Real World Gardener-Horticulture, Gardening, Learning to Grow

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au  and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com

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DESIGN ELEMENTS

Pool Fence Aesethics

 

It may seem odd to talk about pools right now as we head into winter, but it’s probably a good time to think about the aesthetics of the pool.

If you don’t have a pool you may be wondering what this is all about?

 

 

Surely the pool is just that, a pool that sticks out like a sore thumb in the garden.

If that’s the case though, then you’re missing something, and there are ways to make the backyard pool look aesthetically pleasing.

How do you achieve this?

 

Let’s find out? i'm talking with Matt Leacy Principal Director from Landart Landscapes.

 

 

Making the pool fence disappear seems to be the thing to do so that you focus more on the garden and the pool.

Rather than a piecemeal approach, consider hiring a designer to make your pool look like part of the landscape.

If you have any questions about pool aesthetics, contact Matt or email us here at [email protected]

 

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au  and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com

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The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition.

GARDEN HISTORY

The Australian Garden Idea

Australians love to travel, more so now than ever before.

Often in our travels we love to see other gardens, whether in passing or on purpose.

We might fall in love with a particular plant of group of plants or we might want to copy a particular style.

In the early days of Australia, a lot of gardens were influenced by gardens overseas, particularly England and Europe, but more recently the influence has shifted to Asian gardens like Bali or Polynesia.

Australian Garden entry Chelsea Flower

Show photo M Cannon

So then you have to ask the question, what makes an Australian garden?

Let’s find out.. I'm talking with Stuart Read, Landscape Historian and on the National Management Committee of the Australian Garden History Society.

 

PLAY: Australia Garden Idea_17th May 2017

Australia’s amount of sunlight, type of soil and drier climate has meant that we’ve had to adapt garden design so that it can survive.

Stuart says Australians want to produce the look, but what that is, we're not quite sure of.

Does a garden have to have Australian plants to be an Australian garden? Possibly.

Australian Garden entry Chelsea Flower

Show photo M Cannon

However many European plants blend in quite well, and these days, Plant Breeders in Europe are growing new or different forms of Australian plants and shipping them back to Australia.

Minimalism has been in vogue for the last twenty years in Australia, however, Stuart points out that it was actually started in the mid 17th Century by Georgian gardens.

Of course gardens in Tasmania and Victoria can emulate the English garden reasonably easily, to the envy of northern gardeners.

 

If you have any questions what makes an Australian garden or have some information to share, drop us a line to or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675 and I’ll send you a packet of seeds.

 

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au  and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com

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The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition

PLANT OF THE WEEK

 Hibiscus Trade Winds

The flower on this week’s plant of the week is often associated with Hawaii and other tropical places but did you know that it originates in China?

We tend not to think of China as being a tropical place but I would imagine, some districts would have a tropical feel to them, perhaps up north near the coast.

And not all tropical plants are frost tender, so.

Hibiscus Tradewinds-Jeremy holding the flower.

 Let’s find out about this plant. Listen to the podcast.

 

The plant panel were Karen Smith, editor of Hort Journal www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley, The Green Gallery wholesale nursery owner. www.thegreengallery.com.au

 

Consider the Hibiscus Tradewinds if you want large decorative flowers and a tropical feel to your garden even if you live in a frosty climate.

As Jeremy said, they Tradewinds can be grown in a pot so you can move it under cover when winter or frosty weather arrives.

 

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au  and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com

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The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Outdoor Rooms-Including the Kitchen Sink

 

Whatever you think an outdoor room is, it’s probably not going to have all the bells and whistles of the kitchen you have in your house.

But, say your outdoor eating space is best at the back of the yard or down a flight of stairs, what do you do then?

 

 

 

Australia is too sunny to always be eating indoors so you might think about doing a bit more than the good ole’ BBQ.

Let’s find out?

 

PLAY: Outdoor rooms_10th May 2017

 

That was Matt Leacy Principal Landscape Designer and Director of Landart Landscapes.

 

You may not want to go the whole hogg of fridge, dishwasher and fancy BBQ in your outdoor room, but I think the Pizza oven sounds like a great idea. 

Soon you’ll be making your own pizza dough, and buying a pizza peel, that’s one of those wooden or metal spatula type implements that puts your pizza into the pizza oven.

Whatever you do in your outdoor room, don’t forget the garden.

 

An outdoor room without a garden is just to droll to contemplate.

If you have any questions about outdoor rooms write in to [email protected]

 

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au  and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com

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The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition.

THE GOOD EARTH

Preparing for Winter Vegetables

 

Growing winter vegetables is different from the warmer months of the year because you have different amounts of sunlight, cold winds, and in some districts, frost to contend with.

