Life's A Garden Tour

Sydney Garden Talk 2RRR 88.5fm Wed 5pm, Sat 12 midday
Feature Interview:Secretary of the Eastwood Evening Garden Club, Ailsa Wareham talks about her recentr trip to visit gardens and parks in southern NSW and Victoria. Highlights were, Foxglove Spires in Tilb a Tilba, and Heronswood in Dromana on the Mornington Peninsula. The garden club meets every second Tuesday of the month at Dundas Baptist Church Hall.
Vegetable Heroes:Lemongrass-Cymbopogon citratus. Native to India and member of the Poaceae family. Lemon grass has slender stalks about a 30cm long (12”). To grow in the garden, confine it in a bottomless plastic pot, otherwise it will spread and take over your garden.
For cooking use the stalks only and pick the thick, light green ones that feel firm and aren't dried out and wilted. Cut off the woody root tip of each stalk until the purplish-tinted rings begin to show and remove the loose, dry outer layer(s). Also, if the top of the stalk is dry and fibrous cut this off too. When using it in cooked dishes, bang it with a cleaver to bruise the membranes and release more flavour.
Put a handful of the leaves into the saucepan when steaming or simmering chicken or fish to give a delicate but delicious taste of lemon. It can be used in many dishes as a substitute for lemon.
To store fresh lemon grass, wrap well in clingfilm and refrigerate, it will keep for up to three weeks.
Design Elements:what to put in a small flower bed?j. Buy plants as seeds shoots bulbs or root cuttings.
i. Summer display-think about Minature gladioli, Belladonna lilliies, Crinum and of course Hippeastrums-but you need to buy the bulbs now. For year round foliage-try Iris flowers and day lilies.
ii. Autumn flowers-Alstroemeria-Princess Lillies, Easter daisies-asters,Chrysanthemum,Penstemons, red Hot pokers or Kniphofia sps. Gingers-Costus barbatus and bulbs-cyclamen, Sternbergia lucida-yellow autumn crocus-yellow flowers that don’t need lifting or dividing.
iii. Winter flowering-Paper daisies-used to be Helichrysum bracteatum now are Xerochrysum bracteatum. Hellebores or Lenten roses-good for shady locations in winter. Some Correas-the funny Chef’s hat. Red hot pokers-Kniphophia “Winter Cheer.”-flowers that almost look like flaming torches-also a magnet for nectar feeding birds. For winter flowering annuals-can’t go past pansies. So many varieties-some with cat’s whiskers, bi-colours and solid colours. Often flower well into spring and easy to grow from seed. In fact you can sow them now.
iv. Spring flowers-Lillies-Novemebr Lillies that is, all manner of bulbs-spring stars, daffodils, anemones, etc
Plant of the Week:Acacia spp. or Wattles. Acacia pycnantha is Australia’s floral emblem-proclaimed 1st September 1988. Australia has 950 different species of wattles.Wattle was an old Anglo-Saxon word meaning pliant woody branch or a barrier made from pliant branches.
Early settlers used wattle branches as framework for their homes.
Extract from Historical Records of Australian Science.
Wattles were used by Aboriginal Australians for food, medicine and other purposes. Fruits, seeds, tubers and berries were eaten; sweet drinks were made from flower nectar and teas made from leaves. Some plants were used as Medicine and others for making spears, tools, baskets and shelters.

Sydney Golden wattle-A.longifolia-used seed (ground into flour) gum and grub 3-6m
Golden Wattle A.sophorae-seeds, gum.4m Yellow flower spikes in mid winter to spring.
Seeds used in all wattles. http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/ look for grow me instead plants. Cootamundra wattle or Acacia baileyana has proven to be invasive outside its natural region. Seeds are spread by birds and germinate quickly. It cross pollinates the already endangered Down Wattle or A.pubescens.
Habitat/ecology: While many Acacia species favor drier sites, others are adapted to more moist conditions.
What'sOn:. PARADISE GARDEN SPRING OPEN WEEKEND Free Entry Plenty of Easy Parking
WHEN: Saturday 31 July & Sunday 1 August 2010 TIME: 10 am to 4 pm both days
Over 12 hectares of Camellias, Magnolias, Cherry Blossom and other glorious flowers and trees.
Learn how to grow drought hardy camellias from members of the NSW Camellia Research Society Take a free guided tour of the garden;Buy a great range of plants at bargain prices.
WHERE: 147 Greta Road, Kulnura 2250 Paradise is approximately 30 minutes from Gosford (via Somersby) and Wyong (via Yarramalong), find a map at www.camelliasnsw.org
DONATIONS from sale of plants to NSW Camellia Research Society and Peats ridge/Kulnura Scout Group.