Tickle Your Taste Buds and Value Cut Flowers

What’s on the show today?

How to stop your veggie garden from drying out in the Good Earth segment, sunflowers not for show but for seeds in Vegetable Heroes. Five senses-today’s it’s all about taste in Design Elements and more value for money cut flowers in the Talking Flowers segment with Mercedes.

THE GOOD EARTH

All About Wicking Garden Beds
Wicking pots, or wicking beds are nothing new, ask any African Violet society member.
They’ve been using wicks in their self -watering pots very successfully for years.

Just imagine though, if you had a veggie or other garden bed that uses this self watering idea.
That would mean your vegetable garden would get watering from below.
Let’s find out .

You can build a wicking bed yourself easily enough with recyclable materials.
Here's how Margaret put hers together.

Photo: Margaret Mossakowska

Use wooden crates from a fruit market and scoria if you can’t get vermiculite. 

Margaret sources vermiculite in bulk from pharmaceutical companies that use it as packing material.
Start with a frame, then line it with something like pond liner or even black plastic.

Lay in some aggregate and ag-pipes.

You need to build a 10 – 15 cm layer of this base on top of which you place a coil of ag-pipe connected to an upright pipe which is where you’ll fill with water.

Credit: Leaf Ninjas

On top of this, place a layer of geo textile fabric,a 10 cm layer of vermiculite then your best garden soil.
The soil shouldn’t be more than 30 cm high otherwise the wicking system won’t work. 

For veggies the soil should be 20 - 30 cm to give them room to grow.
Tip: Don’t forget to put in an overflow valve about half-way up the sides.
One more thing, it takes a week for the wicking system to start working properly after you first fill the reservoir, so don’t forget to water your vegetables everyday until then.
If you have any questions about beds either for me or for Margaret why not email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES:

Growing Sunflowers for Seeds.

You may have grown sunflowers in the past but did you grow them for just the flowers or just the seeds?

That seeds for eating that is.

Had you thought that all sunflower seeds are alike even?

Did you know that there’s a big difference between growing sunflowers, and growing edible sunflower seeds.

So that means if you’re interested in the edible seeds, you need to select your sunflower variety carefully.

Not just any old sunflower seed.

Certainly not the doubles, or pollenless sunflowers.

Sunflower Helianthus Annuus is in the Asteraceae family and started off as a wild sunflower growing in North America.

This sunflower was first cultivated around 3000 BC and some say it could’ve have even pre-dated corn as an Indian crop.

It wasn’t until the 1500’s when the Spanish took the seed to Europe to show off as an ornamental plant that the rest of the world knew about them.

By the 18th century, sunflowers were produced on a commercial scale for crushing, particularly in Russia where Peter the Great was a fan.

Russia was the world leader in production and breeding for many years so it should come as no surprise that there are some varieties with Russian in their name.

From the 1970's that, seed companies began to produce hybrid seeds which produce higher yields, oil content and resistance to disease.

Botanical Bite

Did you know though that the seeds in the sunflower head follow a remarkable spiral pattern.

This allows them to be packed into the head in the most efficient way.

The seeds sit against each other at the "golden angle" 137.5 degrees and head off in left and right spirals the number of which are Fibonacci numbers.

What’s Fibonacci-that’s another story.

What Does It Look Like?

I’m sure most people know what sunflowers look like but here’s a short description.

Sunflowers are annuals that have hairy, rough to touch central stems that grows to around 2-4m tall.

The leaves are dark green and egg shaped or perhaps more triangular.

The edges of the leaves are serrated.

The flower for seed production is bright yellow with a dark centre nodding on a long stalk.

The diameter of flowers varies from 10cm – 30 cm wide.

Sunflowers only seem to follow the sun when the plant is quite young and the stems more pliable.

Which Variety To Grow For Edible Seeds.

Mammoth Russian-grows 2-4m tall with thin-shelled seeds.

Sunflower Sunbird-an old heirloom variety that grows to 2m, can be used as a trellis for smaller climbing plants.

SunflowerYellow Empress-has flowers up to 25cm across, and grows to around 2m

Mammoth Grey Stripe-2-4m the seeds have lower oil and content so it’s good for birds such as caged parrots.

