Green is good! - Oct 27, 2017
Adopt a Jacaranda tree for $5.00.
It’s funny how a conversation starts.
This couple were describing a plant they had growing in their garden that was rambunctious!
What a word!!!!
It got me laughing. I have talked about this couple before, they have the most amazing summer garden near Bradbury Pool.
They bought the house for $88,000 in 1988. It’s funny how people remember figures like that.
Wayne and Renate (Renata) Brown are retired now. Renate loves gardening. “I get that from my father” she says.
Her parents came out to Australia from Hungary as migrants. They got housed in Bathurst, Cowra and Wallgrove before settling. Renate was only one. She was always helping dad in the garden as a kid.
When she grew up she made Vanity Bags in a factory in Redfern. She did the welding. A guillotine fell down and chopped off her fingers on both hands. On one hand the fingers have all been reduced in size. “I was lucky” she said. “On my other hand the fingers were still attached by a thread of skin. Harry Tyer and a visiting American Doctor decided to have a go at sewing them back on.” The operation was a success. “I was lucky because I could have lost both hands”. It was 1966.
It’s funny how she thought she was lucky.
Wayne’s claim to fame is that his Grandfather was Mayor of Paddington in Sydney. He has his name on a plinth. You can tell these two are still good friends.
They met at a Church function in Cabramatta. They have two adult children. “We were lucky to have children” they both say together.
This couple are lucky. Some people think of themselves as lucky.
Isn’t that a great way of looking at life. Gardeners are like that.
We’ve had a birth in the family!
The lazy Black Bird who built a nest on our plant display bench, in the shade house, has given birth this week to 3 healthy chicks. She has been busy feeding them ever since. How lucky is this Black Bird to have Karyn’s beautifully mulched garden to find worms in.
If you want to check them out, have a look amongst the Hydrangea display. Please don’t touch the nest.
Jacaranda trees have burst into bloom this week all around Macarthur. What fabulous trees!!!! They grow so well in our district, so it just makes sense to plant more.
Dan rescues Jacaranda seedlings that pop unwanted in gardens. He digs them out carefully and pots them up using Tim’s Best Potting Mix. He grows them on for 6 months and then they are ready for adoption. He sells them for $5.00 to cover the cost of Potting mix and pots.
He is hoping to turn Macarthur purple in years to come. We have about 50 plants ready to go now. Dan has also grown a batch from seeds for next year.
If you don’t have a shade tree on your nature strip then plant a Jacaranda. It will cool your car on a hot summers day and in winter the leaves fall off so the sun can warm your house. Every November your tree will burst into bloom just in time for Christmas.
Keep an eye on your tomato plants. We’ve noticed Two Spotted Mites are attacking tomatoes leaves early this year. These tiny insects sit under the leaves and suck out the nutrients. The leaves go yellow and the new growth grows twisted and distorted.
You won’t get many tomatoes. Spray under the leaves on a cool day with Eco oil to control these pests.
Two Spotted Mites are attacking lawns too.
The grass goes yellowly silver in patches that quickly spread. You can use something a bit stronger on lawns because you don’t eat it. Come and see us.
We fed our lawn yesterday with Tim’s Rapid Results. Lachlan had a broken bag of Shirley’s No17 so he used this in one area too. Lachlan is our apprentice so he is still learning the trade. Shirley’s No17 has a lot of sulphate of ammonia in it, so if you put this product on your lawn and it doesn’t rain it will damage the grass. If it rains heavily then this Fertiliser washes into streams causing pollution.
Our Tim’s Rapid Results is incapsulated so it doesn’t release all at once, and it can’t burn your lawn because of this. It’s a much better product and safer for the environment. Our Tim’s Rapid Results 4kg bag is equivalent to 25kgs of Shirley’s No17.
Now that it’s rained it’s safe to fertilise your lawn. Pick a day when it’s going to rain and let nature do the job. Or get your sprinkler out and start watering. More grass = less weeds.
You still have time to get your garden looking fab for Christmas. We have heaps of flowering plants that will add that splash of colour. They will grow much better now that it’s rained. Come and see our potted colour.
Exciting news!!!!!!
Pig has had a book written about him.
It is being released next Friday.
Andrew Christie has done a great job compiling some of Pig’s best signs over the years and turned it into a book. He has entered the book in Fisher’s Art Award at Campbelltown Art Gallery. You can buy a copy at the gallery or at Tim’s Garden Centre from next Friday. It’s brilliant.
Selling for $19.99 and all profits go to The African AIDS Foundation in Camden.
More info next week prior to launch.
Pig arrived on a boat from Vietnam in a cardboard box. What a success story!
Come and see us if you need help in your garden. See you soon.
Happy gardening
Tim