Garden Party

SYDNEY GARDEN TALK 2rrr 88.5 fm Saturdays 12 noon- 1pm, Wedneseday 5-6pm
Feature Interviews: Two open gardens in Drummoyne, St Georges Crescent.Hooper garden tip-mulch your garden. Croll garden tip-water your garden an it will grow, feed your garden and it will flourish.
Open Garden Scheme: http://www.ogs.org.au/
Vegetable Hero: Oregano, Origanum marjoram ; Origanum vulgare.
You can grow this plant from seed, or buy as a seedling.
Harvest when plant reaches the flowering stage
Sow in garden, or start in seed trays. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed.
Best planted at soil temperatures between 18°C and 25°C.
Space plants: 15cm
As far as companion planting goes, anything that benefits from having a flea beetle deterrent, like all Hibiscus, plant Oregano next to it. I haven’t tried this one, so if anyone has found this successful, give me a call in the studio.
For best flavour harvest in the morning just after the dew has lifted. Oregano has a high level of antioxidant activity, as it has lots of phenolic acids and flavonoids.
Garden Design Elements:Dry Native Gardens.
Need-free draining soil, low phosphorus.
Use in borders, banks, rockeries.
Design uses-infomal,use colour and texture like a tapestry, plant in drifts and curves, avoid straight lines.
Formal-Westringia clipped like topiary, hedges, lillypilly.
Contemporary-striking plants-Doryanthes, Xanthorrea.
Grasses in combination with other plants. Lomandra 'Tanika, L. 'Seascape,' Dianelle 'Breeze' D. 'Cassa Blue'
Feature trees;Corymbia'Summer Beauty'. Euc. cladocalyx. 'Vintage Red'.
Plant of the Week: Stenorcarpus sinuatus, Qld Firewheel Tree. Proteaceae Family.
Grows in warmer types of rainforest in coastal areas north from the Nambucca R.Despite its sub-tropical to tropical origin, S.sinuatus is adaptable to a range of climates and will even succeed in dry climates if additional water is available. It prefers fairly rich, loamy soils but is tolerant of most well drained soils. It may be grown in a sunny or partly shaded location.Keep one single leader to avoid splitting of the trunk as the tree ages.
Keep it well watered in really hot weather otherwise it tends to drop a lot of leaves. Bird attractant trees get a bit of flower and seed mess around the bottom but I have underplanting of Heliotrope and various begonias without any trouble.
What's On.
Monday 8 March, Easy Care Gardening Workshop by the City of Ryde. A good opportunity to meet other gardeners, learn about Easy Care Gardening Inc and the joys of volunteering. A free lunch is provided followed by a tour of Eden Gardens.Time: 11am - 1pm,Venue: Eden Gardens, Cnr Lane Cove and Fontenoy Roads, North Ryde, Free,Numbers are limited. Bookings are essential. Call 9144 1699 by Tuesday 2 March 2010.
Tuesday 9 March Eastwood Evening Garden Club meets with Helen Kerley from the City of Ryde talking about worms. (Marianne…mention Ailsa on the show last week). The Club welcomes guests and if you’d like to go, it’s at 7.30pm at Dundas Baptist church hall, 154 Marsden Road, Dundas.
Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 March – Electronic Waste cleanup Time: 9am - 4pm
Is your home full of electronic clutter? Then have a clean out and bring your unwanted electronic goods for recycling and safe disposal. Products accepted: televisions, computers, laptops, monitors, printers, mobile phones and computer-related peripherals (joysticks, mouses, hard drives etc) Products not accepted: whitegoods, UPS units, overhead projectors, contaminated equipment or other hazardous waste. A maximum of 20 systems per carload will be accepted. Collection points are:
Bicentennial Park, Lofberg Rd, West Pymble
Mosman Council Carpark, The Crescent, Pymble
Balcombe Heights Estate, 90-94 Seven Hills Rd, Baulkham Hills (Saturday from 9.30am)
Kimbriki Environmental Enterprises, Kimbriki Rd, Terrey Hills