The only drawback is that it has a lower germination rate than those sold by bigger seed companies.

As a general rule, heirloom types of sunflowers will produce good quality edible seeds..

How To Grow

Sunflower seeds need to be sown directly into the garden.

The soil temperature needs to be a minimum of 13⁰ C to germinate.

Hint: soil temperature is a few degrees less than air temperature as a rule of thumb.

For those districts that have late frosts, you still can sow the seeds two weeks before you’re expecting any frost.

But if there’s a snap when your seedlings emerge, sunflower seedlings can handle it.

For those of you wanting to start them in punnets or trays, you’ll have to be extra careful when you transplant them because all sunflowers grow a taproot.

Because of this taproot, if you have shallow soils, grow your sunflowers in raised beds so that the taproot can reach down to at least 60cm.

Sunflowers need plenty of room so space them out at least 30cm.

Sunflowers grow in open fields in Europe where they receive all day sun.

For the home gardener, the minimum of daylight hours is 6-8 hours.

As your sunflowers grow feed them regularly with any liquid feed, although they won’t mind a bout of hot weather.

There’s two things that sunflowers detest and that’s water logged soil and windy locations.

Can I Grow Them In A Pot?

Yes, there are dwarf sunflower varieties that you can grow in a pot. Check the label on the back of the packet.

When to Pick the seeds?

Cut sunflower heads when some of the seeds inside the edges appear ripe and fall away when rubbed, or when birds start harvesting them for you.

The seeds are usually ready 30-45 days after the flower opens.

Here’s a tip: Sunflower seeds are ripe when the flower head turns from green to yellow and the seed head begins to brown.

You can also give one a taste test though.

Store the seeds in a warm, dry place.

If the birds are going crazy for the sunflower seeds you can protect the heads with some old stocking, or muslin, even cheesecloth.

How to Eat sunflower seeds.

You can eat them raw or in a pasta or pizza dish.

Why not try making Sunflower seed pesto?

Crush them up and make a sandwich spread or in a dressing for salads or vegetables.

Sunflower seed Pesto

Ingredients:

3 cups basil leaves;

2 cloves garlic;

3/4 cup sunflower seeds

juice of 1 lemon

pinch of salt and pepper to taste;

3/4 cup olive oil

Option – try adding 3/4 cup parmesan cheese at Step 2 for a different flavour.

DIRECTIONS

Using a food processor, blender or mortar and pestle, finely chop/crush basil leaves and garlic.

Add sunflower seeds, lemon juice, salt and pepper and combine until seeds are finely chopped.

Add olive oil and combine.

Why are they good for you?

Most seeds are rich in protein, healthy fats, fibre, minerals such as magnesium, potassium, calcium, plant iron and zinc while being naturally low in sodium.

Just a handful of sunflower seeds contains significant amounts of magnesium, selenium, and vitamin E — a vitamin that protects the cells against free radicals and inflammation.

They are also contain vitamins B1,B2, B3 and some are rich in vitamin E.

The fibrous coat of seeds may prevent complete digestion so crushing seeds using a mortar and pestle prior to adding them to snacks and meals may help.

Try throwing some in your next pesto recipe!

THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY

DESIGN ELEMENTS:

Gardening for the 5 Senses: Taste

Probably one of the easiest senses to stimulate when it comes to gardening because it’s all about food and eating.
The sense of taste of course so how else can you stimulate the sense other than putting in a veggie garden.
Let’s find out.

Coffee bean tree.

I'm talking with Chris Poulton, Sydney Convenor for the Australian Institute of Horticulture and an experienced horticultural lecturer and consultant.


Our suggestion is to grow as many herbs as you can.
Don’t be limited by the fact you’ve only got a windowsill, or balcony garden because all you need is 4-5 hours of sunlight a day to grow these things.
Increase your taste range in the garden with some native bush tucker such as finger limes or those bromeliads which have fruits on them.
You could also try growing a coffee bean tree, Coffea arabica, pictured above.

Not only do you get the red berries but the flowers that appear all along each branch, are heavenly scented
If you have any questions about five senses gardening or have a suggestion either for me or for Chris why not write in or email me at www.realworldgardener.com

TALKING FLOWERS

Value For Money Cut Flowers

Cut-flowers are a luxury product and consumers demand a certain standard of quality and value for money.

