Grow Your Own Bottle Tree!!!! - May 14, 2026
Dear Gardening
I've kept my love for Lobelia secret, this amazing little border plant has these beautiful blue flowers right through autumn, winter and early spring. The flowers really pop against this dark green foliage.
This is a punnet of Lobelia, some of you won't know what a punnet is? It's a pot of seedlings that can be separated and planted into pots or gardens. It's the next step up from plantings seeds.
I've talked Hayden into growing Lobelia "Crystal Palace" in our gardens here. They are just starting to flower now. Our garden is going to be a sea of blue.
Yesterday I planted Geranium "Big Red" in hanging baskets and I also put Lobelia "Crystal Palace" in the baskets too. I can't wait to see the red Geraniums pop with the blue of the Lobelia.
A lot of gardeners have given up planting seedlings, they prefer Potted Colour now. Everyone is in a hurry, they want instant gratification. The art of nurturing plants from seed, has been replaced by flowers, I want it now.
Lobelia can be planted in autumn or spring, they flower for 6 months then you pull them out. The idea of plants that only last for a season upsets people now. They want things that last forever, they want them to flower for ever too.
Gardeners used to get excited about changing seasons and the plants that could be planted. They would love the idea of seeing new flowers and colours in their gardens. They knew that nothing flowered for ever.
They were more patient.
Less me me.
I want.
New Daisy has just arrived called "Elite Summer Shades". These new Elite varieties flower from Autumn right through spring. The colour range is spectacular!!!! "Summer Shades" is one of my favourites.
These happy plants make your gardens or pots smile right through the cooler months. They get covered in flowers. Come see our selection.
Happiness lives here!!!!
Zoom zoom.
This is where our Cyclamen are grown, in South Australia, by a fabulous nursery called Poplar Grove. It's amazing how far away our plants come, we only buy the best plants for you.
But someone commented recently that Cyclamen have to be watered from below, or they will die. So I asked our grower to send me some photos so I could show you how they are grown.
They are grown outside in the cold, they have a plastic cover, but the sides are just shade cloth. They are watered from above with a sprinkler system.
So Cyclamen are incredibly hardy, but when you put them inside your house, in a heated room, they think winter has come to an end. The leaves turn yellow and you go into a panic and start over watering them.
The plant isn't happy because Cyclamen love the cold, you've put them inside a heated room, which they hate, and the leaves have turned yellow because the plant isn't happy. Now you're over watering it too, and the corm starts to rot.
Your Cyclamen often drops dead within the week, you curse them, because you've done everything right.
Cyclamen are cold loving plants, that's why they are grown outside in the cold. They grow best if you repot them into a bigger pot, using Tim's Best Potting mix.
Put them on a table, outside, where they get morning sun, water them once a week, when the leaves just start to think about drooping. Give them a big water, yes from above is fine. Don't let the saucer hold water too long.
They will double in size because you repotted it. You'll be amazed how big they can grow. They will grow twice as many flowers. Remove the spent flowers, simply cut them off, don't pull them out.
Your Cyclamen will flower right through autumn and winter. If you find the right spot it might just keep flowering right through spring and summer too.
Cyclamen can last 10 years or more. Repot your Cyclamen every autumn. Remove 25% of the roots, and put it back in the same pot, using Tim's Best Potting mix.
Your plant will respond with fresh new growth and as the weather turns cooler, flowers will return.
Cyclamen are amazing.
Wow I've just seen the most beautiful Bottle Tree and it's growing in the grounds of St John's Church in Camden. I can't believe I've never noticed this tree before. I'm not a Church goer, but I am a lover of beautiful trees, and this tree is one of my all time favourites.
Commonly known as The Queensland Bottle tree or Brachychiton rupestris this super hardy tree is famous because of its bottle shaped trunk. It stores water in this bulbous trunk so it's able to survive drought conditions.
It's worth driving into St John's Church just to look at this tree. There's other Australian native trees planted here, including an Araucaria bidwillii, commonly known as the bunya pine, banya or bunya-bunya, is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae which is endemic to Australia.
There's a massive white Cedar tree here also. When this tree's in flower, the flowers have an amazing perfume. It's a beautiful shade tree and drought tolerant too.
If you're a tree lover, walk up the hill from Camden central, you'll hear the Church bells ringing. I'm so glad I've discovered these trees.
Some great news, Bottle trees have just arrived!!
We have nice trees for $19.99. Grow one in a pot or in your garden. It will become famous one day!!!
Happy gardening
Tim