Want to feel ten years younger? - Jul 17, 2015
Dear Gardening Friends,
We have had some of the coldest weather on record this week but that hasn’t stopped Blake our apprentice horticulturist from wearing his shorts!
He has just returned from 3 weeks in Bali so you would expect him to be really feeling the cold. The rest of us were all convinced that it must be snowing on Mt Annan. Thursday is the coldest day I can remember and I have lived in Macarthur for 25 years. I hope you have found a warm place.
All our New Season Rose bushes have now arrived and they have all been potted up so you can plant them now or in 3 month’s time. Roses that we potted up several weeks ago have already started to sprout fresh new growth. If you love roses come and have a look at our huge selection. A new yellow flowering rose bush called “The Golden Child” looks like a winner. This fragrant golden yellow rose was awarded “Rose of The Year” at the 2013 rose trials. It keeps its golden colour longer than other varieties and it has good disease resistance. It’s a floribunda rose so it gets smothered in roses. If you want a plant that will flower non-stop for 9 months then this could be the one.
If you were one of the lucky gardeners who forward ordered one of the new Gallipoli Centenary Roses come and pick it up now. This stunning red rose has been carefully selected to commemorate one of the most significant moments in Australia’s history, the Gallipoli Centenary in 2015. Supply is very limited.
If you missed out on ordering the Gallipoli Rose then you might be interested in the Spirit of ANZAC Grevillea. We still have nice big bushy plants. We had to put one out the back in the holding area because every time one was about to flower our customers bought it. We had never actually seen the flower. Well this week our plant came into bloom and I was able to take a photo of it to share with our garden club members. It really is a beautiful red flower. We also love the grey green foliage on this plant. If you want a bushy native shrub that will flower most of the year without a fuss plant one of these.
Planet Ark is celebrating 20 years of planting trees and is urging all Australians to take part on Sunday the 26th of July. Each year over 250,000 people take part in National Tree Day events at over 3,000 sites organised by local councils, schools and businesses. Over 21 million native trees, shrubs and grasses have been planted. What a GREAT RESULT! You can plant a tree in your own garden too if you want to make a difference. It doesn’t have to be a native tree. Come and talk to us if you need help selecting the perfect tree.
An interesting report was published recently that has found that trees don’t just look good but they also make you feel 10 years younger.
The study which surveyed almost 31,000 residents of Toronto, Canada found that people who lived in areas with higher street tree density had a far better perception of their own health. Residents also reported fewer conditions of obesity and hypertension compared with residents who lived in areas with fewer trees!
Some of the leafier suburbs in Sydney included Pittwater, Hornsby, Warringah, The Hills District and Kuringai. These suburbs had over 50% tree canopy coverage. Campbelltown came in at 34% and Camden was only 17%. No wonder there are so many fast food outlets out our way! The greenest cities in Australia are Hobart 59% and Brisbane 49%. Sydney’s canopy coverage was a shocking 15.5%.
We are finding it more and more difficult to sell trees in our nursery. People say they want more trees but they want them planted in other peoples gardens or in parks and open spaces. They want to look at the leaves but they don’t want to have to rake them. Hopefully scientific reports like this one will help change people’s mindset. Our Tims Garden Club Members are obviously all tree lovers and that’s why you look 10 years younger!
Happy Gardening
Tim