How much would you like to spend on your cut flowers?

$35? $45? Or much more?

If you’re bit on the Scottish side, and moths fly out of your wallet when you open it you might want to consider those flowers that might cost a bit more but will last for up to two weeks in the vase?

Hang on, I think we all want that really don’t we?

But let’s first delve in to what happens between the grower and you the consumer.

Sure there’s roadside stalls where Jo the flower seller can you give you “quality flowers at a cut rate price.”

But how often is Jo there, and he’s growing them in his backyard.

What about the real grower?

This is how the chain goes, grower, then wholesalers, exporters, auctioneers, florists or supermarket buyers and the local shop.

So don’t whinge about the price of cut flowers, got it?

Alstromerias and Carnations

Here are some suggestions for long lasting flowers in the vase.

• Carnations -2-3 weeks
• Chrysanthemums-3-4 weeks ( bargain)
• Astromeria-2 weeks
• Delphiniums-2 weeks
• Gladiolus-10 days.

I'm talking with Mercedes Sarmini from www.flowersbymercedes.com.au 

Recording live during broadcast of Real World Gardener on 2rrr 88.5 fm Sydney

Perfume, Sex of Flowers and Pesky White Flies

What’s on the show today?

Clouds of pests in the Plant Doctor segment, growing an ancient grain in Vegetable Heroes. Five senses gardening today’s it’s all about smell in Design Elements and the sex of flowers in the Talking Flowers segment with Mercedes.

PLANT DOCTOR

White Fly Control

Are you experiencing a cloud of insects fly up when you disturb some of your plants?
Maybe you’ve had that in the past and haven’t been successful in removing them from a particular plant.

Whitefly infestation

Sweet Potato Whitefly

If that’s the case, there’s things you can do about it before that cloudburst of insects descends onto your garden.
Let’s find out .

I'm talking with Steve Falcioni, Marketing Manager of www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au


Are you surprised that there’s several species of whiteflies?
Shooing them away every time you go out into the garden isn’t successful. 

The numbers will soon build up into the hundreds even thousands.

Symptoms:What To Look For:

• Don't confuse them with scale, because the whitefly juvenile stage can look like scale.
• If your not 100% sure that it's whitefly larvae that you're looking at,there are other symptomes to look for.
• Whitefly are sap suckers and will ssuck the chorophyll ( green part) out of the leaves.
• Whitefly also produce mass of honey dew to which, sooty mould will settle.

Control:

1. You must take action because whiteflies suck the sap out of your plants’ leaves. 
2. Botanical oils work the best but you need to be able to spray under the leaves. 
3. Using a pump action sprayer with help with the underneath the leaves. 
4. Do a follow up spray 3-5 days apart to get the juvenilies. 
5. Neem is approved overseas for this problem on edibles but only on ornamentals in Australia. 
6. Encourage lacewings into your garden because the love whitefly as much as they love aphids. 

If you have any questions about controlling whitefly either for me or for Steve, why not email realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES;

Chenopodium quinoa: Quinoa

You’ll find it in bread, muffins, breakfast cereals and health bars, drinks and plenty more, but is it just a fad or is it something worth investing time in?

This is the ancient cereal grain, Quinoa (keen-wah) which some of us probably thought, should be pronounced like it’s spelt, and that is Quinn-o-ah. 

Botanical Bite

Quinoa is Chenopodium quinoa, in the Amaranth family ( Amaranthaceae).

It’s not a grass but rather a pseudocereal botanically related to spinach, amaranth. beets, and tumbleweeds

You might know the Amaranth flower and have even grown it in your garden.

Amaranth flower

Did you know that quinoa is related to some weeds and does in fact look a bit like the weed fleabane.

Quinoa’s origins dates back 3-4,000 years to Chile and Peru.

So what happened to this grain and why did it fall into obscurity until about the 1970’s?

Blame it on Spanish explorers who burned 99% of the quinoa fields in an attempt to eradicate Incan culture.

Because the seeds have a coating which contains bitter-tasting saponins, you won’t be able to eat them straight off the plant.

Most of the grain sold commercially has been processed to remove this coating.

The leaves are also high in oxalic acid, so best not to eat too much of them.

