Bloomin'Orchids

Sydney Garden Talk Wed 5-6pm, Sat. 12-1pm
Feature Interview:Geoff Fulcher from the NSW Orchid Society talks mainly about Cymbidium Orchid care. There show is on at the Tropical Centre, Sydney Botanic gardens 3rd and 4th July. http://www.orchidsocietynsw.com.au/
Vegetable Hero:potatoes discovered by south Americans. Contains solanin when exposed to sunlight turns green. You can get virus free seed potatoes from harware stores, some supermarkets, and garden centres of course. To grow potatoes, you will need to deeply dig the garden bed to ensure the soil is loose. Chicken manure or blood and bone should be dug through the bed as potatoes need a lot of phosphorus but not too much nitrogen. Too much nitrogen will cause the potatoes to create too much leafy growth rather than potatoes. Make sure the potatoes are planted into the soil to about 10cm deep to get enough soil coverage. Seed potatoes should be planted about 50cm apart.
As the potatoes grow, it is important to keep them well covered, either by mounding the soil or heavily mulching. If sunlight reaches the potatoes as they are growing, they will turn green and become inedible. Keep the potatoes watered moderately as potatoes will rot in soil that is too wet
Design Elements;Reviewing Climbing plants-Try Podranea ricasoliana-pink flowers), Pyrostegia venusta-Orange Trumpet Creeper for quick covers. Wisteria chinensis-chinese Wisteria, or Wisteria macrobotrys-Japanese Wisteria-for beautiful scent and hanging flowers in Spring. These are deciduous creepers.
Plant of the Week:Hellebores spp. Helleborus orientalis and Helleborus x hybridus.Hellebores have dangling cup-shaped flowers which invite one to reach down and look inside. The outside of the sepals (which look like petals: the true petals are reduced to nectaries within the flower) may be rich pink while the inside may be paler, sometimes spotted, within. Dark nectaries can make the flower even more fascinating.
The pink, plum and white varieties are known as Helleborus x hybridus and incorrectly as Oriental varieties Most hellebores prefer semishade particularly in hot areas. Mine in the garden are never watered. Like most perennials, hellebores are best planted in Autumn but they are so hardy that I plant them year-round. I am enjoying the reward now
What's On:Camellia Show at Ravenswood Girsl High School, Sat, July 10th 1-4pm and Sun July 11th 10-4pm.