Enter Spring Garden Competition Now

Feature Interview: Robbie Cunningham, liason officer for Parks and Community at Ryde Council talks about judging criteria for Spring Garden Competition. enter online at http://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/
Vegetable Hero:Chinese Cabbage-Brassica chinensis and Brassica pekinensis. Chinese cabbage shocks easily, and transplanting sometimes shocks it into going to seed. Therefore, it's best to sow the seed directly in the garden and thin them to stand 20-30cm or 8 to 12 inches apart. This is quite different from your regular cabbage because last week I mentioned that transplanting European Cabbage actually helps grow stronger roots on the plant. With Chinese cabbage, the time from planting to harvest is 7 to10 weeks depending on the variety. You should harvest when the cabbage heads are compact and firm and before seed stalks form.
Cut off the whole plant at ground level.
Design Elements: Small rockery design-choose a site 1metre x 1 metre. Half bury your rocks to give it stability.What makes a rockery ugly? Plenty of soil on show or a straggly plant that’s growing up among the rocks is too tall and out of place.
a. Go for a theme and stick to it.Try any of these themes-
i. Succulent theme-Echeverias, Kalanchoes, sedums.
ii. Orchid theme-Dendrobiums there is-a range of colours available.
iii. Flower theme-alyssum, acheillea,asters, Begonias-rhizomatous, campanula, diascia, gazania, phlox, primula-make sure you select for sun or shade.
iv. Native rockery plants-bush Kangaroo paws, Austromyrtus dulcis, dwarf heath myrtle or beackia now Babingtonia, ground cover grevilleas like G Gaudi Chaudi.” Myoporum –pinks or whites.
Plant of the Week: Lilly Pilly: Acmena smithii and Syzygium spp
Here are my top choices: in descending order of height.
A. Acmena smithii var minor-small leaves, grows to 5 x 5metres. This is considered a dwarf Lilly Pilly because they can grow up to 25 m in their natural habitiat.Tolerates clay and heavy soils as well as sandy soils. Prune annually. Moderately drought tolerant so needs a good watering when the temps go up high in summer.Not prone to pysillid damage.
B. Acmena smithii “Allyns Magic” has coppery new growth.
C. Acmena smitthii Sublime-5 metres x 2.5 m-thick dense foliage all the way down to the ground. White flowers and purple berries in mid winter to spring.
a. Great for a privacy hedge and cope better in shade than all those people planting NZ Pittosporums in that 50cm wide bed between the pool and your neighbour’s fence.
D. Syzygium leuhmannii-5m+ pink new growth and whitish berries. Weeping habit and is one of the best privacy screening hedges.
E. S. australe “Bush Christmas" and “Elite” can be pysillid prone but I’m growing one to topiary and haven’t had the problem. These are considered mid size around 3-5 metres max. A. smithii “Hot Fl;ush” is a mid sized Lilly Pilly that is not pysillid prone.
F. S. leuhmanii x wilsonii or Cascade Lilly Pilly-grows to 3m. A hybrid that has powderpuff pale pink flowers and pale pink fruits. Great hedging
G. Little ones-under 2m.
a. S. leuhmannii "Royal Flame.” Resistant to pysillds.
I. Tiny under 1m
a. A. smithii “Hedgemaster.”-b. S. australe “Tiny Trev.”NOT
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