The secret to growing Cyclamen - Apr 22, 2016
Dear Gardening Friends,
We had some fun this week. A young guy turned up with a ute load of Cycad Palms from Queensland. He was a slow talker, but he only took a couple of minutes to talk Simon and I into buying the entire load.
It's been so long since we had big Cycads like this. I've had one in a big pot at my place for at least 20 years and it always looks fantastic. These beauties are only $129.00. It would take up to 10 years to get a plant this big so they are great value. If your looking for a specimen plant for your garden try one of these.
It's ANZAC Day on Monday and we will be closing the nursery so our staff can attend the ceremony's around Macarthur. You will need to stock up on your gardening requirements over the weekend.
Campbelltown Council has been busy transforming Mawson Park this week with colourful foliage plants including Golden Duranta and Plum Gorgeous . These shrubs will add year round colour to the gardens and they are so easy to grow.
They have also transformed the garden around Elizabeth Macquarie's statue. It is now full of flowers! Elizabeth became famous for giving away Flag Lilly bulbs to the early settlers. Her maiden name was Elizabeth Campbell and Campbelltown was named after her. This park has always been famous for it's beautiful shade trees, now it will become famous for it's foliage and flowers too!
Karyn has been busy planting flowers in our gardens too. Yesterday she planted Poppies and Violas. She always prepares the soil first by digging in GCA Planting Compost and Tim's Fast Food. Then she covers with Sugarcane and pokes s hole through the mulch to plant her flowers. They need to be watered morning and night to get them started. Watch this garden transform into a floral show over the next few months. We love how the Poppies sway in the wind as the cars whoosh past!
Simon has found some beautiful flowering plants for Mothers Day. Our Chrysanthemums are enormous. They are the size of a big bunch of flowers but ours still have the roots of course so they will last so much longer. They are only $19.99 so they are even cheaper than cut flowers. Come check them out.
He had also found a grower in Victoria who just grows the biggest Cyclamen ever! They really are huge. Cyclamen love the cold so grow yours outside in a "morning sun" position. Pot them into a bigger pot using Tim's Best Potting mix and they will flower non stop for 5 months plus. Water as the leaves start to droop. A pot with a saucer works best. Please don't put Cyclamen inside your house or the heater will cause them to drop dead.
We are selling our $50.00 Mothers Day Gift Vouchers for just $40.00. These are so popular and it allows your mum to get what she really wants. Buy one for yourself if you want to take advantage of the discount. But do remember you can't get Garden club or Seniors Discount when you redeem it.
If you love Cactus then you might like to know that we have increased our display. Our apprentice Jole has over 300 in his private collection and he has inspired us to buy more. We have some amazing succulents too. These are perfect in pots in those hot sunny spots and they are more forgiving if you forget to water. Kids love these interesting plants.
Great news. My son Dan has managed to find homes for 65 of his Jacaranda trees. Dan rescues these seedlings from parks around Macarthur then grows them on so they become established. He has had a great response from local Schools who have realised that these trees will provide much needed shade in the future.
Some Schools have lost most of their established shade trees due to foolish new Government regulations. If you ask a tree lopper if a tree is safe what do you think they are going to say? Hello.
Pig's back at work after spending time in a Buddhist retreat. After a week of chanting he has never looked better. He's warming up now so he can March on Monday. He pulled a hammy last year after a cold start.
Happy Gardening
Tim