Gardens, Lavender and Carnations to Fill Our Senses

hat’s On The Show Today?

Join Garden Historian Stuart Read talk about some gardens of note in the garden history segment, find out which veggie is a hiding place for little demons in Vegetable Heroes; spice up your home with these fragrant flowers you can grow in Plant of the Week.;Lastly, a flower that’s strongly linked with perfume in Talking Flowers.

GARDEN HISTORY

Ginaghulla 

There are a lot of heritage items in Australia that get commemorated by a plaque but how many gardens get the same recognition?

Probably only a handful and these are not even well known.

So the Garden History Society started to take note of some historic gardens and with a local council in Sydney, are recognizing that it’s not just built spaces that make up the fabric of history.

Let’s find out about some of these.

I'm talking with Stuart Read, Garden Historian and committee member of the Australian Garden History Society

. 

These 'garden plaques' celebrate famous gardeners and notable gardens.
Does your local council have a garden plaques program?

If so let us know so we can give them a shout out. 

The Australian Garden History Society has branches in all states and the A.C.T. which arrange local activities and act as advocates for issues which are of interest to the society. 

For further information contact www.gardenhistorysociety.org.au/

If you have any questions either for me or for Stuart, you can email us Realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2rrr, PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Brussel Sprouts

Brussel Sprouts are a member of the Brassicaceae family which also includes, cabbage, broccoli, kale and kohlrabi.

Is there one veggie that you have trouble growing?
For some reason, that veggie doesn’t work out to how it looks on the seed packet.
Maybe it’s your environment, think weather or your soil or your regime of fertilising.
It could also be that whenever you try to grow this veggie, hordes of pests descend onto your veggie plot and turn those plants into a horrible version of what they should be?
That’s my lot with Brussel sprouts.
Before we go any further, you may not be surprised to know that Brussel sprouts are one of the most hated veggies in the UK and US.

So why call a veggie Brussel sprouts?

Maybe because it was sold in Brussels' markets in the 1200's, or, maybe Brussels sprouts were named after the capital of Belgium where some say that’s where they were first grown.
Brussel sprouts are also one of the few vegetables to have started off in the northern Europe.
You probably know what a Brussels sprouts looks like - miniature heads of cabbage-about 2.5 to 4 cm. to be precise.
They taste a bit like cabbage, but slightly milder in flavour and denser in texture.
If you’ve ever grown Brussel sprouts, you’ll know that the sprouts grow like buds in a spiral along the side of long thick stalks of around 60 to 120 cm tall.
They all don’t mature at once but take several weeks, starting from the lower to the upper part of the stalk.

If you want to grow them well, there’s a few tips that you need to know about.

• Firstly, when learning how to grow brussel sprouts they need a firm, fertile soil because the main cause of failure (blown buttons) is the opposite, that is, loose, infertile soil. 
• Those gardeners with a fairly heavy soil have an advantage over those of us with loose sandy soil. 
• If your soil is loose, then your sprouts will be tasteless, loose and open, and only you’re to blame and not the seed company. 
• If you’ve got the room to follow crop rotation, then you’ll be planting them where you last planted peas and beans. 
• If not, dig in a whole lot of compost and cow manure and leave it for a couple of weeks to mature. 
• AND, because compost, especially home- made compost can be on the acidic side, add some lime to your soil while you’re in the veggie bed. 
• That old saying “feed the soil not the plant” applies especially to Brussel Sprouts. 
• Tamp the soil down with the back of your garden rake to make it firm when the soil is dry. 

When to Sow;
For temperate districts, February until May, for arid areas until the end of June, for cool temperate zones, until the end of April and for sub-tropical areas, April seems to the month for you.
To grow sprouts, sow the seeds into seed trays or direct into the garden, or you can buy seedlings from a garden centre, organic markets and so on.
It’s cheaper of course to start from seed.
The seedlings are ready to transplant when they’re 10cm high.
Did you know that you can get early and late cropping varieties?

