Wrens, Garlands and Autumn

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation
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The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/
Just click on 2RRR to find this week's edition.
The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

WILDLIFE IN FOCUS

with ecologist Sue Stevens
Are you like many people from all over Australia when visiting botanic gardens, like to know what birds they can find there?
Pictures are one thing, but sometimes little birds, are quite cryptic.
You might hear their song, but spotting them is another matter.
It helps to know a few different calls in case you can’t at first spot the bird and RWG has been describing and playing the calls of different birds for over three years.
Listen to this…..

• Just remember if you come across a habitat pocket, that is, an area of vegetation which is being used by small birds, it should be protected - even if it is 100% weeds.
• It needs to be protected until alternative native plant habitat has been created and has been seen to be in use by the small birds for at least an entire year, including a breeding season.
• Perhaps call the bushcare officer at your local council if your concerned.

If you have any questions about the white Browed Scrub Wren, why not drop us a line to. realworldgardener@gmail.com

VEGETABLE HEROES

This vegetable hero has never featured before, because it’s a bit of an unknown.
Chrysanthemum coronarium is the latin name for chrysanthemum greens.
Chrysanthemum is also known as edible chrysanthemeum or Garland Chrysanthemum.
What is it?

It’s an annual leaf vegetable that is used when young in Asian cuisine.

• The flowers can also be seeped to make tea, in fact in Asian supermarkets you can buy the dried Chrysanthemum flowers in the tea section and make your own tea.
• I’ve tried it, it’s quite a pleasant tasting tea.

Did you know that the chrysanthemum holds significant importance in Japanese culture?
Yes, apparently the chrysanthemum is seen as a symbol of long life and royalty.
The image of the chrysanthemum flower is used as Japan’s Imperial Seal. In fact, the highest order in Japan known as, the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, and it’s the most distinguished honour a citizen of the county can receive.
Ever heard of National Chrysanthemum day at the Festival of Happiness? This is celebrated in Japan in autumn.
Chrysanthemum coronarium, is native to the Mediterranean and East Asia.
There’s also a variety growing in Crete where the species is called mantilida.
It’s also used in China where it’s called choy suey which became know as ”chop suey” by westerners.
Did you know that chop suey roughly translates into boiled leftovers?
Garland Chrysanthemum has a slightly mustardy flavour and a crispy texture, and an important ingredient in Chinese hot pot, Taiwanese oyster omelets and chop suey.
They can be stir-fried, parboiled, steamed and sautéed. Use raw or slightly wilted in salad preparations in lieu of dandelion greens, endive and kale.
In Korean, Cantonese and Japanese cuisines it’s often used to flavour soups, stews, hot pots (such as sukiyaki and nabeomono), stir-fries and casserole dishes. But the Japanese like this green the best.
Types of Chrysanthemum Greens.
There are a couple of types of Chrysanthemum greens, and the difference between them is the leaf-type.

So what do they look like?
The more deeply lobed, almost divided-leaf varieties are closer to the wild species, and tend to be easier to grow, but are strongly-flavoured. 
The broad-leaf varieties will be more work to grow (though really not difficult) and give you more succulent, delicious greens.
There’s also many “intermediate” varieties between these two groups that aim for highly producing, but still delicious foliage.
Occasionally you will find these delicious greens in Asian or maybe at the nurseries but even if you did, the choice of varieties would be low.
If you want to try these Chrysanthemum greens you need to buy the seeds and grow them yourself.
They’re actually available as seeds from major seed suppliers in Australia.
www.succeedheirlooms.com.au
www.greenharvest.com.au as Shungiku
www.mrfothergills.com.au as Microgreens
Growing from seed.
The best times of the year to grow Chrysanthemum greens in cool temperate and temperate districts in Australia is Spring through to Autumn.
Plants aren’t frost tolerant but can be grown in spring and autumn in arid zones.
In sub-tropical areas late autumn, winter and spring is better, and in tropical districts, wait until the dry season.
In warmer districts, or if planting in warmer months, once the heat starts to kick in you can’t keep plants from bolting.
Chrysanthemum greens are a quick crop, and sowing them every couple of weeks will give you a continuous fresh crop.
You can start off in small pots if you like, because do transplant much better than many greens.
Otherwise direct-seed them and thin after germination.
Chrysanthemum greens are great for balcony and patio gardens.
1 or 2 plants grown to maturity will give two people a regular supply of greens.
They are best grown in full sun though they can take a little shade.
Shaded plants tend to get elongated and thin-looking and don’t last as long into the warm season.
They also tend to have problems with insects.
These greens aren’t picky about soil, though the more rich the soil, the more bushy, succulent and happy the plants look.

