Coppiced Eucalypts

A coppiced Eucalyptus haemostoma 

 with lavender and Aloe

In the Bruce Beresford film Don's Party which is set in the fictitious suburb of Westleigh on election night 1969, the character Don Henderson, played wonderfully by the late John Hargreaves, is proud to show off his mini plantation of eucalyptus trees which he was carefully nurturing. Perhaps the film's screenwriter David Williamson was commenting on the fashion of that time for planting trees such as a Sydney Blue gum (Eucalyptus saligna) in the tiny garden of a terrace house in Paddington or Balmain. Many of these trees are still with us in the suburbs and have of course now reached maturity.  Earlier in the week there was a sad evening news story about a huge gum tree which had come crashing down onto the house of some elderly folk with the result being they were left virtually homeless. 

If you still like the inclusion of Eucalyptus species in a home garden, when grown for the foliage alone, the solution is to coppice them when they reach the sapling stage by cutting them off to a short trunk or close to ground level.

I did this earlier this year with a 'scribbly' gum and it has since sent up a flush of young branches. It works better if you have already planted some compatible plants, either native or exotic, close by so that the new foliage fills in the gap in a natural way. I like the transparent quality of the gum leaves and the shadows they cast on each other and the plants around them.

For more on the technical side of coppicing you may be interested in the following article:

 Managing Coppice in Eucalypt Plantations - Department of Environment and Primary Industries

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Courier-Mail'

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Courier-Mail'

The Courier-Mail is published by NewsQueensland formerly Queensland Newspapers and is owned by News Limited.

 This Hibiscus is an outstanding variety with a large ruffled flower of pinky orange with gold edge and lemon flashes at the centre. It was bred by Greg and Julie Lindsay from 'The Path' x 'Tammy Faye'.
I am currently out of stock.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Kinchen's Yellow'

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Kinchen's Yellow'

Describing the colour yellow usually involves referring to a canary, butter or lemons.
This yellow Hibiscus is perfection, especially as it has a white eye and radiating white rays across the petals on a large silken textured flower. The foliage which is glossy and dark green makes this an exceptional variety. It is a hardy and is quite bushy in appearance.
It originates from Florida and was bred by A Lateral.
I currently don't have any stock.

Fireworks Gomphrena dazzles at plant trials (08-20-2009)

Gomphrena 'Fireworks', Globe Amaranth

Annual flowers for sale as 'potted colour' have been bred to be compact and neat so as to look good on the bench at the retail Nursery or Garden Centre , as well as to solve 'ease of handling' issues at the growing end before they even get to the market.

Many terrific annual flowers which reach a metre or more in height go largely unnoticed because they are just too difficult to present well in a pot. One such plant which I grew for sale this summer and autumn was Gomphrena 'Fireworks'. 

In a large pot (20cm) it required constant tip pruning to make it appear more bushy as its natural habit is to have fairly sparse growth and few leaves. This is actually a part of its drought beating water saving strategy in the wild. Then comes the flowers which appear on the end of 30 to 45cm brittle stems. When the stems happen to cross over with each other or snag on a neighbouring plant they snap off......... so you are left with half an unsaleable plant looking dreadful. Never mind all this, as growing something new is good fun and meanwhile the 'Fireworks' planted in the garden are still going strong. The papery flower heads are long lived and last well into winter without any trouble. It is also unaffected by plant pests or diseases, so what more can you ask for. Further information can be found at the following:

 Fireworks gomphrena dazzles at plant trials (08-20-2009)

Viola odorata 'Governor Herrick'

Viola odorata 'Governor Herrick'

If you buy a potted violet from a Garden Centre or a bunch of violets from a florist, chances are it will be this variety. It originated in the United States around 1910 and is thought to be a hybrid between V. odorata and the American native species V. sororia. Unlike the common garden violet, which incidentally has a better perfume, this variety has large deep purple flowers on strong stems and glossy deep green leaves. It is also said to be resistant to red spider mite attack though I have never found this to be a problem when growing violets.

It was named for Myron T Herrick (1854-1929) who was a Republican Governor of Ohio from 1904 to 1906 and later was the US Ambassador to France from 1912-1914. He returned to that post in 1921 till his death in 1929. During his tenure as Ambassador he becomes mates with a certain General Joseph-Simon Gallieni (1849-1916). Rose enthusiasts who like Tea roses will be familiar with the wonderful General Gallieni rose of 1899 which is still in cultivation today and is notable for its year round supply of coppery red, white and pink blooms which change colour depending on the season. 

Myron Herrick's biography is available online at the following:

 T. Bentley Mott. Myron Herrick, Friend of France. Foreword. Table of Contents.

Viola odorata 'Rosina'

Viola odorata 'Rosina'

The violets are just starting to come into flower. This sweet smelling pink variety is a selected form of the naturally occurring pink species 'Rosea' and it sometimes goes by the name of the Strawberry violet. The petals appear almost stained with crushed strawberry juice and are quite distinctive and appealing.

According to Australian violet expert Dr Judyth McLeod, this was a popular violet in the 1920's and 1930's for ladies posies. It seems all things from that era are having a bit of a revival of late thanks to the buzz created by the movie The Great Gatsby.

Something "pink" from that time would have to be this song by Pinky Tomlin..'The object of my affection can change my complexion from white to rosy red...'

 

Time for drying herbs

 Summer Savory, Satureja hortensis

 Chillies of all sizes

Today there was a chill westerly wind blowing, a perfect day for gathering the last of the summer annual herbs to dry for use over winter. Herbs such as summer savory and oregano improve in flavour when the flowering stems are dried instead of using them fresh. I particularly like savory as it is quite strong and reminiscent of both thyme and oregano. It is a great addition to a winter bean cassoulet recipe. (Duck fat lurking at the back of the freezer in readiness.) As the flower stems are fine and soft it dries well without the 'twig' element one gets from dried thyme which you have to fish out of the cooking pot. The dried leaves are also easy to crumble and becoming almost like a powder. I was introduced to its use by some Italian gardening mates who say it is the secret ingredient to a good homemade Pizza. I don't hang herbs up to dry as is usually recommended . The stems dry quite well in a basket or even stuffed upright into a vase in the kitchen ,without the water in the vase of course.

As for chillies, many of them start to dry on the bush but I like to pick a mixture and place them in open trays to dry. The tiny ones can be kept whole for a fiery addition to just about anything or thrown into the food processor to use as 'flakes'.