Spring seduction
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday September 19, 2009
Be tempted by the season's sizzling range of hues. SPRING is the season of temptation. Every nursery or garden centre offers a seductive array of new offerings. Even gardeners with little space left in their crowded garden beds are sure to bring home an irresistible new release.There are enticing new native plants, such as Callistemon 'Hot Pink', tipped to be as hot as its name. Reaching a height of 1.5 to 2 metres, it can be used in small gardens and courtyard pots or as an informal hedge. In a sunny position, its vibrant pink spring flowers attract birds and bees to the garden. Interestingly, this callistemon was bred in South Africa by an Australian plant enthusiast. It will be available in nurseries in early October.Banksia 'Black Magic' reaches a similar height and is equally attractive to birds. Its almost horizontal branches give it an architectural look and its golden candle-shaped late winter and early spring flowers have dark cherry styles. Best of all, this one likes coastal climates and will grow in full sun or quite deep shade.The new Eucalyptus 'Vintage Red' is sure to be a hit because it's the first eucalypt with red foliage. It can grow to 20 metres but may be coppiced for use in small gardens. Prune it back every 12 months if you want to keep it bushy. The prunings are great for indoor arrangements.The new 'Tomatoberry' looks like a berry and tastes like a tomato. It's a must for either the vegetable garden or pots and its sweet fruit is borne on long cascading trusses. Basil and tomatoes are complementary, so sow some Yates purple basil seeds now. The purple leaves are very fragrant.Green Harvest (greenharvest.com.au) is offering once-a-year edible plant specials. Asian food lovers will be attracted to the certified organic galangal, krachai (Boesenbergia pandurata), also known as finger root, and 'Jumbo' ginger. All make attractive foliage plants and needn't be confined to the vegetable patch.Spring would not be the same without new petunia releases. Petunias provide great colour in urns and garden beds and there are some handsome new releases. Spreading 'Coral Morn' has eye-catching hot-pink flowers with white centres, while the large, pretty flowers of 'Sophistica' produce a combination of lime and antique rose shades.Although chocolate lovers can't eat the newly released Cosmos 'Choca Moca', they'll love the chocolate scent of its flowers. This perennial's dark maroon, daisy-like flowers appear on 30-centimetre to 45-centimetre stems above a clump of dark green leaves. Cosmos 'Choca Moca' appreciates full sun, can be grown in a pot and responds well to regular feeding.Cleome 'Senorita Rosalita' is very popular overseas and is now available here. It reaches a height of 50 centimetres to 60 centimetres, has a bushy habit and is covered from spring to autumn with lavender pink flowers. Ideal for pots or mass plantings, 'Senorita Rosalita' also attracts birds, bees and butterflies.It's time to ...* Visit Mount Tomah Botanic Garden on September 28 and learn about the Greater Blue Mountains Heritage Centre, scheduled to open early next year. The talk by the assistant director of the gardens, Rob Smith, will be followed by a walk through the jungle, a special area of temperate rainforest. For more information and bookings, phone 9231 8182 or email friends@rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au.* The Wild About Waratah Festival, celebrating the state's floral emblem, also runs at the Mount Tomah Botanic Garden from September 26 to October 11.* Spray lilly-pillies with Confidor for psyllids, which are the pimply bumps that disfigure the leaves.
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald