Floral functions
Roses are very sensitive to root disturbance so if you need to weed around them, it’s best to do it by hand.
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Kangaroo paws are one of the most spectacular of Australian perennials with bold, iris-like leaves and sprays of fascinating flowers in muted shades over a long summer season.
They like full sun, a dry summer and well-drained, sandy soil in an area free from frost and summer humidity.
Easy-to-grow shrubs that provide fragrance to the garden are boronia, gardenias, lilac, choisya, daphne, roses, buddleia, lavenders, osmanthus, philadelphus and viburnum.
Shasta daisies make an attractive low carpet with their dark green leaves and big white daisy flowers that burst on the scene during spring.
Spice it up
Culinary spices have been grown and traded for centuries to enhance and preserve foods, but do you know where they come from?
Most are seeds or berries that are dried then ground, while others are dried flowers or flower buds, roots or bark.
The first that springs to mind is allspice.This is the berry of Pimenta officinalis which has a blend of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg aromas.
Cinnamon is derived from the dried, then ground, bark of the Cinnamomum zeylanicum tree.
Nutmeg is the hard, dried seed of Myristica fragrans. The seed is the size of an apricot and has a sweet, nutty aromatic flavour. Mace is made from the dried, lacy reddish covering of the nutmeg seed.
Cloves are the dried flower buds from the Syzgium aromatica tree which can be found growing on the Maluka Islands of Indonesia.
Kangaroo paws are one of the most spectacular of Australian perennials ...
The soft aromatic berries of Juniper communis go well with game dishes and the immature green ones are used to flavour gin.
Pepper comes from the ground seeds of the shrub Piper nigrum. The berries are picked while green then dried.
Peppercorns are the whole seed while white pepper is made from the inside of the ripe red berry after the husk has been removed.
Dried and ground chillies make the spice paprika which ranges from mild to hot depending on the climate it’s grown in.
Ginger from the root of Zingiber officinal was being exported from the East Indies to Spain as far back as the 16th century.
Other food enhancers include mustard from the seeds of Brassica nigra, capers from the flower buds of Capparis spinosa and from flowers and herbs the seeds of poppy, caraway, cardamom, parsley and coriander.