Continue reading »]]> An exciting flower is blooming at Collector’s Corner right now.

By Marco of Collector’s Corner.

Tacca chantrieri is also known as “the bat plant”. It is a native of the steamy jungles of South East Asia and in particular, Borneo and Sumatra.

It grows from 1-1.5 metres high and equally as wide.

A true jungle plant, bat plants enjoy high humidity and fairly still air movement though still buoyant. High temperatures are appreciated and will thrive between 23-32c . They can tolerate temperatures down to 10 c but excessive exposure to these temperatures will cause irreparable damage in the long run.

Bat plants thrive in rich humus soils where a lot of aeration is available to maintain plant vigour. A bromeliad type mix is preferred in cultivation and for the home gardener. Watering is regular in their home habitats and the plants never experience drought, we must thus emulate this in cultivation.

Light levels are low in the forest floor and we recommend 70% shaded situations at all times and it has been noted that increasing light levels will not benefit flowering, these plants enjoy humid, warm and shady conditions at all times.

A challenge to grow in the southern states this plant will make an excellent garden plant in the tropics and is highly regarded as one of the “must have” plants in those climates.

Long lived and truly spectacular, this one of those rare gems that we often do not believe exist in nature and think that they are made up fantasies, but as you will see, these beautifully different plants are no myth but a wonderful addition to our collection here at Collectors Corner.

Continue reading »]]> We have a rare fruit expert that works at the nursery on Saturdays. His name is Dennis and here are a few snaps of his autumn garden following on from the summer, spring and winter blogs.

It is amazing what you can grow successfully in a suburban garden in Melbourne despite the hot and dry weather we have had this summer and autumn stressing both plants and people. As I write this after a dry summer and autumn I had over 100 mm dumped over night here on May 31 / June 1!!!!!

Tamarillo or tree tomato

The first stop is the tamarillo which was the feature in the winter blog. The final crop last winter was over 200 fruits from the one tree and this year the crop is going to be the a bit smaller around 150 but the fruit larger due to a heavy spring pruning as the fruit can become smaller the weaker the branches are and the further out the fruit are hanging. They are colouring up nicely from green to red now before hanging in the tree like Christmas decorations. I have a new tamarillo recipe book to use the crop in many ways.

Persimmon Fuyu

The espaliered ‘Fuyu’ persimmon tree has held on to a good crop of fruit and they have just been picked. This is such a great tree for the home garden as the leaves colour up beautifully every year and are more reliable than Japanese maples in this way. Also no codling moth or other nasties to deal with. But be patient as it is not a fast grower.

White Sapote

The white sapote are nearly there although late this year so how do you tell they are getting ripe? You could ask the same thing about avocados too? With white sapotes a shine develops on the fruit which means it is ready to pick and bring inside where it will soften after a week.

Macadamia

The macadamias are progressing as expected and now about pea size. They mature much later down here than in northern NSW / south east QLD but my opinion is the longer time allows for slower oil and sugar accumulation so the nuts taste better when grown here!!!!!

Feijoa

The Feijoas have finally started to fall this year as it is usually early May and do not need to be picked – too easy. Being hard they do not bruise but when taken inside soften up to be eaten with a spoon. Make sure you buy a grafted tree of a ‘named’ variety like ‘Mammoth’, ‘White Goose’ etc which will reward you with large egg shaped fruit in two to three years time unlike seeding trees which take much longer and may not produce good fruit.

I love the dwarf ‘Japanese Seedless’ and ‘Satuma Okitsuwase Seedless’ mandarins I have growing in 300 mm pots. Have been eating them for over a month now and the flavour is so much superior to an ‘Imperial’ mandarin from the shops. More importantly even in a pot dwarf trees produce full sized fruits. Others dwarfs I have in similar sized pots include ‘Eureka Lemon’, ‘Meyer’ lemon’, ‘Tahitian’ lime, kumquat etc. which are all starting to colour up.

Mandarin

It is late May and the stone fruit ‘Mariposa Plum’ and interspecific hybrids have not lost their leaves yet and are totally green. I need to force dormancy by removing the leaves now otherwise in

Plums still with leaves

my opinion spring flowering will be affected.

