Death proof plant arrives - Apr 18, 2012

Dear gardening friends

We have had so much rain recently my hat has gone mouldy. I am sure I am starting to smell a bit too!

Pig has chucked a massive tantrum this morning and is refusing to come out from under the milk crate until it stops raining.

Some exciting new plants have arrived this week at the nursery. A couple of years ago Simon and I went to Melbourne for a plant buying trip.

At the Victorian Wholesale Nursery Market we came across a stall that was surrounded by nursery owners who were in a buying frenzy.

A specialist grower of Hellebores had come to market for the first time. The grower had a new range of colours that had never been seen before.

Hellebores are small growing shrubby like plants with handsome lush green foliage. They are practically death proof in any morning sun position and they have the most amazing flowers from winter to spring. They look fantastic mass planted under deciduous trees.

Hellebores grow 45cms high by 45cms wide and they are happy in a pot or garden. Hellebores thrive in those shady spots where nothing else seems to grow.

The good news is we finally talked this Victorian grower into selling us some of his Hellebore treasures. We have 10 varieties including new double flowering varieties never seen before. The plants cost just $15.99 and they are beautifully grown. Come and have a look at these exciting new plants before they all disappear.

I had a meeting with our Tim’s Gardening Service franchisees during the week. These guys are always busy and they work so hard we almost never see them. They have been especially busy this season because the rain has made everything grow so much faster.

But coming into winter they have more time to do small soft landscaping jobs like planting shrubs, mulching gardens and laying turf.

Perhaps you have a garden that needs a make over? We have 4 Tim’s Gardening Service teams so if you need help in your garden give us a call and we will give you their contact details.

Poor Russell our apprentice horticulturist went to The Easter Show on the weekend to see the animals. As he was patting a horse it reached over and bit his arm! Russell still has the teeth marks to prove it. Russell lives on Freddo Frogs so we think he may be starting smell like chocolate. Russell has quite a list of animals that have bitten him. See Russell for more details.

We’ve had a huge response to our Azalea Lace Bug story in the paper. It seems every gardener in Macarthur is sick of their Azaleas turning silver. Finally we have a product that will control Lace Bug. Simply place a Confidor Tablet at the base of your Azaleas and get Lace Bug protection for up to 6 months.

I was walking back from dropping my car off at Paul Wakelings the other day and noticed they had a ground cover that was thriving under gum trees and she oaks. Almost nothing grows under these rooty trees so I took a photo. The plant turned out to be Aptenia cordifolia commonly known as Baby Sunrose. This lush green fleshy leaved succulent thrives in hot dry gardens. It has tiny red flowers throughout the year. We have some on the red pot special bench 4 for $20. If you have a bare patch plant one of these.

Tibouchinas (those purple flowering shrubs) are selling fast this week. If you don’t have room for a small tree we have a new dwarf growing variety called Tibouchina ‘Groovy Baby’. This little cutie only grows 60cms high by 60 cms wide. But the best news is it actually flowers 9 months of the year!

Another long flowering variety to look out for is Tibouchina ‘Jazzie’. This grows 2.5 metres high by 2.5 metres wide. This variety is great for screening your neighbours and it flowers every day of the year! We have plants already in flower for just $13.99. I took a photo of Jazzie growing in a garden at Bradbury. It was covered in flowers and looked spectacular.

Karyn is busy today planting pansies in our garden. These easy to grow free flowering plants really do make you happy. The best time to plant them is when the nights turn cold. If you plant them too early they often just rot and die. Many of our club members wait until Karyn plants her pansies before they plant theirs.

My potato story has been postponed due to Hellebores. My Chinese cabbage is now taller than the house!

Need a cyclamen? We have 50 in full flower.

I am worried about Russell; he just had oats for lunch.

Tony Sextons Native Garden is open this weekend 10am to 4.30pm. 26 Crana Rd Brownlow Hill. (Camden) Adults $6.00. It’s worth the drive.

Happy gardening
Tim