What Does It Look Like?

Quinoa grows to about 1-2m high, has big hairy lobed leaves around a woody central stem.

The flowers are like plume on top of a stem

After flowering you’ll see the fruits which are really small seeds, either black or red, depending on the cultivar of quinoa.

Chenopodium quinoa

How To Grow

• Quinoa is easy to grow, which shouldn’t surprise you being related to a weed.
• Direct sow the seeds in late September to the end of October, while night temperatures are still cool.
• Keep in mind. Quinoa seedlings aren’t frost tolerant.
• The best soil temperature for germination is 18-24°C.
• Anything over 32⁰ C and it won’t germinate.
• Keep the soil most otherwise your seeds will fail to germinate.
• Sow the seeds about 5mm deep (that’s ¼” in the old scale).
• That means you’re barely covering the seeds, and thin then out when they reach 10 cm in height.
• Here’s a tip: because they look like weeds when they first emerge, show them in rows so you don’t confuse them with real weeds.
• If you’ve got the conditions right, then the seeds should germinate in 4-10 days.
• The spacing should be around 25-35cm (10-14″) between plants.
• Perhaps you want to grow them for baby leaf production, then plants can be spaced closer together.
• They’re slow growing for the first 10cm then seem to take-off after that.
• Liquid feed them if you want to give them a kick along.

Can I Grow Them In A Pot?

Not really because they grow too tall.

When to Pick the seeds?

Wait until leaves have fallen off, leaving just the dried seedheads.

Usually that’s 90 – 120 days after sowing seeds.

Seeds can be easily stripped upwards off the stalk with a gloved hand.

Best to do this when the weather is dry.

A god idea is to bend over the seed heads into a large bucket and clip them off.

Working in a dry place, strip off the seeds and spread the seeds on screens or trays to finish drying indoors.

It can be left on trays in the hot sun or placed near an indoor heat source. 

Stir the seeds occasionally until they’re as dry as possible.

Store seed in air-tight containers in a cool dry place.

How to Eat Quinoa

Pomegranate Quinoa salad

Before cooking and eating quinoa, it must be washed.

The bitter saponin seed coating that keeps pests away is unpleasant to taste.

So, don't skimp on the washing.

Here’s some other methods for washing your quinoa seeds.

Remember saponin is very soapy so you have to wash it until the water rinses clear.

One method is to whirl the grain in a blender with cool water on the lowest speed, changing the water until it is no longer frothy.

It may take five or six water changes to do this.

Another technique is to put a loose-weave muslin bag or small pillow case of quinoa in the washing machine and run a cool-water rinse cycle.

Being a grain or really pseudo-grain, cook it up like you would rice.

Equal parts water to quinoa and steam or boil 12-15 minutes.

Why are they good for you?

Quinoa is high in protein.

Quinoa is a nutrient-dense food.

The grain is lower in sodium and is higher in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc than the more common grains, including corn, barley, and barley.

THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO FOR TODAY

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Five Senses Gardening: Smell or is it Perfume?

As gardeners you’ll already now that some plants have flowers that have smell or perfume, and some plants have leaves that have smell or perfume.
But if you want a really perfumed garden, you might want to think about including plants in the garden that you don’t necessarily need to crush, rub or touch to inhale their sweet perfume.
What does that mean you should do?
Let’s find out.

Magnolia Champaca

I'm talking with Chris Poulton, Sydney Convenor for the Australian Institute of Horticulture and an experienced horticultural lecturer and consultant.

Some suggestions for introducing more perfume into the garden that will pervade the whole garden.

• Sweet Olive, (Osmanthus fragrans), 
• Honeysuckle, 
• Jasmines, 
• Angel Trumpets, 
• Michelia varieties, (now included in the Magnolia family) like Port Wine Magnolia; Magnolia Chamopaca, and many others.

All of these plants just throw their scent out into the garden without you having to lift a finger.

If you have any questions about five senses gardening or have a suggestion either for me or for Chris why not write in or email me at www.realworldgardener.com  

TALKING FLOWERS

Sex of Flowers

Complete Flowers: Incomplete Flowers

Bisexual: Unisexual

Plants can have complete flowers or they can have flowers with only male or only female parts.