•  Water plants regularly, and feed occasionally with any balanced fertilizer like fish emulsion or kelp.
• Compost or worm tea is a must for leafy greens as it is to almost any crop. Pinch off flowers when you see them develop.
• Space out plants about 7-10 cm apart (depending on variety) if you want each plant to reach its full height which is around 10cm.
• However, if you plant very close together, you can harvest as young greens by sheering off tops. This can be done successfully a few times but will need to be replanted after a few sheers (if you want to maintain good quality).
• You Chrysanthemum greens should be ready in a little over 4 weeks!

What do they taste like and what do you do with Chrysanthemum greens?

• Greens can be eaten fresh or stir-fried.
• The taste is unique:, they have a nutty and slightly perfumey flavour.

HINT: When you cook them, cook them very lightly.
They can tend to become more bitter if overcooked, and their delicate flavour lost.
They can be quickly blanched or steamed but again, just slightly to retain their unique flavour.
Don’t forget the flowers are edible too.
ry floating a bunch on top of a winter stew, as a garnish. Very pretty.
Tip: Most often you see the divided leaf varieties, which are still delicious will last in the fridge moderately well.
You can propagate the tips by putting them in water and letting them grow roots.
Why is it good for you?
Chrysanthemum leaves are a nutritious green rich in fibre, Vitamins A and C, calcium and flavonoids.
The leaves are particularly high in potassium, having more potassium than even bananas.

AND THAT WAS OUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY! 

DESIGN ELEMENTS

with landscape designer Louise McDaid

The design series ‘green gardens started a couple of weeks ago, is about mainly using foliage in the design of your garden.

If you find flowers unrelieable or too short term in your garden, creating a garden that is constructed with different types, shapes and texture of foliage is a great way to provide year round interest.



You’ll never have to say, summer is boring because that’s when my garden hasn’t got much on show. Or whatever season you find that your garden’s lacking interest.
Today, landscape designer Louise, looks at autumn coloured foliage and how it fits into the green theme.
Let’s find out what this is all about.

Whether you live in a cool climate and have the luxury of trees changing colour in autumn, or in a warmer temperate or tropical climate.
The colours of autumn can either be used year round-that’s the yellows, golds, deep reds and burgundy colours, or by just using the turning foliage of deciduous trees.
Like an artists’ pallet, you can create your own tapestry of colour in the autumn garden.
It’ s only limited by your imagination.

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Doryanthes excelsa

Plant of the week this week has a few common names.
Common names are often confusing especially if plants have different names in different states.
Also called Giant Lily, Flame Lily, Spear Lily, Illawarra lily, Gymea Lily.
But there’s no mistaking this plant once you see it, you’ll remember it no matter what name you choose to call it.

Doryanthes is the sole genus in the flowering plant family Doryanthaceae.

Of this genus there are only two species, D. excelsa and D. palmeri, both native to the coast of Eastern Australia.

Each plant grows from a thickened under­ground stem which is gradually pulled deeper and deeper into the ground by the roots con­tracting during periods of dry weather.
The leaves are up to 1m long and form a rosette which gradually expands as it matures.

The red-maroon flowers rise up out of the rosette around 2-3m high.

Best view from an upper storey window or from a distance.

The flower petals are amazingly thick, leather and quite chunky.

 

Flowering occurs from Spring to early Summer in temperate districts and from October to November in cool temperate climates such as Canberra.

The fruit is a woody capsule which splits open on ripening in Janu­ary or February from which brown, flattened and slightly winged seeds fly out.

Propagation is by division of established plants or from seed.

Seed will germinate readily within 2 months if only a year or two old and is best sown in autumn. However, plants grown from seed will not flower until about 8 years of age.

 Although the foliage is resistant to frost damage, the developing flowerbuds need protection in areas of heavy frost such as a hessian frame as used in the Australia National Botanic gardens.

The genus Doryanthes was first described in 1802 by the Portuguese priest, statesman, philosopher and botanist José Francisco Corrêa da Serra (1751–1823), a close friend of Joseph Banks.

