All About Begonias

Sydney Garden Talk -Saturdays 12noon-!pm on 2RRR 88.5 FM
Today's program featured an interview with Peter Sharp, who has over thirty years experience in Begonia growing and was fundamental to establishing the Begonia beds at Sydney Botanic gardens fifteen years ago.
The beds contain 60 different species and about 50 different hybrids of Begonias.
Start with bedding begonias in a mass to give the visual effect.
The first can Begonia should be  Begonia "Irene Nuss,"  -will take full sun to part shade, flowers from end of spring to winter. Has huge panicles of pink flowers.Almost an angel wing leaf.
All Begonias have leaves that are asymmetrical.
Recommended groundcover Begonia: B. Convolvulacea-can grow up to cover a fence, otherwise about 30-50cm tall depending on conditions. Takes full sun or shade-will grow under trees.
Begonias are heavy feeders,-use a slow release and also supplement with a liquid fertiliser if growing in pots.
Need frequent pruning to shape and size. Pruning of cane Begonias forces growth from the root system rather than promoting lateral growth.
If pots are too small for these Begonias, growth of side shoots will be inhibited.
Begonias for shade: B. listada-deep green velvety leaves with lime stripe-groundcover.
Next to the Cactus family, Begonias are the most drought tolerant as they are succulents by nature. Store moisture in leaves, stems and root systems.
Vegetable Hero:Kohlrabi-Brassica oleracea "Gongylodes"
Heirloom seed from http://www.greenharvest.com.au/ has purple skin and white flesh. Easy to grow.
It has a bright purple skin and white flesh. The flesh is tender with a mild, cabbage-turnip flavour. This is a very hardy vegetable and easy to grow .
Kohlrabi is usually grown from seedlings started in a mini greenhouse, but you can sow seed directly in the garden. Plant the seeds 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep; -, 0.6 to 1.3 cms,
Thin them to 13 to 15 cms or 5 to 6 inches when they're large enough to handle.
Kohlrabi likes fertile, well-drained soil with a pH between 6.5 and 7.5. The soil should be high in organic matter. Also, when growing kohlrabi, you want to make sure to keep the soil well watered or you will end up with woody stemmed plants that are too tough. How do I know when it’s ready to pick?
When kohlrabi bulbs are two to three inches across they can be picked. Or pick then when small, golf-ball-sized, as they become fibrous with age.
Design Elements:-Sunny courtyard.
Using vertical elements will make the space seem bigger.
Climbing plants soften wals and scent intensifies in small spaces:Climbing Star Jasmine, Pandorea jasminoides "Jazzy Bellz," Rosa "Pierre de Ronsard,"-creamy pink double, repeat flowering. Passionfruit-Nellie Kellie.
Espalier-citrus, Coffee tree-Coffea arabica.
Shrubs-Viburnum tinus'Eve Price'-2.5x2.5m
Escallonia 'Red Knight'deep Cerise flowers, grows 1.5x1.5m
Striking folieage-Agave or Phormium Tricolour.
Seasonal colour-Geraniums-angel-wings.Petunias, Osteospermums-Daisy.
Plant of the Week:Ivory Curl Tree-Buckinghamia celsissima.
Buckinghamia celsissima is a hardy reliable flowering tree which has proved popular as a street tree in many areas because of its adaptability. It can either be grown as a tree, or pruned to maintain a shrubby appearance. Responds well to pruning.Flowers are white to cream and occur in summer in large racemes up to 200 mm long. The flowers are well displayed at the ends of the branches.
Ideal growth is achieved in full sun and deep well-drained soil, where it will develop a dense, compact, rounded crown of deep green leaves. New growth is flushed bronze/red. Moderately fast growth can be expected if well-watered and fertilized in summer.
Watering-Although watering is necessary initially, once established, rainforest plants require no more water than other garden plants.
What's On:
Tuesday 9 Feb: Eastwood Evening Garden Club will meet at 7.30pm at the Dundas Baptist Church Hall. Speaker Ken McGill, who works at a nearby nursery, will talk about what’s new for autumn. There’s a cutting table and library available. For more info phone 9874 2306
Friday 12 Feb Composting and Worm Farm workshop at Lane Cove Community Gardens corner Pacific Highway and Mowbray Rd, behind the church, from 9.30am to 12.30pm. Composting and worm farming prevents food scraps from ending up in landfill, and provides great nutrients for your garden. Online booking only for this one. Go to www.lanecove.nsw.gov.au to book. If you do have enquiries about this or don’t have access to a computer call 9911 3555. It’s free of charge for anyone to come along and Lane Cove residents who attend get a free compost bin or worm farm.
Saturday 13 Feb. Growing Friends plant sale at the Royal Botanic Gardens from 9am – 1pm. Free entry.
Also-, Royal Botanic Gardens. Sogetsu Ikebana demonstration – in other words, the art of Japanese flower arrangement. Joan Perkins from the Sogetsu Teachers Association will show you the basic. 10.30Am – 12.15pm in the Maiden Theatre. Cost $35, book on 9231 8182.

