm talking with Mercedes Sarmini of Flowers By Mercedes 

Carnations New and Old

Scinetific Name: Dianthus caryophyllus

Did your dad or grandad, grow certain flowers in your garden which you think are too hard to grow?

Well the plant world and it’s bevy of hybridisers have been working garden to make this old fashioned flower new again.

They probably grew the "old school"carnations which grew long and lanky and needed some type of staking to prevent them flopping over.

Let’s find out how to grow the newer varieties.

I'm talking with Karen Smith, editor of www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley owner of www.thegreengallery.com.au

Dianthus caryophyllus Oscar series.

Carnations love alkaline soil , therefore adding lime to the garden bed will help with any acidic soil problems.

Tip: Not to be grown where Azaleas and Camellias like to grow.

Keeping your Carnations tip pruned will encourage more flowering.

Carnation Oscar is a dwarf growing to 10cm in only 5 colours but designed for the balcony gardener.

Super Trooper and Sunfloor-also a dwarf around 20-25cm in height, with a high amount of fragrance.

In fact it’s hard to choose between what makes carnations special;the fragrance or the flower.

If you have some information to share, why not drop us a line to [email protected] or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

There are a lot of heritage items in Australia that get commemorated by a plaque but how many gardens get the same recognition?

Ginaghulla

Probably only a handful and these are not even well known. 

So the Garden History Society started to take note of some historic gardens and with a local council in Sydney, are recognizing that it’s not just built spaces that make up the fabric of history.

Let’s find out about some of these.

I'm talking with Stuart Read, Garden Historian and committee member of the Australian Garden History Society. 

These 'garden plaques' celebrate famous gardeners and notable gardens. 

 Does your local council have a garden plaques program?

If so let us know so we can give them a shout out. 

The Australian Garden History Society has branches in all states and the A.C.T. which arrange local activities and act as advocates for issues which are of interest to the society. 

For further information contact www.gardenhistorysociety.org.au/

If you have any questions either for me or for Stuart, you can email us [email protected] or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

Meet Hyacinth Bucket! A bucket full of sweetly scented Hyacinth is this week's star in Talking Flowers with Mercedes Sarmini of Flowers By Mercedes. Mr Hyacinth will grace your home with scent and colour for at least a couple of weeks, especially if you grow it from a bulb yourself. Hyacinths can be grown in a special water vase. Colours include red, white, blue, pink, orange, violet and yellow. 

Asparagaceae family.

Hyacinthus orientalis; Dutch or garden hyacinth.

Not to be confused with Muscari which are also called “grape hyacinths.”

You can buy bulbs right now and plant before autumn is over for divine spring fragrance.

TIP: Don't forget to pre-chill them in a brown paper bag in the fridge crisper for 6 weeks. but away from fruits and veg.

This will allow the stems to grow nice and long

I'm talking with florist, floral therapist, and floraholic, Mercedes Sarmini of www.flowersbymercedes.com.au

Lamium Mega

Are you after a groundcover for dry shade?

Would you like something with more colour where nothing colourful grows?

Something different perhaps than native violets, dichondra or ferns.

Dry shade tends to be dark, and the main way of enhancing a dark spot is planting something with either pale or white flowers or pale or silver foliage.

Cheer up the gloomiest of corners in your garden with this suggestion.

Let’s find out how to grow it.

I'm talking with Karen Smith, editor of www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley owner of www.thegreengallery.com.au

PLAY: Lamium_mega_11th April 2018

Its common name, deadnettle, is unglamorous, but this lamium makes the best ground cover for tricky, shady spots.

Its silver, heart-shaped leaves with a green rim lighten up dreary corners, and the mauve (OK, "Mega Purple", if you must) flowers appear reliably throughout Summer.

This is a ground hugger, though, reaching a height and spread of just 30cm x 45cm

If you have any questions about Lamium mega , either for me or for the plant panel or have some information to share, why not drop us a line to [email protected] or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

Join permaculture guru Margaret Mossakowska talking about beeswax in the Good Earth segment; how best to look after those saved seeds in Vegetable Heroes; brighten up dark corners in the garden with this new groundcover in Plant of the Week.

Lastly, a flower that’s strongly linked with perfume in Talking Flowers.

Beeswax And How To Use It At Home

Honey isn’t just the only thing that beekeepers produce.

Beeswax is a by product of honey making.

So how can we use around the home other than for making beeswax candles?

Let’s find out I'm talking with Margaret Mossakowska from www.mosshouse.com.au

PLAY:Household use of beeswax_11th April_2018

Margaret mentioned that you can make Florentine Wax tablets with pieces of melted wax in a muffin tray.

Making Florentine Wax Tablets:

Mix in a little coconut oil so you can spread the beeswax better, then add a few drops of essential oils for perfume.

You can even press dried flowers into the top to make them decorative.

Leave them around the house to let off their fragrance into the rooms.

TIP: Did you know that you can also coat things with beeswax, like hand tools, cast iron pieces and shovels to prevent them from rusting out.

You can even rub beeswax on the wooden handle of your shovel to help protect against wear and tear.

NSW amateur beekeepers associations https://www.beekeepers.asn.au/

The ABA currently has 20 clubs/branches around NSW.

There are also a number of areas where new clubs are being started.

If you need any help finding a club near you, please contact the ABA Secretary.

For listeners outside NSW there’s also a national body, http://www.honeybee.com.au/beeinfo/assn.html

If you have any questions either for me or for Margaret you can email us [email protected] or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

CALLA LILY Zantedeschia aethiopica  

Family: Araceaea

Known as arum lily but not a lily at all, instead an aroid.

Aroid because it’s a member of the 3,300 strong arum family and most have flowers that consist of a spathe (floral bract) surrounding the central pale yellow spadix (floral spike) bearing tiny flowers.

Think Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum,  Anthurium and Philodendron.

Zantedeschia aethiopica is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant, evergreen where there's plenty of  rainfall and moderate temperatures but deciduous where there is a dry season. Its preferred habitat is in streams and ponds or on the banks.

The plant actually contains calcium oxalate making it poisonous to animals or people that may attempt to eat the plant raw.

This is basically a protection mechanism for the plant so that it can survive in the wild.

Apart from that, these flowers look fabulous in the vase ,just don't let kitty nibble on the leaves.

I'm talking with  florist, floral therapist, and floraholic, Mercedes Sarmini of www.flowersbymercedes.com.au