Complete flowers, also known as hermaphrodite, or bisexual flowers have all the reproductive parts: the Stamens and Pistil ( stigma, style and ovary) inside the flower.

Examples of complete flowers, are tomato flowers ( self-pollinating) Hibiscus ( pictured), roses, tulips, passion flowers. 

• The pollinator visits the flower and brushes past the stamens. 
• When the pollinator visits the next flower, the pollen is rubbed onto the sticky stigma. 
• If it's the right type of pollen ( fits the opening) then the flower will be pollinated resulting in some sort of fruit.

Flowers which only have male or female or called Unisexual .

Some examples are watermelon, cucumber, zucchini, pumpkin,white mulberry,coconut flowers,and birch.

For fruits to occur, pollinators must visit the male flower first then transfer pollen onto the female flower. 

Can be problematic sometimes when only male flowers appear on some cucurbits for the first few weeks.

I'm talking  with Floral Therapist, Mercedes Sarmini.from www.flowersbymercedes.com.au
Recorded live during the broadcast of Real World Gardener show on Wednesday 5pm at 2RRR 88.5 fm studios in Sydney.

Exploring the Senses in Gardening

What’s On The Show Today?

Part 2 of garden toolboxes in the tool time segment and it’s not what you think,; growing no ordinary mint in Vegetable Heroes, 5 senses gardening in Design Elements with landscape designer Chris Poulton, plus scented flowers in winter in plant of the week;

TOOL TIME

Tools for the Advanced and Mature Gardener

Over the years, gardeners accumulate quite a number of tools that they regard as essential and wouldn’t be without.
Last week we talked about what you might need if you were a beginner or slightly more advanced gardener.

Cut Above Tools

So now we’re going for tools with more oomph and powered by more than your muscle power.
The reason is that it’s the experienced and the mature gardener that’s getting a look in.
Let’s find out what the experts recommend.
I'm talking with Tony Mattson General Manager of www.cutabovetools.com.au

What do you think, do you agree with Tony’s advanced gardener’s tool kit or would you have chosen something else?

If you haven’t already, it’s probably time to buy a pair of ratchet secateurs (sek-a terrs) to add to your toolbox. Ratchet secateurs are great for pruning shrubs.
Mature gardeners might want gear action loppers
If you have any questions either for me or Tony, you can email us Realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

No Ordinary Mint: Vietnamese Mint

Vietnamese mint, Persicaria odorata.

Any time is a great time to be growing mints of all kinds, but this one is particularly good.

And…..Vietnamese mint isn’t actually a mint, nor is it in the mint family-Lamiaceae but in a family called Polygonaceae which is the same for buckwheat and rhubarb.

Botanical Bite

In botany, mint is the common name for any of the various herbaceous plants that have a botanical name starting with Mentha, in the mint family Lamiaceae.

Flowers of Vietnamese Mint

These mints have wide-spreading, underground rhizomes; erect, square, branched stems; and pairs of oppositely arranged leaves; and small, tubular flowers arranged in clusters.

Only the members of Mentha are known as the "true mints," some plants in same family but aren’t true mints, use mint in their common name.

But one things for sure and that is the entire family is known as the mint family.

In comes some other plants with fragrant leaves that have the common name of mint associated.

Vietnamese mint is one of these. Not a true mint and again, not even in the mint family.

Odorata simply means fragrant which this plant is

This so called mint is a herb that’s used a lot in Asian cuisine, and funnily enough, it grows easily, much like other mints.

How to use Vietnamese mint and other interesting facts.

The leaves are used fresh in salads, soups and stews.

In Singapore, the shredded leaf is an essential ingredient in laksa, a spicy soup.

Here’s a funny fact-did you know that some Buddhist monks grow Vietnamese mint in their private gardens and eat it often as a helpful step in their celibate life?

Vietnamese mint has an essential oil called kesom oil.

This oil is used a lot in the processed food industry where it’s used in the form of a natural food essence.

The cosmetic industry also uses kesom oil.

So what does it look like?

It’s a creeping herbaceous perennial that grows up to 30cm with a flavour that is a mix of pepper, mint and lemon.

The leaves are very narrow and angular looking and the stems are jointed much like wandering Jew which is now called Tradescantia.