You can plant out your brussels sprouts either in full sun or partial shade, in fact partial shade is a bit better in warmer districts.

• Water plants the day before you aim to transplant them into that well-firmed bed that you prepared. 
• After you have transplanted your seedlings, firm the soil around each plant with your hands or the dibber. 
• Remember - firm planting helps to grow firm, tight brussels sprouts. 

Tip#3: a better reason to start your seeds off in punnets is that when you transplant your seedlings from pots or seed beds, this encourages a stronger root system to be established in their permanent bed.

Water the young plants in dry weather but unless you have a prolonged dry spell the mature plants shouldn’t need watering.
As the plants get taller make sure you support them so that the strong winds in winter don`t blow them over - tie them to stakes.

Should hordes of pests come a calling, you name it, Mealybugs, aphids, caterpillars and other grubs, use Derris Dust or a liquid concentrate containing Spinosad or Neem oil.

Try eco Neem from www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au  and Success from Yates

When to harvest
When the brussels start looking like they’re ready you don’t have to pick them all at once because, the plant holds the mature buttons for many weeks without opening. 

Ways to eat Brussel Sprouts
To eat Brussel Sprouts, you don`t want those ` sprouts that have had all their colour and crispness boiled out of them.
Try dicing or grating your brussel sprouts raw and serve them up in a salad - go on, be brave!
Most importantly: Don’t overcook your Brussel sprouts; Overcooking Brussels sprouts produces a sulphur-like smell, which is usually what turns people off
Why are they good for you?
Brussels sprouts pack in 4 grams of protein per cup which is high for a veggie,
That same cup will give you 4 grams of fibre but only 56 calories— “
Brussels sprouts can also provide you with some special cholesterol-lowering benefits if you use a steaming method when cooking them.
Brussels are also a good source of vitamins A and C, iron, and potassium .
One 80-gram serving of these healthy veggies delivers four times more vitamin C than an orange.
And finally, Brussel Sprouts should be kept cool at all times and eaten before the leaves discolour or they develop a strong smell.

One last anecdote:
If you ever ate Brussels sprouts at home, there's a good chance you cut little crosses cut into the bottom of each one.
Most people assume it is done to speed up cooking, but they would be wrong. The real reason we cut crosses into our sprouts is because of a medieval superstition.
It was once believed that leafy vegetables such as sprouts and cabbages were the hiding places of tiny demons, and eating them would expose you to their evil influence unless you exorcised them with the sign of the cross before cooking—and that's actually not a surprising conclusion if you consider the evil odours Brussels sprouts sometimes inspire. From www.grunge.com

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Carnations New and Old
Scinetific Name: Dianthus caryophyllus
Did your dad or grandad, grow certain flowers in your garden which you think are too hard to grow?
Well the plant world and it’s bevy of hybridisers have been working garden to make this old fashioned flower new again.

They probably grew the "old school"carnations which grew long and lanky and needed some type of staking to prevent them flopping over.
Let’s find out how to grow the newer varieties.
I'm talking with Karen Smith, editor of www.hortjournal.com.au and Jeremy Critchley owner of www.thegreengallery.com.au

Dianthus caryophyllus Oscar series.

Carnations love alkaline soil , therefore adding lime to the garden bed will help with any acidic soil problems.

Tip: Not to be grown where Azaleas and Camellias like to grow.

Keeping your Carnations tip pruned will encourage more flowering.

Carnation Oscar is a dwarf growing to 10cm in only 5 colours but designed for the balcony gardener.
Super Trooper and Sunfloor-also a dwarf around 20-25cm in height, with a high amount of fragrance.
In fact it’s hard to choose between what makes carnations special;the fragrance or the flower.
If you have some information to share, why not drop us a line to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR PO Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675

TALKING FLOWERS

Lavender, Lavender, Lavender.

Need to relax? Or get a good night's sleep? 

You need cleansing, calming lavender in your life. 

