Tim falls in love with wacky garden - Dec 30, 2011
Dear gardening friends,
I hope you had a fantastic Christmas. Pig survived Christmas only to get run over by our first customer on Tuesday morning. Pig, just like Humpty Dumpty, couldn't be put back together again.
Pig must have nine lives because his stunt double was standing in for him on this occasion too.
Just before Christmas I was in Surrey Hills looking at vintage furniture shops. I stopped to get a coffee and had to use their toilet out the back. No key required so the cafe owners got extra points from me. When I went out the back I discovered this fantastic garden. It was a hidden treasure. I forgot about going to the toilet and just admired the garden. All the plants were growing in pots and they were put close together. It was a tropical theme with quirky pieces of junk art that just worked. They even had a pair of boots planted up with succulents. Check out the attached photos. The owner found the boots on the street on chuck out day. I am so sorry I threw them out now.
I think we can learn a lot from this garden. This was a western facing courtyard that had concrete floor and walls. You can imagine how hot this gets in Summer. If you just put a couple of pots out here the plants would get cooked. This city gardener has put 50 plants all together and then arranged them in height to get depth. Each plant shades its neighbour from the hot sun. The shade stops the concrete getting hot and it also helps to stop the water evaporating from the potting mix. The end result is the plants help each other to grow better. And when he leaves, he can take the garden with him. The junk art has been used to create focal points and to add interest.
In our suburban gardens we have hot exposed situations like this where we have watched plants wither and die. If you have pot plants growing around your pool move them closer together and arrange them in height just like the city gardener.
I did finally get to the toilet in that lovely garden and the Caesar Salad was fantastic too. I have now finished our customer toilet renovation at the nursery. It has been a bit of a staff joke because I just started painting it without any consultation. I paint everything Antique White USA. Karyn thought it was just the under coat! Come and try it out soon. There is no key and if you want to steal some toilet paper it is in the cupboard. I do guarantee that you will see something beautiful when you enter.
Check out our Raspberry Blast Petunias in the hanging baskets on the verandah. Remember how these were covered in two spotted mites a couple of weeks ago? I cut them back hard and sprayed them with Yates Rose Gun. This is a great product that really works. The mites are gone and the plants have come back into flower. Yates Rose Gun has a systemic insecticide and fungicide so it doesn't wash off when it rains.
We are closed on New Years Day so come and see us on Saturday for all your gardening needs.
Happy New Year!
Happy gardening
Tim