Nursery: ten years on

Florez Nursery November 2005

 It is always interesting to look back to see what you were growing ten years ago and have a "then and now moment". No more plants in green pots all replaced with basic black to start with and those daylilies/hemerocallis in the background I no longer grow, while the purple and yellow foliage plants are still on the production line. Red geraniums, bottom right, which I still love, have the 'treat them like an annual' approach as they do in the Northern Hemisphere and not for reasons of frost but for the difficulty of keeping rust and rot at bay during the summer.

In the centre of the picture is the succulent Glottiphyllum fragrans, 'tongue leaf' which I recall I could not sell for love or money. It is a spreading ground cover with big fleshy leaves and large yellow flowers. Maybe a bit gross in the eyes of many and I no longer even have a stock plant of it and it is rarely seen in the commercial nursery world. 

I still grow lots of the Crassula and Agave, seen here, but ten years on it is Hibiscus which have captured my attention and time.

 

Fancy leaf Geraniums

Fancy-Leaf Geraniums

My interest in growing these goes back to the late 1990's when a small nursery called Pelargonium Place run by Marjorie Edwards at 40 Mistletoe street, Golden Square in Victoria became famous in the Geranium world for producing the 'Edwards' cultivars, with some even making their way back to Europe to the prestigious German nursery Pelargonien Fischer and perhaps eventually adorning a window-box in Munich or Zurich.

The fancy leaf ones, which often have insignificant flowers, provide year round colour and are ideal for balcony gardeners who want to brighten up a space which does not receive the sun all day. They are undemanding when it comes to watering and in fact may rot if given too much or when grown in too rich a potting soil. I just tidy mine up from time to time, removing spent leaves and take cuttings when they get too tall and leggy.

August Nursery notes

 August is the worst month for me as I have very little stock ready to take to market. When you grow a lot of perennials, grasses and sub-tropical style plants you play a waiting game until the weather warms up and these plants come back to life. I am not one for pampering plants by supplying the sub-tropicals with a warm glasshouse over winter so instead they have to tough it out with temperatures of 5C when they prefer a minimum of 10C. Hibiscus keep on flowering despite the cold though the petals fade to a pastel colour and the double flowered varieties fail to open properly.

 Winter flowering Hibiscus

 In a week or so I start to propagate grasses such as Miscanthus sinensis by division. This task is not one I look forward to as the sharp edged leaf blades invariably cut deeply into fingers however careful you are to avoid it happening It is only succulents which look terrific at this time of year as many such as Echeveria and Crassula respond to the cold weather by producing richer and or more vibrant colours.

Florez Pop-Up

 Aloha! 

This Sunday March 2nd Florez Nursery will be selling plants at a 'Pop-Up' shop in Sydney.

Where : Home of garden designer Peter Nixon whose garden will be on view as part of Open Gardens Australia.

Address: 52 Lander Street cnr. Shepherd Street Darlington (near Sydney Uni)

Open 10am to 4pm rain or shine 

I look forward to seeing you all there.

Here are some of the plants you may expect to find:

 Hibiscus and Brugmansia

 Medinilla species

 Pentas 'Candy Stripe'

 Allamanda 'Siam Snow'

 Miscanthus 'Cosmopolitan'

 Gardenia 'Forever More' from Vietnam

 Succulents

 Orange Browallia

 Ervatamia coronaria

 Quisqualis 'Red Riot'

 Daintree Pine

 Organic sage

Sun hardy Bromeliads

Achillea 'Red Velvet'

Achillea millefolium 'Red Velvet'

This is one of the best red Achilleas I have grown, with the flowers opening as a rich crimson red and fading to cerise. I have been growing a small trial plot of all the different cultivars available in what has been a difficult summer for plants which do not require excessive water. This one flowered very early in spring and though the colour of the flowers was superb, the flower stems were a bit weak and it tended to flop over as the months progressed. Over the last month the central section of the plant has died out completely but it is still hanging on and should recover when the weather cools down. I put this down to the plant having been breed in conditions of severely cold winters (hence the early flowering) and hot, low humidity, summers as experienced away from the coast.

