Buy A Red Scarf For $5.00 - Jun 28, 2024
Dear gardening friends
Kate Ritchie very kindly helped us promote "Red Scarf July" last year. We make these Red Scarfs here at the nursery, and we sell them for $5.00 to raise money for The African AIDS Foundation.
If you've bought one in the past, you will know what a huge difference they make. They stop the warm air from escaping. They look fabulous too.
You can wear them any style.
Kate just happened to be here shopping and I asked her if she would mind helping us. Kate is very kind. Her mother has been a long time customer.
These Red Scarfs really are amazing. You need one. Help us help AAF. They are on the counter.
Zoom zoom.
In autumn I was filling in time waiting for my car to get serviced in Blacktown. I didn't know the area, but the mechanic said come back in an hour, so I went for a walk. I came across this beautiful old house, that had been looked after, it had a traditional garden, it had this amazing Rose bush.
I could tell by the wavy petals that it was a Just Joey Rose. It had the most amazing perfumed. The apricot coloured flowers went beautifully with the mint green house. I've never seen a Rose bush with more buds and flowers. This Rose bush was celebrating life in the suburbs.
"Just Joey" was always one of my favourite Rose bushes but this one was just so healthy and clean.
The leaves were so lush and disease free.
The flower colour was just perfect, the fragrance was amazing. The long stemmed roses are perfect for picking. Every garden needs a "Just Joey Rose bush".
We have them as bush roses and standards.
They always sell out fast. People drive from Blacktown to buy them. Why wouldn't you?
We have an amazing selection of Banksias in the nursery today and a few of them have flowers already. I've recently fallen in love with Banksias. I can't stop taking photos of the beautiful flowers.
If you plant one of these in your garden the honey eater birds will visit you several times a day. I think it's beautiful how you can attract nature into your garden just by planting the shrubs and trees they love.
We have this variety called Banksia "Honeyeater Delight". This dwarf variety only grows 1.2 ms high x 1.2ms wide. It flowers in autumn, winter and spring. It has bushy green foliage. The flowers grow out on top of the foliage so it just looks spectacular.
The secret to getting Banksias to grow is drainage. That doesn't mean planting it on a slope. It means you have to raise up your gardens using Native Potting mix. This gives the feeder roots a chance to grow down into the clay, without drowning.
Banksias attract Honey eaters of all kinds including birds, native bees and butterflies. The more nature you attract into your garden the better your mental health will be.
Nature = happiness.
Yes Banksias can be grown in large pots using Native Potting mix. They need almost daily watering in summer. In the ground, they look after themselves, once established.
Come and see our Banksia collection. We even have ground covering Banksias. It's Banksia lovers paradise here right now.
Graham Estall is a gentle giant, he comes in here on a regular basis looking for Grevilleas. He often buys grafted Grevilleas because they grow better in his clay soils in Glen Alpine.
Graham was a male nurse, he started work in 1967 and only retired recently. He worked in Mental health at Liverpool, Kempsey and Campbelltown.
I asked him why he loves gardening?
"I think it's beautiful to see what plants can do, and it's a nice way to communicate with people. You make a garden that other people can enjoy"
I've never thought about people making a garden for other people to enjoy, it's a beautiful way of thinking.
I ask him which school he went to. "Scotts in Bathurst, I hated it, my father was a teacher there, I spent most of my time looking out the windows watching the steam trains go past" Did you dream about getting on one of those trains? "No, not really".
There would have been some stigma about being a Male nurse in those days, did that worry you?
"No, I didn't care, I just wanted to help people. There were more men in Mental health, the men could be violent. We used to take them to the shops to teach them how to shop but they didn't want to buy anything, they thought everything was too expensive." He laughs.
"I worked in General nursing too. Some people come in pretty sick, you watch them get better, it gives you a buzz".
Do you like retirement? "No, I hate it, I'd like to be still working".
I ask him if he's ever been to Appin Bakery?
Has he tried their Chocolate croissants and Sausage Rolls? "No I haven't, are they good?, I might go there today."
Get tomato sauce too. "I like BBQ sauce".
He's smiling now.
I give him a Grevillea "Scarlet Moon" as a gift.
I've noticed he's been more careful since he retired with his money. "He's told me that everything's gone up." He's right of course. He buys a few Native tubes.
He will come back next week with a Sausage roll report. I've talked them up. I had a dream about a Sausage roll recently and I woke up in a panic because I couldn't remember where I bought it?
It came to me after a late night cup of tea.
Appin Bakery.
Happy gardening
Tim