Browsing on Thyme

REAL WORLD GARDENER 2RRR 88.5FM WED 5PM, SAT 12 MIDDAY
Community Radio like no other.
Wildlife in Focus: Kurtis Lindsay talks about the Brown Falcon, an Australian raptor. Hear about what it looks and sounds like. Real World Gardener thanks Tony Bayliss, from the Australian Wildlife Sound Recording Group http://www.awsrg.org/ for providing the sound file of the Brown Falcon.

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Vegetable Heroes" Going for Thyme. Not a vegetable but still a hero.  You can grow the common Thyme from seed which is very small. The best time of year in any climate to sow Thyme seeds is in Spring except for in Arid regions of Australia. Autumn is the best time for that zone. The soil temperature should be between 15⁰ C and 25⁰.C. That doesn’t mean air temperature which is usually a few degrees higher.
  Either scatter the seed in a garden bed or start of in a punnet, then cover the seed lightly with something like Vermicullite, pop into a plastic bag and tie off, if you don’t have a mini-greenhouse.
 Thyme will start to look quite straggly after a couple of years, so cut it back quite hard after flowering. This is usually around late summer or autumn. Take some cuttings if you can be bothered with fiddling around with the very thin stems, otherwise dividing up the plants with a trowel will get you  a few smaller plants.  By the way, dividing plants that are 3-4 years old is best to get enough roots on each bit that you dig up.
 Why not try Caraway Thyme or Thymus herba-barona This Thyme comes from Corsica, is narrow leafed with a distinctive scent of caraway seed. Has lots of lavender pink flowers.
How about Pizza Thyme, sometimes known as Oregano Thyme. T. Pulegoides cv. This makes a soft mounded sub-shrub of about 15cm. This has wider leaves than most thymes.
 Then there’s my favourite Lemon Thyme. T x citriodorus. It smells like lemon and thyme all together and has been in gardens since the 17^th century.
Thyme likes full sun, and prefers sandy or any other well drained soil. Fertiliser is not required.
Design Elements: Pruning Hedges Safely. Listen here to the whys and wherefores of pruning a hedge. Lesley and Marianne (me) also talk about the saftey aspects of using ladders when pruning.

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Plant of the Week : Allard's Lavender or Lavandula allardii is the focus of today's plant plus a few fruity Italian Lavenders.
L. allardii
   “Riverina James.” Grows 1m x 80cm and prefers full sun, withstands dry conditions and coastal environments. Most noticeable feature of this lavender variety is the strong scent released from the slightest touch of its attractive, evergreen foliage. In addition, long lavender flower stems are also produced for a lengthy display over the warmer months. Dry and frost tolerant for difficult sites and coastal regions. Flowers will last a long time in a vase without water of course.
For more info: http://www.pga.com.au/ the site for Plant Growers Australia.
From the Ruffles collection of Lavenders, Lavandula Blueberry Ruffles and L. Boysenberry ruffles, and L. Mulberry Ruffles. These all grow to only 60cm x 80cm. Full sun and dry conditions for this Italian lavender.

Prune all Italian lavenders in summer after their main flowering period and to keep them bush. Boost with  some slow release fertiliser during spring. Avoid using Dynamic Lifter or other Chook Poo pellets-they don’t like it.

Geraniums or is it Pelargoniums?

Sydney Garden Talk 12noon-1pm Saturdays on 2RRR 88.5 FM

Feature interview was Gary Dale, Geranium breeder from Geranium cottage. Geraniums originate from dry regions of South Africa, so don't kill with overwatering. Regular tip rpuning helps flowering. Cut them back by half every year.

Plant giveaway: Ivy Geranium "Tom Girl."won by Susan from Newtown.

NEW: Design Elements with Lesley Simpson, garden designer.
Plant suggestions for north facing balconies.
 

Fantastic fruit: Blueberries.Selecting and Storing Blueberries – Pick or buy blueberries that are firm and have an even colour with a whitish bloom. Ripe berries should be stored in a covered container in the fridge where they will keep for about 1 week. Realistically blueberries should be eaten within a few days of picking or buying. I tend to eat mine straight of the bush..

Don't wash blueberries until right before eating as you will remove the bloom that protects the berries' skin from going bad.. If kept a room temperature for more than an hour, the berries will start to spoil.
Blueberry Nutrition - Blueberries are also a good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin E, manganese and both soluble and insoluble fibre like pectin. A cup of blueberries will give you 30% of your RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of Vitamin C.
If you think they’re too fussy to grow, . for the same price as a cup of coffee, treat yourself to a punnet of Blueberries, eat them straight out of the punnet (wash them of course) and enjoy the health benefits.
Mail Order: http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/
Choose Rabbit Eye and other chilling varieties like Sharp Blue and Misty for Sydney districts near Ryde and Hunters Hill.

Plant of the week: Star Jasmine. Botanical name:Trachelospermum jasminoides.

Family: Apocynaceae

Common name: climbing star-jasmine

Originates in woodlands of Japan and India.

Twining semiwoody vine to several meters long. Leaves opposite, deciduous, 2.5-7.5 cm (1-3 in) long and 1.3-5 cm (0.5-2 in) wide, lanceolate to broadly elliptic or oval, apex usually acuminate, base cuneate to rounded, margin entire, dark green and glabrous above, paler and pubescent below, petioles 3-8 mm (0.1-0.3 in) long. Flowers in cymes clustered in leaf axils, peduncles 1.3-2 cm (0.5-0.75 in) long, corolla 5-lobed, funnelform, greenish-yellow, striped with orange inside. Fruits paired follicles 12-22 cm (5-7 in) long and about 4 mm (1/6 in) in diameter.

For climbing on tall walls, Star Jasmine needs tying and training. With age, the vines do become thicker, and so the structure on which it is trained, ought to be able to take some weight. On short walls though, it does not require support, as it cascades over the top of the wall. It is also used sometimes as a medium scale ground cover. Left to its own devises, it tends to mound somewhat, and in time can become bare and bald, other than at the growing tips. It is therefore worth pruning and clipping on a regular basis in order to induce lateral growth and ultimately, a denser, more compact appearance.

QnA from Granny Smith festival was about Catnip.

Picture is my cat Mozart eating some Cantnip leaves growing in the garden steps.

Nepata cataria pictured in garden.. Grows to about 50cm x 50cm

Catnip or Nepeta cataria, can be grown from seed or you can buy it from the herb section of good nurseries. They are tough plants, coping with sun or semi-shade. Just give them a good clip to keep them tidy every so often. They really don’t need much fertiliser, if any and only an occasional sprinkle of water. Give you feline friends a bit of treat. A lot of cats like to lie on the bush or even eat a few leaves. Eating the leaves makes them bit drowsy, but for some cats you wouldn’t notice the difference. Catmint doesn’t have as many oils in the leaves, but makes a

nice low growing mound underneath plants like roses. There’s also Cat Thyme or Teucrium marum, harder to get, but much more potent. I used to have a cat that loved nipping this plant.

What's On:
Sunday 29 November. There’s a new community garden starting up in Lane Cove. It’s behind Chatswood South Uniting Church, cnr of Mowbray Road and the Pacific Highway. They hold open days for interested people on the last Sunday of every month between 2 and 5 pm. If you live near this area and are interested in being part of a community garden, visit www.permapatch.org.au or ring Jono on 0401 890256 or Mandy on 9436 2891. They are actively looking for new members to get involved.

Saturday 5 December, 9am – noon. Seed Collection Field Trip From delicate grass seeds to hard woody fruits, our local native plants form and hold seeds in a range of fascinating ways. Come and learn the fine art of collecting seed and practice your skills on a local bushwalk. