I see red! - Jul 10, 2015
Dear Gardening Friends,
Spring is just over 5 weeks away so if your green thumbs are starting to itch now you know why. I spotted a spectacular Meterosideros flowering in a northern beaches garden last week and I am trying to track some down for our customers.
This one had smaller leaves than traditional varieties and it seems to be more suited to today's courtyard sized gardens. I love the bright red flowers! Will keep you posted when some arrive.
I have always loved red doors and red gates.
It has to be the right red though. Red just goes so beautifully with bright green foliage.
This garden has double red doors and they are exactly the right colour. If you want to ad colour to your garden paint something red!
I often write about this tough hardy plant called "Xanadu". It's just one of those hardy plants that will grow in full sun or part shade.
They will even grow down the side of your house in that narrow garden where almost everything you have planted has died.
If you have big pots where it gets dappled sun and other plants have failed plant a "Xanadu". I came across this beauty during the week and it was in a red pot too!!!!
Always use Tims Best Potting Mix and you will have success. We have Xanadus plants for around $15.00 so they are not expensive.
If you're sick of your neighbours looking into your backyard do something about it. An Australian native plant called a Tuckeroo tree grows into the perfect size and shape. It will screen out your neighbours quickly and give you the privacy you deserve. I love the dark green shiny leaves on this tree. We are expecting fresh new stock next week. Dig some IGC Planting Compost into your soil now to get it prepared for planting.
Some people spend thousands of dollars building huge houses on tiny blocks trying to get their neighbours attention. If you spend $30 on a Bottle tree and plant in the centre of your front lawn it is only a matter of time before people are stopping to take photos!
This amazing Queensland native tree has a huge bottle shaped trunk. I have seen a beauty a bit smaller than this one growing in Porrende st Narellan so it will cope with our cold winters. A semi mature plant like this one would be worth several thousand dollars. Plant one in Spring and you will have success!
Once you have some trees in your garden you can attach Stag horn ferns to their trunks and you will soon have that tropical effect. Stags and Elk ferns grow better on tree trunks because when it rains the water runs down the truck an into the back of the fern. It just makes sense. Also as the leaves fall from the trees they get caught in behind the Stag horn and provide compost and fertiliser. So often I see these native ferns attached to North facing brick walls where they are doomed to fail. If you have to grow one on a wall choose an eastern facing one and water twice a week during the warmer months.
Pig was cheering for the blues blues blues but that chant has quickly been adapted to pinks pinks pinks. The pinks just have more chance of winning who ever they are?
I hope you're winning?
Happy Gardening
Tim