Finally I will be experimenting with my sub-tropical tree ‘pod’ this winter and putting my potted sub-tropical trees in close proximity for mutual shelter. These include: mango (indoors last winter but see how it goes this year outside but may need to bring indoors again), avocados, acerola cherry, coffee, curry leaf tree etc. The idea is on nights expected to drop below 5 c to create a tent which will cover the trees and drain the cold air away. I will let you know how I get on in spring. More importantly if heavy rain is expected in the cold months is to cover the potting mix in the pots with plastic to avoid water-logging.

Communal winter grouping in the 'pod'

Gardenworld currently has good stocks of many sub-tropical and exotic fruit trees so come in and see what is available or speak to Dennis on Saturday’s for further information on which may be suitable for your garden.

Continue reading »]]> By James Wall, Nurseryman.

This morning I attended a cyclamen trial. Plant trials are usually industry only events where varieties are grown and compared by fellow nursery people. You also get to see new varieties and experimental varieties. This trial was an indoor grown crop. The seeds were sown in Early October and the young seedlings were planted in the first week of January.

The quality of plants at this trial were superb. Nearly every pot plant had over 20 flowers. It surprised me to hear they were overhead watered, as often growers water underneath so as to better preserve the flower quality. This was a good indication that these were well bred plants that would even perform well in gardens and not just as inside pots. Congratulations to Ball Australia for growing these plants so well.

The majority of the breeding was from the French company Morel. It included mini varieties right through to larger varieties. There were the classic cyclamen colours, and also novelty varieties which include bi-colours and frilled edges. We are seeing more and more of these unusual types for sale in Australia, including ones with a more silver leaf.

Pictured are a few of my favourites. Expect to see some of the newer ones here over the next couple of winters. That’s right, cyclamen love the cold. Putting them outside for for a couple of nights will really freshen them up. To remove old flowers, twist and pull the stem at the same time. This will remove it from the base, making a clean break from the corm. Water regulalry, but don’t sit in water and you will experience months of their colour and beauty. Enjoy.

Halios Curly Magenta With Eye

NEW - Halios Grenadine

A colour out of the Metis Silverleaf Mix

Metis Victoria Salmon Rose

Tianis Fantasia Deep Magenta

Continue reading »]]> By James Wall

Pronounced Tro-fort-ay, this is a fertiliser that is gaining in popularity. It is a different philosophy in feeding plants. It’s not all about nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK), but more about making existing nutrients in the soil more available to the plants. It does have a small amount of NPK, but it also has lots of minerals. The amazing thing about this fertiliser that really sets it apart is the fact it contains live microbes which are triggered off once the fertiliser gets watered and begins to break down. Microbes already exist in soils, especially where there are worms. The problem is though, there are lots of tired old soils that have become acidic from years of conventional fertilisation. You dig down and there are no worms. What the microbes do is convert existing nutrients in the soil, to a much more available form, that the plants can use.

The other things about the product I like is the fact you can only buy a minimum of 3.5 kg. As a society, we use too many little packets of things rather than a more efficient big packet. Seeing little packets of food snacks packaged in big packets really irks me. The empty plastic tub is also returnable to the nursery and recyclable. The other thing I like is that this product is made in Australia. Too many of our fertilisers are produced packaged in foreign countries before being shipped out here on boats. Surely we have the smarts to make our own fertilser.

The big question is, does it work. We consulted some gardeners in Darwin who have used this product for a while. They started using it because they liked the fact it was not going to be toxic to rivers if there was excess runoff, a big issue in the wet season in northern Australia. They also continue to use it, because it works. Early indications from our customers, is that plants are growing well and they are getting strong growth. Of course sometimes it is hard to tell, because other fertrtilisers like cow manure are also being applied in between applications of Troforte. It is something we are going to continue to monitor, but early opinions, are positive ones.

Below is some information provided by the manufacturer, and a video from the Garden Gurus. Troforte is available at Gardenworld, including the Rejuvenator, although this is kept behind the counter so we can explain the fact that the microbes are not coated in fertiliser so must be used with a spoon, so as not to get moisture from your hands and into the container which sets off all the microbes. This is not an issue in the regular, larger prill, as the microbes are coated.