Doryanthes or even Dory’s is probably just as easy to remember as Gymea Lily.
Did you know that honeyeaters love the nectar of the large flowers?
Besides that, Aboriginal people (in the Lake Macquarie district of NSW) used to  roast the stems, after chopping the stem off when it was about 40cm high and as thick as a person's arm?
They also roasted the roots which they made into a sort of cake to be eaten cold.

White Plumes, and Southern Stars

REAL WORLD GARDENER Wed. 5pm 2RRR 88.5fm Sydney, streaming live at www.2rrr.org.au and Across Australia on the Community Radio Network. www.realworldgardener.com
Real World Gardener is funded by the Community Broadcasting Foundation
REALWORLD GARDENER NOW ON FACEBOOK
The complete CRN edition of RWG is available on http://www.cpod.org.au/ , just click on 2RRR to find this week’s edition. The new theme is sung by Harry Hughes from his album Songs of the Garden. You can hear samples of the album from the website www.songsofthegarden.com

Wildlife in Focus

with ecologist Sue Stevens

Last week, sue gave us some great tips for bird watching. Getting a bit more out of it than the occasional glimpse, then wondering what it was that you saw.
Did you ever see a bird when you were small that doesn't appear in your garden these days?
Perhaps it visited your Camellia bushes, Fuchsias and other exotic plants because it was mainly a nectar feeder. Today’s bird is found over much of mainland Australia, and was once known as a "Greenie."

Click here to Listen to this episode

If you see an olive bird with yellow cheeks and a white neck plume and a curved black bill, then it’s probably the White Plumed Honeyeater.
If you’re able to take a photo you might see that it’s throat, breast and underparts are all grey.
The juvenile white plumed honeyeater has orange base of bill and is paler-looking with no plume. 
Not all of these honey-eaters are alike when it comes to their spread across Australia.
 The one found in Western Australia has a fawn back with bright yellow face and underparts,
another one in western Queensland, the Northern Territory and South Australia is paler overall

What all these slightly different birds like is an open forest or woodland, especially near the plants along a stream and along inland watercourses.
This probably explains why you don't see it so much in dense urban centres.
The white Plumed Honeyeater’s favourite tree is the River Red gum. Not just for the nectar but for the insects as well.
If you have any questions about a bird you want identified, why not drop us a line. Or send in a photo to realworldgardener@gmail.com or by post to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675, and I’ll send you a copy of the Garden Guardians in return..

Vegetable Heroes

Broccoli

The answer to the question which vegetable has more vitamin C than an orange? Broccoli, Brassica oleracea var Italica  which is the same name as for Cauliflower!

Would you have guessed that Broccoli heads are actually groups of flower buds that are almost ready to flower?

That's probably the most amazing fact of all, and when I was teaching a group of year 2 students the facts of flowers come before vegetables, they couldn't believe it!

 

Broccoli is of course in the Brassicaceae family of vegetables along with cauliflower, cabbages, Brussels sprouts, turnips and many of the Asian greens.

·     Did you know that most members of the Brassica Family, are related to a wild cabbage grown centuries ago?

Apparently Romans grew and loved to eat Broccoli way back in 23 to 79 BCE.

·         During the 8th century BCE, the Etruscans migrated from what is now Turkey to Italy, settling in Tuscany of course, and bringing with them their Broccoli seeds.

Why should you grow Broccoli if it’s available all year round in your supermarket?

• Firstly, supermarket Broccoli has probably been sprayed for all manner of pests whether or not the pests visited the Broccoli plant.
• Secondly, supermarket Broccoli stems are pretty tough to eat, when they’re supposed to be tender. Why? Because the Broccoli transports better plus, they may have been picked before becoming fully-mature or they 've been picked at the right time but then stored too long.
• Homegrown Broccoli, especially the heirloom varieties, also re-shoot after your cut of the central Broccoli stem.
• Plus, Broccoli is pretty easy to grow.
•  Just keep an eye out for bugs during warmer months, but there’s plenty of organic ways of controlling them.
• Finally, because you'll care for it and pick it at the right time it'll taste a whole lot better than your supermarket Broccoli. 
• With home-grown broccoli, you can also be sure how it has been grown:

When to Sow

• Summer Broccoli can be sown all over Australia except for the hottest of regions.
• Temperatures that suit Broccoli best range from 15⁰C to 25⁰C
• In temperate districts, you have from September to November, and cool temperate climates from October until December,
• Autumn is really the best time for arid, tropical and sub-tropical districts, but there’s no reason why you can’t grow it there
• Let me know if you successfully grow Broccoli during the warmer months in those districts.
• Broccoli comes in many shapes and varieties but is grouped into five major strains: sprouting, broccolini, purple, Romanseco, and Chinese varieties.
• Today, I’m concentrating on the common or garden variety which is actually the sprouting variety.
• Now you probably thought that was what those little shoots of Broccoli are called but you would be wrong. Those little guys are called Broccolini. Apparently in the UK, they called those large heads of Broccoli, Calabrese!
• Broccoli seeds are easy enough to get at supermarkets, garden centres and online seed suppliers of course.
• Try these varieties
• Di Cicco is a classic Italian style broccoli which is deep green in colour and has a sweet flavour that might help to get kids into eating it.
• Green Sprouting has bluish green coloured heads and a deep earthy taste.
• Waltham 29 is a great all-rounder plus there’s purple sprouting Broccoli, which is well, purple and sprouting- attractive and tasty.
• All of these varieties will provide months of continual harvest and can even be considered as a perennial plant if you can manage to deal with the influx of cabbage moths that come around as the weather warms up.

How to grow Broccoli?

• Broccoli is not too choosy about the site it grows in but prefers to be in full sun, but will tolerate partial shade with no problems.
• Growing in too much shade will reduce the size of the Broccoli head.
• The ideal soil is a reasonably heavy (not pure clay) which is rich in nutrients and has been well-dug.
• Like all brassicas, Broccoli needs a minimum soil pH of 6; but really prefers a pH of 7.
• Add lime if you need to raise the soil pH.
• Broccoli is what’s called a heavy feeder, so do add plenty of blood and bone, and decomposed manures by the bucket load before you start.
• Sow your Broccoli seed about 1 ½ cm deep, and space the seedlings about 40cm apart so they don’t crowd each other.
• Once a fortnight feed your broccoli with a liquid fertilizer; seaweed, manure tea, nettle tea etc.
• When your Broccoli is growing always make sure that the beds are free from competitive weeds by hand weeding regularly.
• TIP:
• Don’t plant or sow Broccoli in your veggie bed if you’ve grown it before in the past 3 years.
• You may get a disease called Club Root that causes you Broccoli plant to wilt regardless of how much water you give it.
• Remember the acronym. LRLC-Legumes, root veg, leafy then Cucurbits, Brassicas.
• Harvest broccoli heads when they have reached maximum size, are still compact, and before the buds loosen, open into flowers, or turn yellow. It will be about 70-100 days or 2 ½ -4 months, when your Broccoli will be ready if you plant it now.

When do you pick your Broccoli?

• You’ve got to time it just right, and that’s when the cluster of tight buds in the central head is well formed and before the individual flowers start to open.
• Make a sloping cut (this allows water to run off), picking a piece that's about 10 cm long.
• That way you’ve left a reasonable amount of the plant intact to produce smaller side-shoots or "florets," which you can pick as well.
• At this stage, don’t stop feeding and watering the remaining broccoli stem otherwise your plants will go to seed and you won’t get any side shoots.
• TIP: If your Broccoli plants starts to flower it’ll going into seed production and you won’t get any more side shoots.
• Why is Broccoli good for you?
• Broccoli contains twice the vitamin C of an orange.
• Did you know that just 100g of Broccoli has two day’s supply of vitamin C (don’t overcook  or you’ll lose some).
• Broccoli also a good source of dietary fibre, potassium, vitamin E, folate and beta carotene
• 100g broccoli has 120kJ.
• Broccoli also contains magnesium and as much calcium as whole milk!
•     HAPPY BROCCOLI GROWING EVERYONE!

Design Elements

with Landscape Designer Louise McDaid

According to the Telegraph in the UK, Piet Oudulf is the most influential garden designer of the past 25 years.
Not just one of them, but THE one!
The article goes on to say that Piet has redefined what’s meant by the term ‘Naturalism” in planting.
Naturalism’s the exact opposite of clipped hedges and neat structured rows of planting.
Prior to Piet’s designs, Naturalism also tended to mean looking a bit wild, in the way of a wild meadow that you might come across somewhere in the UK.
Not terribly wild by Australian standards.
Then there was a bit of envy by the writer, because, somehow, Piet Oudolf’s garden remained intact and according to his design years later.
No wonder the owner of Scampston Manor employed him to restore their garden which had been in the family for 900 years.
What an inspirational garden.