Princess Lillies, and Butterflies

SYDNEY GARDEN TALK  Saturdays 12noon-1pm 2RRR 88.5fm

Feature Interview: Lucinda Coates from Permaculture North, Hornsby.
http://www.permaculturenorth.org.au/
Vegetable Hero: Basella alba"Rubra" or Climbing Spinach
The plant is also much better suited for summer growing than Spinach itself.
Malabar spinach grows 2-3 metres or eight to ten feet tall and wide and produces almost unnoticeable white-tinged pink flowers in its leaf axils. When the flowers are fertilised, small, attractive, single-seeded purple berries will grow. The juice from the berries is so intensely purple that it puts beet juice to shame. A bit like Dianella berries I think. It's used as a natural food colorant for agar (vegetable "gelatine") dishes, sweets, and pastries.
Indonesian-Style Malabar Spinach
•4 cups Malabar spinach leaves
•3 tablespoons peanut oil
•3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
•½-inch piece galangal root or fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
•1 red chile pepper, seeded and slivered lengthwise
•1¾ cups cream of coconut (not coconut milk)
•¼ cup fresh lime juice
•¼ teaspoon salt
•1 scallion sliced into thin rings, including green tops
•2–4 fresh kaffir lime leaves, or 2 dried leaves pulverized in a spice mill
Plant of the Week:Alstroemeria or Peruvian Lilly or Princess Lillies.
I have several colours in large 20cm terracotta pots on some stone steps. In winter I move them into a sunny spot but in summer they don’t like being blasted by the hot summer sun, so I move them to the other side of the stone steps, where it’s shade by a building.
There’s no reason why they can’t be grown along a border instead of having annuals. There spread fairly slowly and I would say that the height of this plant is about 25 - 30 cm and about 40 cms wide in a garden
They will look their best if you position the plants so they receive bright light or full sun in spring and autumn then move them to a site with dappled shade during summer.
You need to make sure that the crown of the plant (the place where new shoots arise) is not buried too deeply when planting as this can lead to rotting and possibly death of the plant. The top of the crown should be just below or equal to the top of the pot, and as the grow, you’ll find that they’ll push up even higher.
Princess Lilies continually produce new shoots to replace those that have finished flowering. These old flower shoots should be removed regularly and this can be done by pull and twist action to remove the old stems completely from the plant..
That means that you need to completely remove the shoot that has finished flowering.

What's On
Tuesday 26 January. If going into the CBD is your thing for Australia Day, The Royal Botanic Gardens has a special ceremony at 8am – Woggan-ma-gule Morning Ceremony. This event acknowledges Sydney’s traditional landowners and gives recognition to the original shoreline of Sydney Harbour. Band Lawn, Farm Cove, Royal Botanic Gardens. Free for everyone to attend.
Friday 29 January 5-7pm “South Side Swing” in Lane Cove Plaza
Enjoy listening and dancing to some 40’s – 60’s swing numbers from the Big Band era and modern jazz tunes.Contact: Faith Wieland at Lane Cove Council on 9911 3594
Saturday 30 January. Opera in the Park. Opera Australia, in conjunction with the Sydney Festival, presents Leonard Bernstein's Candide. Put the champagne on ice, pack the picnic and head to the Domain for a night of music.