Continue reading »]]> We now have a raised vegetable garden GardenBOX growing near our seedling section. It is performing well. It comes delivered, fully installed with growing medium and optional worm farm. You do the rest. Here is some info from its creator Marco Baretta.

Crafted from recycled wooden apple crates and specially engineered for the time-starved gardener, the GardenBOX brings a little patch of nature back into our plastic 21st century lives.

This is the distilled essence of  hundreds years of family tradition and patrimony, ingeniously designed to bring life the nooks and crannies of our backyards, patios and balconies and reacquaint us with the joys of fresh tomatoes, basil, eggplants, zucchini, broccoli, lettuce, and strawberries, grown with our own hands and picked from our own gardens.

Fitted with a brilliantly simple sub-irrigation system, the GardenBOX sends water straight to the roots of your plants when they need it, cutting out the bulk of the hard work to maintain a veggie patch. Together with an organic recycling system, the GardenBOX can yield up to 12 months of constant production with just a fifth of the space and water needed for a conventional patch.

The digging, the weeding, the watering, all the hard hours and failed crops – all of it disappears. These aren’t shortcuts or compromises, it’s just clever engineering. Engineering that can bring the joy of gardening to the schoolyard, the aged care home, the terrace porch, the inner-city balcony or the suburban backyard, and turn the blackest of thumbs green.

How It Works

The GardenBOX is a harmonious blend of tried-and-tested permacultural engineering and techniques. High density plantation allows for the compact size, while the custom designed sub-irrigation system means watering can be as infrequent as twice a month.

Combining one of our purpose-built worm stations with our uncompactable soil mix, you’ll have a veggie patch that looks after itself. Acting as an organic recycling system, the worms break down your kitchen scraps and other organic waste to produce worm castings – or vermicompost, the most potent, rich fertiliser known to man.

Sub-Irrigation

The sub-irrigation system is specially designed to create a miniature water reservoir below your plants. Plants drink up water through their roots, taking only as much as they need.

The sub-irrigation system cuts out as much as 90% of the water needed for conventional veggie patches, making it perfect for Australian conditions. Watering is required every 2-6 weeks depending on heat, light, ventilation and which veggies are planted.

Continue reading »]]> For a moment in time it was front page news on The Age website. Australia, and in particular Melbourne, had produced the best garden in the best garden show in the world.

Wes Fleming, brave nurseryman from family business Fleming’s Nurseries joined forces with sustainably esteemed landscape designer Phillip Johnson to produce a garden like one never before seen. The design included one of Phillips famous billabongs like the one he did at the Melbourne Flower Show a few years back. The imposing timber studio you can see in the picture, is built in the shape of a waratah flower, which apparently Phillip’s father Colin gave to his wife when he proposed.

Trailfinders Australian Garden, presented by Fleming's

Wes had been to Chelsea many times before and was almost ‘mates’ with the queen. In fact he got a letter of support from the royals the year he couldn’t make it because of the bushfires. He has won gold before, but was always striving for the elusive ‘best in show’. How fitting that they did it in the one hundredth anniversary. For Wes, it was meant to be.

For the garden, there was wildflowers, bottle trees, Scottish stone and of course a billabong that uses no chemicals but is clean enough to swim in and will naturally clean itself. Some of the stone had been in landslips and had been in depots for 18 years. From the pictures we have seen, this is a garden that Australia can be truly proud of.

DON’T FORGET !!! -  From the 8th of June, Gardenworld will have one of Australia’s biggest ranges of Fleming’s bare root fruit and ornamental trees. This is the best time to buy a tree. There is a huge range of quality fruit trees.

It was a privilege for us that some months ago, Phillip Johnson’s dad Colin held a couple of his drawing classes here at Gardenworld. He was doing the watercolour drawings for the Chelsea garden, an extremely important part of the submission. His classical style and use of colours would have been loved by those English.

One of the first watercolour sketches done by Colin for Chelsea.

Here is a story of Colin’s visit to our nursery by our horticultural staff member Bonnie-Marie Hibbs:

Recently at GardenWorld Nursery we have been visited by some very talented artists from The Peninsula Art Society and The Mentone-Mordialloc (Advanced group) Art Society.

