By Beatrice Hawkins
2018 is under way and I hope it will hold good weather and flourishing gardens for us all.
I trust your gardens have all survived the hot weather and lack of rain and that your water bills will not be too high when they arrive in April. Oh, that we had a reliable water supply for this wonderful “Rose City” that we live in and could be free from water restrictions and able to grow spectacular gardens.
I now have my garden feature in place. I had decided on the position and had some help from a friend to get it in place over a weekend. An old wooden farm gate supported by weathered Gidgee posts and stays, with some old metal cart wheels leaning against them, is in place in my front garden. There are still a few screws to be put in and some rusty wire to be twitched around the posts. The final touch has required a trip to Tamworth to retrieve an old wheelbarrow that was my mother’s and to which I have a sentimental attachment. This will be filled with flowering annuals and sit as though being wheeled through the half-open gate. My son has come up with a solution to the problem of sealing the old barrow. He has suggested, and is going to supply, some of the waterproofing sealant that he used in a bathroom, to paint onto the inside of the barrow. This will waterproof it and hopefully stop it deteriorating from contact with soil. Will let you know if it works.
My Mum was not a great gardener but Gaillardias always flourished. I saw some for the first time in many years in a local nursery recently. As it is my Mum’s barrow I decided it would be the perfect plant to grow in it.
All that remains now will be the native garden to lay out. I have been promised more help with this but that can wait until the weather cools a little as it will require an amount of digging. As long as I can get the plants in in early autumn they should be flourishing by spring and attracting native birds to my garden.
Don’t forget the Horticultural Society’s bus trip to the Garden Expo at Doomben on Friday, March 16th. The year is rushing on so buy your tickets, as usual, from Danny Lyons Sports Store in Palmerin Street. They include the trip in one of Crisps comfortable coaches, morning tea en route and entry to the Expo.
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Something special…
Some years ago I purchased a tiny snail plant as a seedling at a stall during a friendship day in Manilla. After many years and many transplants it has come into its own this year and has for some weeks now been absolutely covered in hundreds of blooms.
The botanical name for this perfumed treasure is “Vigna caracalla”. The Vigna genus was named for a 17th century professor of botany from Pisa in Italy, Dominico Vigna. This variety is from South America and the caracalla is actually from Caracas in Venezuela.
As yet my plant has never set seed even the presence of bees and now I have discovered why. It seems it requires ants as pollinators and this is one area of my garden that seems to be relatively free them. It is not fussy with regard to soil, likes full sun and something to climb on. In this area it is deciduous and shoots each spring from the base. It can grow as much as 30cm a day given the right conditions so is ideal for covering fences etc. quickly. The only maintenance required is a light trim of the tendrils in November/December to ensure a mass of flowers from January through to March. It is one of the hardiest fragrant vines that can be grown in a Mediterranean climate.
*This is an old article that has been digitised so our readers have access to our full catalogue.
