$50 Mother’s Day Gift Cards For $40 - May 01, 2026

Dear Gardening friends
It's funny how things happen, I posted a story recently about planting trees, and a lady named Carol commented, that her street didn't have one street tree. I replied that I would donate her a tree to plant.

She turned up yesterday for her free tree and I helped her pick out a beautiful Crepe Myrtle called Sioux. I was telling her how to plant it.

What a surprise I got when she told me that I went to school with her, and my mum was our teacher, and she had her school report in her bag.

I started smiling when I noticed she got A's in every subject, and there was my mum's comment on the report.

My mother is still alive, she was a fabulous school teacher, she became a School Principal, she planted trees in all the Schools she went to.

I'm a big fan of gardeners planting their own street trees. If Council or the developer hasn't planted street trees, then who is going to do it?

We are, you are, we have to. The street is the best place to plant a big shade tree, the blocks are so small now and the houses are so big.
It's the street or nowhere.

We need to get moving, Macarthur is getting hotter, you can plant Mango trees, as street trees, it's getting so hot!!!!! Why not?

Autumn is a great time to plant your street tree.
Here are a few suggestions, Manchurian pear, Crepe Myrtle, Ivory Curl tree, Waterhousia or Tuckeroo.

Dig a bag of Tim's Best Potting mix into the ground then plant your tree in the mound. It gives your tree the best start. Water daily then twice weekly.

Cyclamen have arrived, we've got them outside in the cold. Cyclamen are actually outdoor plants and they grow during the cooler months.

If you put them inside your house, where it's heated, they will think the season is over and they often go into decline, and the leaves turn yellow.

You notice the leaves going yellow, so you start watering them more often. Wet soil and lack of growth quickly rots the corm and they drop dead.

Grow them outside where they get morning sun then shade and they will grow and flower right through autumn, winter and into early spring.

If you repot them into a bigger pot the day you buy using Tim's Best Potting mix then you'll be amazed how big they can grow. They can double in size.

Some of the leaves will turn yellow during the season, snip these off rather than pulling them. If you damage the corm it may get infected.

Only water when the leaves just start to droop. Put a saucer under your pot, so it can drink up the water. Don't let water sit here for more than an hour or so or the corm will rot.

Cyclamen can live for 10 years or more if you find the right spot. Find the wrong spot, and they will drop dead within the week.

Cyclamen make amazing Mother's Day Gifts because they flower for so long. We gift wrap them for free. Buy a plant and a ceramic pot and we will repot it for you using Tim's Best Potting mix.

Gardeners are generous people. I was walking up a street in Camden on Friday and I heard a voice through the garden fence "Hello Tim, what are you doing here?"

I started to smile, I'm just wandering the streets, looking at gardens, and the gardener has spotted me. "Hello Helen" I replied. Helen was pulling out a plant that had grown through the drainage holes and into the ground.

We've all had this happen, all of a sudden the plant seems to take off, and despite our neglect, it keeps growing.

I notice it's an old variety that has orange fish like flowers. What are you going to do with that, I ask. "I'm going to chuck it out, do you want it?"

Well I don't really need it, I own a nursery, but this plant is so old world I haven't had it for years, so Helen passes it over the fence.

She invites me in, her garden is full of Azaleas and Camellias, but she's also got hundreds of plants growing in pots. The pots are arranged like they are in a garden, succulents and flowering Salvias all grouped so they look great.

There's too many of course, but how can you say no to a cutting or a plant when someone offers it to you. I've got both arms now, full of plants.

Gardening can become an obsession, Helen's working her way around this big garden, she's praying for rain she tells me, her garden is just too big to hand water.

We have a nice chat about plants and life. We are more than gardening friends. She thanks me for visiting, I really got almost kidnapped, I was just walking past.

Helen grows plants for Lifelines store in Camden, I'm pulling back she tells me, but I can't see evidence here. I'm going to drop her in some Tim's Best Potting mix. P.S I did the delivery the following day. It was a nice surprise for Helen.

We have fabulous new indoor plants in the nursery. We've discovered a new grower, who just grows the most amazing plants.

Anthurium 'Dorayaki' has these beautiful heart shaped leaves with the white veins. With Mother's Day fast approaching, it's the perfect time to come and see us, she might like one of these.

We have a free potting service here, if you buy an indoor plant and a ceramic pot from us, we will repot it for you. This applies to smaller indoor plants like this amazing Anthurium. Let's make your mum happy.

It's time to plant Broccoli and other winter vegetables. The nights have turned cooler now, so that means it time to plant Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage, Broccoli, Broccolini, Brussel sprouts, Peas, Sugar Snap peas, Celery, Carrots, Chives, Leeks, Spring Onions, Lettuce, Kale, Garlic, Strawberries, Silverbeet, Spinach etc.

You need to improve your soil with Tim's Cow manure. Dig one bag for every 2m2. Cover soil with Sugar cane and water well. Plant your seedlings through the mulch. Don't forget the snail pellets or they will get eaten over night.

To stop Caterpillars eating your leaves dust with Yates Tomato and Vegetable dust every 4-6 weeks. This product is amazing.

Happy gardening
Tim