Click here to…
Listen to this episode  

Naturalistic planting can be appealing, and look quite tidy, if not hard to photograph.

Just  follow the type of plants that Piet Oudulf recommends, and also the ones that Louise suggested to substitute, because we can’t get them all here in Australia.
The key is using long-lived clump-forming perennials which didn’t spread around by aggressive rooting or seeding and so retain their form as distinct groups.

Plants like Achilleas, Alliums, grasses, Helenium, Molinia, Sanguisorba and Astilbe.
Because there are no trees to speak of except right at the edges of the garden, the conditions of sun and shade won't change over time and  the scheme might last almost in perpetuity with a bit of maintenance.
If you have any questions about this week’s Design Elements, send it to realworldgardener@gmail.com or just post it to 2RRR, PO Box 644, Gladesville, NSW, 1675

Plant of the Week

Rhodanthe anthemoides "Southern Stars"
Plants that are commonly called straw flowers or everlasting, are native to Australia.
There are a few around so if you want a particular type of strawflower, you really need to know it’s botanical or scientific name, or even part of it.
Strawflowers were Helichrysum bracteatum, then Bracteantha bracteata and now are called Xerochrysum bracteatum
Did you know that for some reason, this Australian native was propagated and developed in Germany in the 1850’s.
Then again, it’s got nothing to do with this paper daisy that’s plant of the week.

Take a leaf out of Phillip Johnsons’ book-winner of the gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show 2013! See Australian Perennial Growers.

Rhodanthe anthemoides, commonly known as Paper Daisy, is a perennial species of the daisy family Asteraceae.

It’s endemic to Australia.

TRIVIA TIP:
Did you know that the daisy flower isn’t just one flower?

The flower of the daisy consists of a collection of small one seeded, stalk-less flowers (disc florets).

Surrounding the disc florets is a ring of what looks like petals,  (ray florets); their main purpose is to attract insect pollinators.

This bushy mounding groundcover, 30cm x 80cm, has narrow, grey-green, mildly chamomile scented leaves.

Some call it Chamomile Sunray. Can’t say I’ve ever heard it called that.
Rhodanthe surely must signal what is to come after the cool months of winter, because in late winter to late spring it produces heaps of, crimson buds which open into, star-shaped, white papery flowers.
Plants have multiple stems rising from the base which reach up to 40 cm high and spread to 60 cm wide.
The leaves are about 10 mm long and 0.5 to 2 mm in width.
A central cluster of pale yellow flowers is surrounded by petal-like white, papery bracts. These appear between September and February in the species native range.
These are followed by small dry achenes that have silky hairs.

 The species occurs in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and rarely in Tasmania. Where paper daisies like to grow naturally is in mountainous regions growing in sandy soil.

For your home garden, try and imitate these natural conditions-well drained soil, perhaps on an embankment, or in a rockeriy.

They grow equally well in pots and baskets in Australian native mix.

If you need to fertilise, use a suitable controlled-release native fertiliser during the warmer months and prune back lightly in late summer to promote new growth and retain a neat, compact shape.

All R. anthemoides do best in a rich well-drained soil with light shade during the hottest part of the day. Trim off old growth when new shoots show in autumn.

An excellent small plant for planting in containers or rockery gardens.

Recent release:Rhodanthe Southern Stars

 
For a hardy winter plant you can’t go past Rhodanthe Southern Stars,  because of its masses of white paper daisy like flowers with bright yellow centres from late winter to spring.

It is frost, drought and heat tolerant not to mention easy to grow!

Grows to 20-30cm high x 40-60cm wide
You could use it as a ground cover in perennial borders, mass planting or container gardens.
For the cooler areas of Australia, take note, this plant is frost, drought and heat tolerant.
Like all paper daisies, plants this one in full sun into awell drained soil

For Floral Arrangements

Pick the flowers just before the buds burst open,  and depending upon the stem thickness they can be either-bunched and hung upside down in a cool, dry, airy room away from direct sunlight.

The stem can be cut 1cm. below the flower head and thin florist wire inserted up the stem into the base of the flower. Leave to dry upright in a cool dry airy room away from direct sunlight.

Paper daisies cut and dry well and are excellent for small posies and informal dried flower arrangements.

When dried, they retain their colour and shape indefinitely.

Straw flowers of all kinds have less moisture than other flowers and are easy to dry.
Just ask for Paper daisy, Southern Stars might get you the plant that you