Teaching this energetic group is the very talented Colin Johnson, Art Historian, who is very well known for his illustrations and his input in the garden design concepts at the Chelsea Flower Garden Show. I had the honour to talk with Colin and lets just say I was excited although quite nervous.

 The Peninsula Arts Society was first established in 1954 and now consists of 700 members, while the Mentone and Mordialloc Art society has close to 300 members. There is a good variety of ages within both of the societies, the youngest member is aged 25 and the oldest 85 years old.

 It is great to see so many people passionate about all themes of art and to see the passion and amount of concentration involved.

 Both societies encourage fresh ideas and styles, whilst encouraging beginners and current artists to take part in their activities. The Peninsula Arts Society and the Mentone/Mordialloc Art society both offer illustration classes, workshops and educational field trips. Most classes are made up of 16 members/students.

 Today, the members were here at GardenWorld to obtain reference material for their Summer Garden illustrations.

The art that was produced at the end of the session was very impressive!

Its wonderful to see such passionate and energetic members who commit so much time and love into their illustrations.

“Wonderful classes at GardenWorld” – Colin Johnson.

If you are interested in joining the Art Societies here are the links: The Peninsula Art Society http://www.peninsulaartssociety.org.au/index.html

 The Mentone-Mordialloc Art Society http://www.mentone-mordiallocartgroup.org.au/

Colin Johnson with Art Society member at Gardenworld.

Continue reading »]]>

The Leaf-Lover

Are you sick of picking up leaves by bending over? Then don’t, get yourself a Leaf Lover.

After raking, just scoop and lift into your container. The large paddles allow you to collect more leaves and garden litter in one go. It is made of lightweight aluminium so only weighs 1 Kilo and will not rust. They have grip handles which make them easier to operate.

We first heard about these when mentioned by Jane Edmanson on 3aw. She has had a few back problems in the past and finds the Leaf-Lover to be one of her favourite tools.

They are available now for $45 at the nursery, or Melbourne gardeners can order them from our online shop.

Continue reading »]]> It wouldn’t be Mother’s Day coming up if we didn’t offer some great gift ideas for you. Mum’s love nurseries and we get lots of mums who even pop in for a wander with their loved ones on the actual day. Saturday is also one of our busiest days of the year. Here are just a few of our wonderful gift ideas put together in a montage.

Continue reading »]]> By James Wall

We have now set a few of these EWOOD garden beds up and I am becoming more impressed with the product every day.

Comes in many different sizes.

What is Ewood ?

The first tier.

Ewood is not actually wood. They are planks of extruded plastic that are made from recycled plastic that would normally go into landfill. This includes ink cartridge toners from printers and scraps from the manufacture of car parts. The outer plastic casings of old TV’s are also used.

As well as reducing landfill, ewood can be used instead of wood, which means we need to harvest less trees. It also does not rot, nor does it need to be painted and it is termite proof.

When making a raised garden bed out of Ewood, I could not believe how easy it is to set up. The first one I built was 2.4m x 1.2m and 400mm high -  and it took 45 minutes to build. That’s right 45 minutes, and all I needed was a cordless drill. That is because the raised garden beds come with bolts, and with pre-drilled holes that have a sort of steel thread in them. Gotta love that. Each level you build, stacks on top of each other with the corner lugs locking the system together with no bolts required. It is an ingenious design.

You make them a level at a time, and then stack them on top of each other.

The unique design also means you can fit the pieces in the boot of you car. Pieces are sold in sets of two, and being modular, you can have them in many different sizes.

Our 3 most popular sizes are:

2.4m x 1.2m x 400mm high = $307

2m x 1m x 400mm high = $283

1m x 1m x 400mm high = $164

Ready to be filled with dirt.

Garden beds have a 20 year warranty, come in black only, but can be painted. They are a simple way to grow vegetables in a raised garden beds.

A square one.

Mmmm, now that I have built one, just need to fill it with the dirt. Going to use 50% sandy loam and 50% composted garden mix with some big chunky bits in it. That should work. Just gotta work out the most efficient way to put it in. Maybe its best to fill it with one tier, as you can still ramp the barrow in, but then add the other half may have to be done by shovel. Now where’s a couple of mates to help me ?

The corner stacking lug.

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