Lilly Oh Lilly

TUNE IN TO SYDNEY GARDEN TALK with MARIANNE
SATURDAYS 12 noon-1PM 2RRR 88.5FM
Today's show was about Cottage Gardens and how good Salvias perform in Sydney. Marion talked about Savlia chiapensis, a nice compact salvia with rounded glossy green leaves and bright cerise flowers.

Caller question on Lilly Pilly Psyllid

What are Pimple Pysillids? Not some dreadful form of acne that afflicts gardeners, but that lumpy bumpy leaf caused by the lilly pilly psyllid (Trioza eugeniae).

Trioza is a tiny native insect related to cicadas, that in its first stage of growth when the psyllids or nymphs are quite tiny, feed inside the leaves. They settle in one spot then embed themselves in the leaf, forming a lump or pimple. It looks ghastly because it usually affects all new growth and it’s the last thing you want to see on your stylish hedge or topiary. Some lilly pillies won’t ever get pimple psyllid like all varieties of Acmena smithii and Syzygium luehmannii the weeping Lilly Pilly.
Can be controlled with a thorough spray of Confider about every month.

Vegetable Hero: Pumpkin from the cucurbitaceae family. I cup of cooked pumpkin has 2g of protein and 12g of carbs! Plenty of beta carotene though to help comabt efects of aging like Alzheimers.

Pumpkin seed needs a soil temperature of 20˚C for germination. You can either sow them individually in 10cm pots and plant when pots are filled with roots.

Or, sow seed or plant seedlings into mounds of rich compost made over loosened soil. Plants take 70–120 days to mature.
Pumpkins are shallow-rooted they need regular watering in dry or windy weather. Even moisture helps prevent fruit splitting.
Pumpkins produce short-lived male and female flowers that can close by mid-morning. Female flowers open above the swollen, distinctive embryo fruit and male flowers produce pollen. If the embryo fruit falls off, that usually means it didn’t get pollinated.

Plant of the Week: Lillium longliflorum or November Lillies
Plant bulbs in Autumn:
All Liliums can be grown very successfully in containers too, just choose a size and shape of container that will complement the height of the flowers without looking out of proportion. Make sure that the container has excellent drainage, and can easily accommodate the bulbs without them touching the sides of the pot. Use the best quality potting mix you can buy, preferably one with a slow release fertiliser. Plant your bulbs, water them in, and then water regularly once they are actively growing, During the warmer months, keep an eye on the pots to ensure they don`t completely dry out on hot days.
Events this week:

Wed 18 Nov. 2pm - 4pm, Woolwich Walk led by local identity Phil Jenkyn. This walk includes Woolwich Dock, Clarkes Point and Kellys Bush. Meet at Woolwich Lookout, cnr Woolwich Rd and Gale St., Woolwich. Hunters Hill Historical Society. Enquires 9817-2677

More events on http://www.huntershill.com.au/

Saturday 21 November, 2-4pm. Royal Botanic Gardens. Friend & Foe South African Plant talk and walk. Explore the popular garden plants and some potential weeds that originate from South Africa. Bookings essential. $15. Phone 9231 8134. Meet at the Maiden Theatre.

Saturday 21 November; 11am – 1.30pm G ladesville Hospital and Priory Walk led by Peter Colthorpe, chair of Friends of Gladesville Hospital. Meet at The Priory, 2 Salter St., Gladesville. Gold coin donation for repairs to The Priory. Bookings and enquiries 0434 673 101

Now until 31 Dec - Remove invasive vines and receive free native plants. Nasties include Morning Glory, blackberry, tradescantia (ex-wandering Jew). The aim is to provide habitats for small native birds in shrubs and groundcover.
LOCATION: Hunter's Hill Council
CONTACT NAME: Bushland & Natural Resources Officer, Kerry Heatley PHONE: 9879 9439

Maria rang with details of her brother's website about his garden in Belgium!
http://www.casa-mediterano.be/