Lavandula angustifolia: English Lavender for cooking

Lavenders are a fabulous, long-lasting cut flower and you can dry them to use in sachets and pot pourri. And by the way, lavender is a great insect repellent.
Lavender is a favourite, whose flowers range from white to deep blue purple and include pink.
You can cook with Lavender flowers but you must use Lavandula angustifolia or English lavender flowers.
The other varieties have too much camphor and will make food taste a little bitter.
Use your Lavender spice flowers in cakes, biscuits, pasta and salads.
I'm talking with Mercedes Sarmini of Flowers By Mercedes 

 Recorded live during radio broadcast of Real World Gardener on 2rrr 88.5fm in Sydney

Cutting and Designing Great Gardens

 

TOOL TIME

Do you know what type of secateurs you have?
What about the blades? What are they made of?

Bypass secateurs and snips

If you’re hands get tired easily when you use your secatuers, maybe they’re not right for you and you need to change either the size or type.
Let’s find out some more. I'm talking with general manager, Tony Mattson from www.cutabovetools.com.au

Choosing different handles for perfect grip

Just to remind you bypass secateurs have two blades and work like a pair of scissors with the blades passing each other to make the cut.
They are suitable for cutting delicate stems as the action is less likely to cause bruising to the stem.
Anvil secateurs have one blade which closes on to a flat surface. They are better for cutting hard woody stems as the blade is less likely to stick to the stem as it cuts.
Choosing the right blade.
Blades aren't made from 100% stainless steel for general gardening use.
Some nurseries to have all steel blades if they're being used to cut acidic plants like eggplants.
These quality blades need to be sharpened more regularly.

Good blades have 10% carbon in them so that they're not overly brittle but still hard and can be sharpened regularly.
Some blades are made from recycled metal.
Always ask what the blades are made of but cost is reflected in the quality of the blades and in fact the whole secateurs.
One other thing; don’t try to cut stems that are thicker than your thumb, that’s what loppers are for.
If you try and cut stems that are too thick you’ll damage the blade and your secateurs won’t last as long as they should.
If you have any questions about secateurs or any other garden tools or a photo of some tools that you want help with, send it in to realworldgardener@gmail.com or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.

VEGETABLE HEROES

Brussel Sprouts are a member of the Brassicaceae family which also includes, cabbage, broccoli, kale and kohlrabi.
So why call a veggie Brussel sprouts?
Maybe because it was sold in Brussels' markets in the 1200's, or, maybe Brussels sprouts were named after the capital of Belgium where some say they were first cultivated.
Brussel sprouts are also one of the few vegetables to have started off in the northern Europe.
They were then introduced into France and England in the nineteenth century where they continue to be a popular food.
You probably know what a Brussels sprouts looks like - miniature heads of cabbage-about 2.5 to 4 cm. in diameter.
They taste a bit like cabbage, but slightly milder in flavour and denser in texture.
If you’ve ever grown Brussel sprouts, you’ll know that the sprouts grow like buds in a spiral along the side of long thick stalks of around 60 to 120 cm tall. They all don’t mature at once but take several weeks, starting from the lower to the upper part of the stalk.
Brussel Sprouts-will they propel you along? Well let’s see

Early stages of growth-Brussel sprouts

If you want to grow them well, there’s a few tips that you need to know about.
Firstly, when learning how to grow brussel sprouts they need a firm, fertile soil because the main cause of failure (blown buttons) is loose, infertile soil.
Those gardeners with a fairly heavy soil have an advantage over those of us with loose sandy soil.
If your soil is loose, then your sprouts will be tasteless, loose and open, and only you’re to blame and not the seed company.If you’ve got the room to follow crop rotation,  then you’ll be planting them where you last planted peas and beans.
If not, dig in a whole lot of compost and cow manure and leave it for a couple of weeks to mature.
AND, because compost, especially home- made compost can be on the acidic side, add some lime to your soil while you’re in the veggie bed.
That old saying “feed the soil not the plant”applies especially to Brussel Sprouts.
Tamp the soil down with the back of your garden rake to make it firm when the soil is dry.
When to Sow;
For temperate districts, February until May, for arid areas until the end of June, for cool temperate zones, until the end of April and for sub-tropical areas, April seems to the month for you.

