Beware of ducks - Jul 04, 2012
Dear gardening friends,
Thank you to all the people who responded to our "is there anybody out there?" call to action last week. It's great to know so many people read our email every week.
Ryan has picked out 10 winners for the free packet of strawberry plants, so if you won you should get an email.
Great news this week, Lisa's daughter had a baby girl on Monday. Mother and baby are doing well.
If you see Lisa in the seedling area, congratulate her for becoming a grandma.
Last week we attached an old photo of an Orange Trumpet vine growing over a fence in Ingleburn. This week we have attached a photo of an Orange Trumpet Vine growing over a colourbond fence in Harrington Park. The owner clips the vine at the bottom to stop it growing into his garden. The effect is spectacular! The vine seems to support itself as it grows over the top of the fence. If you are growing one you may need to run some support wires so the vine can reach the top of the fence.
Before Simon went on holidays he potted up our Yucca plant. If you have a Yucca growing in your garden then you might get a surprise one day when you see how big they can grow. They actually grow up to 6 metres high. We have had ours in a pot for 10 years so it was time to repot it. Simon cut the plant back to a stump and he has used all the cuttings to grow more plants. Yuccas are easy to grow from a piece just like Frangipani's. I have attached a photo of the root ball because its interesting to see what happens to plants when they get pot bound. As the potting mix composts and disappears it gets replaced by plant roots. The potting mix is what holds the water so when this goes the water just runs out the bottom.
In 6 weeks time I would love you to look at your pot plants. Some will have been in pots for 5 to10 years. Spring is the best time to give these tired old plants a new lease of life. Take the plants out of the pots and cut off 20% of the roots with a sharp shovel. Put the plant back in the same pot using Tim's Best Potting Mix. Give the plant a prune and then water it with Seasol twice a week for a month. You will be amazed how this tired looking plant will come back to life with fresh new growth and more flowers than ever!
The water won't just run out the bottom so your plants will finally get some water.
If you have deciduous plants in pots, then now is the best time to repot them. Plants like Weeping Maples, Hydrangeas, Blueberries and dwarf fruit trees can all be repotted now.
While you're in our nursery check out Hayden's pot man. Hayden did work experience with us about 9 months ago and we liked him so much we offered him a weekend job. Hayden has made a pot man out of old pots taken from the recycling bin in the carpark. He sprayed it with silver paint so now it looks like Tin man from The Wizard of Oz.
Hayden is always striking plants and we find his cuttings in secret hiding spots around the nursery. He obviously has a green thumb. It is amazing how quickly Hayden has learned the names of the plants. He is a nice friendly boy and he is always helping our customers.
The staff at Bradbury Swimming Pool have been having trouble with ducks. The ducks are taking over the 50 metre pool while it is shut down over winter creating a big mess.
Last week they got some plastic Crocodile heads that just float in the water. We sell these and they are so life like. One of our customers was having great success with these crocodiles at keeping birds out of her fish pond. Apparently the ducks are a bit smarter than other birds but when I took this photo there were no ducks around? P.S There is no need to get a breeding pair.
They may keep cats out of your garden too.
About 30 years ago I was working at a nursery in Dural. As I walked along I was suddenly knocked to the ground! As I came too, I noticed a duck waddling along beside me shaking its head. It had crashed into the back of my head on its way to the dam. That's obviously why they call them ducks!
We bought a 1930s Art Deco Dresser off Ebay last week. We gave it a sand back then gave it 2 coats of Danish oil. We are using it in the shop to display our Cymbidium Orchids. We have found a local grower who just grows the best plants. They look sensational on the dresser because the flowers are reflected in the mirror. Simon was working on Saturday and he saw a person in the corner of his eye and started talking to them. They didn't answer him, so when he looked closer it was just his reflection!
Cymbidium Orchids make great flowering gifts and when they finally stop flowering, your friends will still have the plant.
All our Grape Vines arrived this week. We specialize in the table varieties rather than the wine making ones. Sorry about that! But we have the best selection ever including, Crimson Seedless, Flame Seedless, Sultana, and Thompson's Seedless to name just a few. Winter is the best time to plant them and they grow best in a full sun position. Grow them over your pergola and the grapes will hang down in bunches. New organic fungicide sprays are now available so you can successfully grow grapes in your backyard. Vines cost $19.99. Cover your ugly fence with a grape vine.
Happy gardening
Tim