Viola 'Kittens'

Viola x 'Kittens'

These tiny sweet Violas with whiskery faces are the last of the Spring flowers. This week has seen the start of summer temperatures with the mercury set to tip over 100 degrees F, in the old scale, for the rest of the week. If you live in a more temperate climate these little beauties will flower through the summer if given a spot in morning sun and a cool root run. Removing spent flowers is also important to keep them flowering longer.

Crinum pedunculatum, Native Swamp Lily

Crimum pedunculatum, Swamp Lily

The 1m long and 10cm wide, smooth leaves of the Swamp Lily

This Lily is in the Daffodil Family , Amaryllidaceae, and is native to coastal regions of Queensland and New South Wales. It grows both in sand dunes above the high water mark along seepage lines and on the banks of tidal streams, in lagoons and in Paperbark swamps. The flowers are at their best now but will continue well into summer and are followed by equally decorative large pale green fruit containing a couple of large seeds.
Despite its coastal origin,the Swamp lily has proven to be reliable in a variety of garden situations and even has been used in median strip planting on busy roads. The problems encountered in growing it mainly come from leaf eating caterpillars which can strip the entire leaf, starting at the top and working their way down the entire stem. If the plant is badly damaged ,it can be cut off at ground level and soon regrows from the large underground bulb. Propagation is usually from the large seed which can be germinated in sand.
2017 update: I currently don't have any stock.

Suiseki

Suiseki is a branch of the Japanese art of Bonsai. It is an appreciation of natural stone. This appreciation takes the form of an object such as a mountain, caves or expanses of water where rocks are present. Small pieces are often collected and mounted on a wooden base called a Diaza.

Zucchini Fritti !

At this time of year, the zucchini plants need to be checked on daily as they are producing loads of fruit. Leave them for a week and you come back to find a giant zeppelin marrow has appeared which is tough and tasteless. My favourite way of cooking them is to coat small ones, which have been sliced in half, with flour or with a batter and fry them for a few minutes in olive oil. Even the individual non fruit producing male flowers can also be used in this way and I like them stuffed with rice and pine nuts .They are delicious cold if there are any left over. Zucchini also cooks well with tomatoes and garlic and make a perfect pasta sauce when made in this way.
This is an easy vegetable to grow and as long as you dig in some good compost before planting there are few problems in growing them .That said ,by January or February powdery mildew has attacked the leaves and the bush is usually spent. A second crop can be started in February which will produce well into Autumn. Black Jack, Romanesque, or Greyzini are the usual varieties available as seeds or seedlings. Another variety Niggerboy which was highly recommended in Australian gardening books as late as the 1980's has disappeared in the interests of political correctness.
Again if you have too many you can always pickle the excess.Here is a recipe for Zucchini Pickle from the book The Gourmet's Garden by Sam Orr which was published by Ure Smith in Sydney in 1975. This is a great vegetable gardening book and still available in second hand bookstores.

Zucchini Pickle

You need one kilo of zucchini and half that amount of mild onions, a quarter of a kilo of sugar, around three quarters of a litre of vinegar, a good tablespoon each of flour and turmeric and some pickling spice.
Chop the onions and zucchini, salt and leave overnight. The next day drain and slowly simmer with the vinegar, pickling spice and sugar. Combine the turmeric and flour with a little water until it creams and then add to the mixture in the pot. Simmer for a few minutes more . Put into warm jars and seal when cold.

Salvia 'Hot Lips'

Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips'

What a great name for a plant, though there is also a chilli variety called 'Hot Lips' which is also aptly named. This is another Mexican shrub which was introduced to horticulture by Richard Turner of the Strybing Arboretum of San Francisco. It forms a well rounded bush to about 1 metre high and wide and seems to have flowers for at least 8 months of the year. The flowers are often bi-coloured or some are pure white and some red. The leaves and flowers are only small but it is an ideal shrub for a small garden where it can be viewed up close. It is frost hardy and tolerates dry conditions well. For maintenance, it just needs the occasional once over with hedge shears to keep it looking good.
2017 update: Currently out of stock but available again soon.

Achillea 'The Beacon'

Achillea millefolium x ' The Beacon' syn 'Fanal'

One of the easiest perennials to grow in temperate or sub tropical climates, Achillea or Yarrow, puts on a great display of flowers at this time of year. The flat plate like flowers are born on tall stems to 30 cm arising from soft ferny foliage There are many different cultivars available in a range of colours. This is one of the Galaxy Hybrids. The flowers are good for picking and can even be dried. I like to grow them amongst roses which provide some support for the flowering stems . Propagation is simply a matter of digging up a clump and dividing the plant with roots attached and replanting where desired . Autumn is a good time for this.
As a herb, Achillea has a long history of many uses. In France it was known as carpenter's grass, herbe aux charpentier, as leaves pressed to a cut stopped the flow of blood and acted as an antiseptic. As a remedy for a cold, a few leaves can be combined with some sprigs of thyme in a herb tea for some soothing relief.The leaves of Achillea added to a compost heap are said to act as an activator, accelerating the breakdown of organic matter .
Above all else however, its fame is as the plant of which Chiron, the centaur, taught Achilles the virtues so that he might heal his wounds in the Siege of Troy. Below are some examples of his story in the history of art.

Achilles 1884 by German sculptor Ernst Herter (1846-1917)
in the garden of the Achilleion Palace, Corfu, Greece.
The Education of Achilles by Eugene Delacroix(1798-1863)
Bibliothek des Palais, Bourbon

The Wrath of Achilles 1847 Leon Benouville (1821-1859)
Musee Fabre, Montpellier

The Education of Achilles 1772, James Barry (1741-1806)
Yale Center for British Art

Banksia serrata

Banksia serrata,Old Man Banksia as a bonsai

This is one of the first plants collected by Joseph Banks in April 1770 at Botany Bay in New South Wales. It occurs naturally along the coast and in the mountains from Queensland to Tasmania. As a garden tree it is long lived and develops a wonderful textured trunk and decorative "fruit"or "cones" from the old flowers which led to the common name of 'old man Banksia'. In the books written for children by Sydney author May Gibbs these cones were given a sinister edge and featured as 'big bad banksia men'. May Gibbs' garden and house is preserved and open to the public in the Sydney suburb of Neutral Bay.
Banksia serrata is very slow growing in the home garden and impatient gardeners may give up waiting for it to reach a reasonable size. It makes a great bonsai however and the attractive bark and gnarled form can be viewed in miniature.