Brussel sprout seedling

To grow sprouts, sow the seeds into seed trays or direct into the garden, or you can buy seedlings from a garden centre, organic markets and so on.
It’s cheaper of course to start from seed.
The seedlings are ready to transplant when they’re 10cm high.
You can get early and late cropping varieties.

TIP:Remember - firm planting helps to grow firm, tight brussels sprouts.
A better reason to start your seeds off in punnets is that when you transplant your seedlings from pots or seed beds, this encourages a stronger root system to be established in their permanent bed.Spacing is important-make it about 45 cm.
 Quite a distance but you can fill it with lettuce, endive and other quick growing crops.
Water the young plants in dry weather but unless you have a prolonged dry spell the mature plants shouldn’t need watering.
As the plants get taller make sure you support them so that the strong winds in winter don`t blow them over - tie them to stakes.
Mulch around the base of the plants with well rotted compost to feed the plants and conserve moisture.
If you do get Mealybugs, aphids, caterpillars and other grubs, use Derris Dust or a liquid concentrate ecoNeem.
When the brussels start looking like they’re ready you don’t have to pick them all at once becaus, the plant holds the mature buttons for many weeks without opening.
To eat Brussel Sprouts, you don`t want those ` sprouts that have had all their colour and crispness boiled out of them. Try dicing or grating your brussel sprouts raw and serve them up in a salad - go on, be brave!

Why are they good for you?
Brussels sprouts can provide you with some special cholesterol-lowering benefits if you use a steaming method when cooking them. Brussels are also a good source of vitamins A and C, iron, potassium and fibre.And finally, Brussel Sprouts should be kept cool at all times and eaten before the leaves discolour or they develop a strong smell.
AND THAT WAS YOUR VEGETABLE HERO SEGMENT FOR TODAY!

 

DESIGN ELEMENTS

with Glenice Buck landscape designer www.glenicebuckdesigns.com.au

DESIGN PROCESS Part1

Whether or not you already have a nice garden doesn’t mean it can’t be updated.
But does it mean you do the updating yourself or do you get in one of those professional landscape designers?
Let’s find how to start the design process.



Cottage gardens are part of any design process. photo M Cannon

You probably wouldn’t update your house without consulting a builder or architect, so updating your garden might be on the ‘to do’ list too.
Choosing someone to give you a “go to” or concept plan that will see your garden develop into the future sounds like a good idea.

PLANT OF THE WEEK

with Jeremy Critchley owner www.thegreengallery.com.au
and Karen Smith, editor of www.hortjournal.com.au
Why is rosemary used for remembrance?
Is it because the smell of rosemary is thought to improve the memory?
Greek scholars apparently wore rosemary in their hair to help them while they studied.
For Australians rosemary has a direct link with Gallipoli, where our troops fought in 1915, and here, rosemary can be found growing wild all over the peninsula.
Let’s find out about some more about this commemorative plant as well as tips on how to grow Rosmarinus officinalis or Rosemary

Find out more about the Avenue of Honors project
http://www.avenuesofhonour.org/leafy-legends/gallipoli-rosemary/
As early as 1584, rosemary has been used for remembrance and an emblem for particular occasions such as funerals and weddings or as a decoration for brides dating from 1601.

Gallipoli Rosemary is like every other rosemary -a tough evergreen shrub grown for aromatic foliage and pretty flowers.  
This variety is very compact  with pale blue flowers growing to 1m
Like all rosemarys, full sun is best, and they are also frost tolerant, suit coastal planting and windy positions. 
Rosemary plants will grow in any soil as long as it's well drained.
Landscape Ideas-Makes a great low hedge.
Propagation: Take small cuttings of 2-4cm and strip the lower third of leaves.
Dip in hormone rooting powder or gel and place  into potting mix around the edges of a small terracotta pot. Keep under cover for about six weeks. By then roots should have started to grow and may be ready for potting on.