Plant bok choi, asparagus, rainbow chard, kohlrabi, celeriac, cauliflower, cabbage, broccolette, wong bok, wasabi, tatsoi, broccoli, kale, onion, lettuce and swedes while herbs don’t look out of place in the ornamental garden.
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There is still a good selection of roses and potted soft fruits in nurseries, also azaleas, helleborus, gardenias and camellias are making a great show, so plant now.
Boronia and daphne are two shrubs that are hard to beat when it comes to fragrance.
CELERY TASTE ALIKE
Celeriac, also known as celery root or turnip-rooted celery, is grown for its edible bulbous root. It grows slower than celery and is harvested when the root is about tennis ball-size.
LIGHT UP THE GARDEN
Abutilons are fast-growing and hardy shrubs with bold flowers that look like Chinese lanterns swinging in the breeze.
Colours come in white and many shades of yellow to red and orange from spring to autumn.
WISE WORDS
I am often reminded of this inspiring quote from Luther Burbank, 1849-1926, one of the fore-fathers of horticulture.
“Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful, they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul”.
Rhodo celebration
The rhododendrons in the Punchbowl Reserve, Launceston have been delighting the public for many years with their annual display of magnificent flowers.
The first rhododendrons were planted in this picturesque setting of 15ha on August 26, 1961 as an initiative of The Rhododendron Trust of Tasmania.
It was a great day with bands playing to about 2500 people who had gathered to watch the plantings.
It was the trust’s hope the reserve would become a living textbook on ‘Rhododendrons in Tasmania’ and to stimulate an understanding and appreciation of rhododendrons suited for our Tasmanian climate.
Sweet treats
Sow a row of sweet peas along a fence or wall on the sunny side in the flower garden or in a hanging basket.
Sweet peas are lime lovers and can get supplies of nitrogen themselves, so don’t give them too much nitrogenous fertiliser otherwise they will make foliage at the expense of flowers.
HARDY ADDITIONS
Plant evergreen trees and shrubs that are not frost tender.
These are usually pot-grown, or in the case of many native shrubs, grown in tubes.
Tube plants should be planted out as soon as the roots show through the soil at the bottom as this allows the roots to descend into the soil without curling around the tubes.
These deep, active and spreading root systems will supply the future needs of the plants.