The old genus name Poly­gonum (English: knot­weed) pointed to way the stem looked, - many joints linked together by slightly bent “knots” or “knees”

The top of the leaf is dark green, with chestnut-coloured dark rounded markings right across the leaf, and the underside is burgundy red.

When it flowers is has flat spikes of light lavender coloured flowers, but I can’t say mine has ever flowered.

In originates in Vietnam where it’s found in the wild in wet and boggy places.

Where it Grows

It can grow very well outside in summer in non-tropical parts of Australia.

Vietnamese mint prefers part-sun and well-drained soil.

For those areas with cool to cold winter, bring your Vietnamese mint indoors or under shelter as you would an indoor plant.

It grows very well in pots but is frost tender.

Tip: If you’re growing them in pots, once Vietnamese gets pot bound, it’ll stop producing leaves giving you a big hint to repot and divide it up.

Vietnamese mint rarely flowers outside the tropics, but it’s the leaves you want to use and not the flowers.

Vietnamese mint is normally fairly low maintenance and is easy to grow, as long as you give it a basic level of basic care.

All you need to do is keep it well watered and cut back to the ground when

leaves become tough to produce more fresh young leaves.

Vietnamese mint is a perennial plant that grows best in tropical and subtropical zones in warm and damp conditions.

But all gardeners like a challenge even if it the growing conditions aren’t ideal.

In good conditions, it can grow up to 15 to 30 cm.

In summer or when the temperature is too high, it does wilt.

If you know someone with this plant ask for some cuttings from a mature clump.

These mints are so hardy!

They will tolerate any soil conditions and even people stomping on them (by accident of course, or chickens trying to dig the plant up).

They don't need constant fertilising or watering but do like shading from the hottest part of the day.

Try planting Vietnamese mint if you'd like to attract butterflies and bees to your garden for tropical gardens of course.

So what do you do with Vietnamese Mint.

The fresh leaf is used typically in Vietnamese cooking and can be used in

place of Coriander in all Asian cooking, soups, salads and fish.

It can also be dried.

Vietnamese Mint Lemonade

You can even make Vietnamese Mint lemonade.

Just place some sugar in the bottom of a large jug.

Add ice, 1 cup of lemon juice, then slices of lemon, a handful of mint and top up with about 2 litres of mineral water.

Very refreshing.

Why is it good for you?

 Vietnamese mint contains high levels of Beta-carotene and vitamin E:

Also has high levels of folic acid, iron and calcium.

Mint leaves also have useful healing properties.

Mints can freshen breath, soothe the stomach and reduce inflammation. Mint leaves are not as potent as concentrated mint oil, but they still have many of the same health benefits.

AND THAT WAS OUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY!

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Introduction to 5 Sense Gardening

Have you ever thought about the five senses when you think about your garden?

Probably not, but the best way to enjoy your garden is to engage all the senses.
Today we are going to talk about these senses and how to recognise and use them on a daily basis in small and large gardens.

Touch, Smell, Sight, Hearing, Taste are of course the 5 sense, so how do we incorporate these into garden design so each particular sense is invigorated.

Let’s find out about what, why and how.
I'm talking with Chris Poulton, Convener for the Australian Institute of Horticulture, and experienced Horticultural Lecture and Consultant.

Most gardens just have visual appeal, but you’ll enjoy your garden more if there are other
If you have any questions about five senses gardening or have a suggestion either for me or for Chris why not write in or email me at www.realworldgardener.com

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Luculia gratissima

The shrub featured this week is an old fashioned shrubs but with outstanding features.
And just like undersized potatoes or oversized apples, they who make decision in the big stores that sell plants, have decided that they won’t be available to the home gardener.
So if you’re looking for a winter flower shrub or small tree with masses of pink fragrant flowers, this one’s for you?

Luculia gratissima

Let’s find out more…
I'm talking with the plant panel: Karen Smith, editor of Hort Journal www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley, The Green Gallery wholesale nursery owner. www.thegreengallery.com.au

While the flowers make an impressive display, the leaves not so much.
The foliage shall we say get’s a little untidy, but gardeners grow it for the flowers not the leaves.
You can prune mature Luculias quite hard to tidy them up, should you be lucky enough to have one growing in your garden.

If you have a question either for me or the plant panel why not drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675