Then there's controlling plant diseases in your veggie patch?

How well do you know your plant families?

Did you know that you shouldn’t plant veggies from the same plant family in the same spot year after year?

That’s all part of crop rotation which means of course you need to know your plant families.

There’s good reasons for practising crop rotation, but what if you only have enough room for a couple of veggie garden beds, what does a gardener do?

Let’s find out..

 

PLAY: Preparing for winter veggies_10th May 2017

 

That was Margaret Mossakowska, director of www.mosshouse.com.au and Permaculture North Course coordinator.

Soon you’ll be saying things like Brassicas, Solanacea, and Fabaceae with ease and know what veggies belong to these families.

Brassicas are all the cabbages, broccoli, kohlrabi, brussel sprouts and cauliflowers.

Solonaceae are the tomates, capsicums, peppers, chillies and potatoes.

Alliums, the garlic, leeks and onions,

Fabaceae or legumes, peas,and  beans,

 

Created by Margaret Mossakowska

 

Margaret’s tip to fertilise your garden is to use your homemade compost or if you don't have any than add fertilisers like pelletised chicken manure or chook poo. This is important for members of the Brassica family because the grow a lot of greenery.

Margaret's garden

I’ll be posting an image of the crop rotation diagram that Margaret mentioned at the beginning of the segment on my website blog post page.

 

If you have any questions about winter veggie gardening or have some information to share, drop us .

 

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au  and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com

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The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition.

PLANT DOCTOR

Fertilisers explained-granular or liquid, seaweed or organic, which is it to be?

How well do you know your fertilisers?

There are two basic groups of fertilisers, solids or granular which are generally more slow acting, and liquids which are fast acting.

Whether you add organic matter or fertiliser to your soil, you provide your plants with three basic building blocks.

 

Controlled release fertiliser and Blood 'n Bone 

 

These are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, often referred to by their chemical symbols of N (nitrogen), P (phosphorus) and K (potassium or potash).

Packaged fertilisers list the amounts of NPK each product contains, often showing it in a ratio format, called the NPK ratio.

But which ones should you use?

 

Let’s find out.. I'm talking with Steve Falcioni General Manager from www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au

 

What to Watch Out For?

For gardeners in cooler climates, the winter period will see plant growth and microbial activity in the soil slow down.

What are the implications?

Nutrient uptake by plants is minimal if you're still using granular or solid type of fertilisers at this time.

The reason?

Bulky fertilisers need to be converted into a useable form before plant roots can take them up. So, if microbial activity, which does this conversion has slowed down to a crawl, so will this conversion and that leads to slow nutrient uptake.

Rock dust is the slowest of all to break down taking up to 6 months or more, depending on when you apply it.

The way plants use nutrients is quite complex and varies from plant to plant. 

Some need lots of one nutrient but little of another, while others need a balanced amount of each. Understanding which nutrient does what gives you a rough guide to selecting the right fertiliser for your plants and garden.

That's why some fertilisers are labeled Citrus and Fruit, or Flower and Fruit, or Azaleas and Camellias. They are specific to those plants.

Seaweed extracts don't have enough nutrients in them to be classed as fertilisers, but they are plant tonics because they increase root growth and stimulate plant cell walls to strengthen.

If you have any questions about fertilisers or have some information to share, drop us a line to [email protected] or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675 and I’ll send you a packet of seeds.

 

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au  and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com

REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK

The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition.

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Starfish Plant

Orbea variegata 

 

Are you a plant collector of something?

Perhaps you collect Bromeliads, Frangipanis, or maybe succulents?

Not all succulents are garden friendly and this one today, you need to be wary of for more than one reason.

 

But first, let’s find out about this plant.

I'm talking with the plant panel :Karen Smith, editor of Hort Journal www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley, The Green Gallery wholesale nursery owner. www.thegreengallery.com.au

 

Originally from South Africa this succulent is often collected by enthusiasts,

Orbeas are leafless, succulent perennials that form compact clumps. 

They branch from the base and grow out from rhizomatous rootstocks. 

The four-angled stems are usually sharp-toothed, with a soft tip. 

If you're growing this plant in a pot, place it in a sandy well drained mix.  

Plants can survive long periods without water, but water them before they shrink too much and will not be able to recover. 

The flower of Starfish plant, really does look like a starfish, but it’s also called giant toad plants’, ‘carrion plants’, ‘carrion flowers’, ‘giant zulus, and ‘starfish cacti’. 

THEY DO STINK A BIT!

NOTE:

From SA’s Biosecurity website, the following information about this plant.

The outer sheath of the fruit peels back to expose a mass of seeds, each with a tuft of hair that will be dispersed by the wind.

Carrion flower can also spread vegetatively via stem fragments moved by people,

machinery, animals or water.

So there it’s a threat to arid landscape in South Australia.

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au  and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com

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The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Pool Trends

 

From pools that seem to abound around urban gardens, they all look pretty much the same.

These days, people are going for the glass fencing, concrete surround and blue tiles for the pool floor.

 

Black tiles in KifsgateGarden, England photo M Cannon

So what else can pool lovers do?

 

Let’s find out? I'm talking wiht Matt Leacy Principal Director and Landscape Designer from Landart Landscapes.

 

PLAY: Pool Trends_3rd May 2017

 

Pool tiling trends really go from one extreme to the other – either dark, close to black tiles or completely white.

“With a complete white tiled pool you get a really natural water colour,” Matt Leacy says.

“A black pool will give you a certain amount of elegance and can sort of act as a reflector.

If you want a point of difference to your pool that’s a great option.” 

Not enough space for a pool this big?

Patterned tiles running along the water’s edge have also seen a resurgence.

And if you don’t have a big backyard, don’t be like some urban households with small backyards who still put in large pools instead of opting for a small plunge pool or custom made spa.

 

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au  and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com

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The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Coastal Silver Edged Pincushion -Leucospermum patersonii

 

Have you ever been stunned by the flowers of a plant that you felt the need to buy one immediately?

Sure you have, it’s one of those things that gardeners get and it’s so very hard to resist.

This next plant falls into that category and I hope you’ll be inspired to rush out and purchase one.

But first, let’s find out about this plant.

Coastal Pincushion bush photo M Cannon

 I'm talking with the plant panel : Karen Smith, editor of Hort Journal www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley, The Green Gallery wholesale nursery owner. www.thegreengallery.com.au

The silver edged pincushion plant is such an appropriate name for this beauty.

The leaves are a feature with their silvery edges but the flowers, are more so coming in clusters of three.

The added benefit of the closely clasping leaves is that the bush is densely covered.

Leucospermum patersonii photo M Cannon

The flowers are bright orange to crimson and very showy and appear on the bush in groups of three.

Flowering is from July to December.

the coastal Pincushion bush does well in limestone derived soils, therefore alkaline.

However it should do well in most well drained soils around Australia.

 

What to watch for:

Root rot or phytophthera can cause sudden death for plants in the Proteaceae family.

This can happen after long spells of dry weather followed by a period of heavy rain.

As a preventative measure drench or spray with Phosacid sometimes marketed as Anti-Rot.

 

If you have any questions about the Silver Edged Pincushion Plant, why not write in to [email protected]

 

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au  and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com

REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK

The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden

THE GOOD EARTH

Mushroom picking sounds like a great idea, but around the world, people die from eating poisonous ones.

Not only do you need to know where to go but also how to tell which are poisonous and which are not.

Authorities recommend to only forage in the supermarket aisles or buy a mushroom kit and grow your own!

Saffron Milk Cup Mushroom

However, if you go out with a knowledgeable guide, you may be able to enjoy this pleasant past time without fear of keeling over.

 

Let’s find out.

I'm talking with Margaret Mossakowska, Director of Moss House and Living Skills Coordinator of Permaculture North.

In Australia, cool climate pine forests are the best places.

State owned forests have public access and picnic tables for you to enjoy your mushrooms after picking them.

Forests need to be 10 - 20 years old so that the fungal networks have had time to re-establish after the intensive agriculture that's involved in starting forest plantations.

Slippery Jack Mushroom undersides.

 

Saffron Milk Cap mushrooms (pictured above) exude an orangey white sap when cut.

This sap oxygenates to a green colour, so it's not mouldy.

These are the easiest to identify. 

 

Slippery Jack Mushrooms (pictured here) don't have gills on the underside but more of a foam structure.

You can also find mushrooms where horses and cows are pastured. these are mostly button mushrooms and harder to identify.

 

TIP: Cut the mushrooms instead of pulling our digging them out. By doing this you're letting spores for future generations of mushrooms remain in the environment where they grow best.

WARNING: Only ever go collecting mushrooms with an experienced guide.

Do not rely on guide books for collecting mushrooms.

They’re very easy to misidentify.

Margaret says that when she takes people out foraging for mushrooms, that she asks them to tip out their collected mushrooms onto a blanket.

By doing this, Margaret can check each and everyone one of them to make sure that they’re not the poisonous ones.

If you have any questions about mushroom picking or have some advice or photos to share, why not drop us a line to [email protected] or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.