Klahanie Hibiscus

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Tangello'
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Strawberry Crush'

There are some very nice compact Hibiscus available at the moment which have been bred by Klahanie Nurseries of Vancouver, B.C. Canada, and currently available here..They are ideal for courtyards or small gardens and for growing in pots if you live in a climate which experiences a cold and frosty winter. They could be moved out of winter temperatures and kept dry during the coldest days.

Among the selection available are the two pictured above as well as a single pale yellow with a white eye called 'Limoncello'; a big red single dark red called 'Wild Cherry'; a single grey/mauve called 'Coconut Ice'; and two double flowering orange bi-colours called Calypso' and 'Golden Dreams'. Hibiscus are really at their best between now and April with a succession of wonderful blooms. I liquid feed mine every couple of weeks at this time of year to keep the foliage glossy and for the production of well sized flowers.

Grevillea 'Fireworks'

Grevillea 'Fireworks' 

This is a terrific small growing (1metre) Grevillea which I planted about eight months ago and it is just coming into flower. It is one bred by Bywong Nursery which is situated about 30 km north east of Canberra in the settlement of Bywong. It is a hybrid between Gevillea rosmarinifolia 'Scarlet Sprite' and Grevillea alpina. What I like about it is the compact growth habit making it an ideal low hedge plant as well as the brightness and quantity of flowers which explode in all direction from the top of the bush.The leaves are also soft with no spines or prickles. This Grevillea is protected by plant breeders rights PBR.

Saying no to plastic pots

Inspiring Nurserywoman Kerry Mitchell

Kerry Mitchell is a woman with a mission,that is to only sell plants grown in biodegradable pots. Her coir fibre pots cost about 50 cents more than the plastic ones but buyers are happy to pay the extra if it means making a more sustainable choice in their gardening endeavours. As Kerry pointed out to me, it also means that plants which resent root disturbance when being placed in the ground can be planted pot and all without any trouble. Inexperienced gardeners or children will welcome this idea as they learn about growing plants for the first time.
In the past I have sold plants in pots made from compressed rice hulls but ran into problems with size, shape and supply. Meeting Kerry has given me inspiration to try and follow her lead.

Biodegradable coir fibre pots

A Community Nursery

The Community Nursery at Centennial Parklands, Sydney

Last Thursday a friend took me on a tour of a small community nursery where she spends time as a volunteer propagating plants. The nursery is part of the "Education Precinct" at Centennial Parklands and is open to volunteers, students and community groups who want to learn about plants and become involved in helping green this part of the urban environment .Wheelchair access has been provided for those people with a disability who want to come and work there as well. It is hard to believe this fantastic facility is located just ten minutes from the Sydney CBD.

Here are some photos from my visit.

Recycled concrete pots planted with fruit trees along the front entrance of the nursery

Growing plants from seed in the glasshouse

Bright Coleus in the shade house

Lots of my favourite native grasses

Centennial Parklands Education Precinct - Centennial Parklands

Echinacea purpurea

Echinacea purpurea 
 Purple cone flower

Echinacea, which is flowering now, is indigenous to the dry open woodland and prairies of central North America.The American conservation organisation, United Plant Savers has listed Echinacea spp. as at risk, becoming rare mainly through over-harvesting or loss of habitat. www.unitedplantsavers.org
 It is a herbal ingredient, the roots are used, in a range of products including toothpaste, cold remedies, face creams and shampoo. Long before its current popularity it was used by Native Americans as a cure for infections and snakebite, hence the origin of one common name 'Kansas snake root'. According to Bartram's Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine, it was from the medicine men of the Mohawk and Cherokee Indians we obtained our first knowledge of the plant.
In Australia, it is mainly the purple and white flowering forms which are grown. It is an easy care perennial, not demanding of special growing conditions or soil. It goes to ground over winter and sends up its tall metre high flowering stem in early summer. A more compact dwarf form is available which goes by the name of 'Knee High'. However the plant breeders at Terra Nova Nurseries have produced the most exceptional cultivars in an extraordinary range of colours and forms. It is worth checking them out at their website. Love the "Mac n Cheese" golden flowered one and the red "Tomato Soup", clever names for brilliant flowers. www.terranovanurseries.com