Screen your neighbours and bring in the birds - Jan 20, 2012
Dear gardening friends
A had a rant last week about the lack of trees in suburban backyards. We have forgotten that the shade from a tree is much cooler than the shade from an umbrella or covered verandah.
Some of the new blocks of land that have just been released are only 450 square metres. By the time you put a house on this there will be no room for trees.
Privacy has become a big problem in suburban backyards and this is why we still sell 4,000 Goodbye Neighbour plants every year. Goodbye Neighbours is a fast growing Lillypilly that has small leaves like Buxus. We have a hedge of Goodbye Neighbours at the entrance to our shop. Karyn gave it a prune last week and with all the rain we have had it is looking fantastic. Unlike other Lillypillys Goodbye Neighbours doesn't get physilids. These insects attack the new growth and really make the plants look terrible. It can be controlled with Confidor but you would need to spray every time the plant got new growth. Goodbye Neighbours does sometimes get scale insects on the stems but these can be controlled using a non poisonous spray like Pestoil. If you are looking for a fast growing hedge then it is hard to beat Goodbye Neighbours. Simon just got some fresh stock in this week and plants start at $18.99.
While I was on holiday I saw a great hedging plant called Pink Cascade. This is another Lillypilly and to date It has been physilid resistant. Pink Cascade has the most amazing pink new growth that cascades down. It also produces pink pom pom like flowers, followed by hot pink berries. This plant makes a fantastic hedge and it only grows 3 metres high by about 1200mms wide. The birds love eating the berries so they will encourage nature into your garden. I have seen a nice hedge of Pink Cascade growing below Subway in Camden so it must take cold conditions too.
People often say to me that they don't prune their hedge because they want it to grow fast. Hedges actually grow faster if you do prune them so just remember this if you want a hedge in a hurry. Tip pruning of the new growth will trick the plant into growing twice as fast. Mulch and regular watering also makes plants grow faster.
One of our most popular hedging plants is still Murraya paniculata. This glossy green shrub always looks good and it seems to flower after every time it rains. The white orange blossom like flowers have the same perfume as Gardenias. Murraya can be pruned to any height or width using a hedge trimmer. Nothing seems to eat them so you won't need any chemicals with this one.
One of the benefits of having hedges in your garden is the Wrens will make nests in them. Before you know it a family will soon appear. These little birds are a gardeners friend because they love eating insects.
If you need any help with your hedging plant selection come and see us. We have most of them on display in our gardens around the nursery for you to inspect.
Pig has cancelled his love boat cruise. He also missed out on being the next yellow wiggle.
Hope all is well with you.
Happy gardening
Tim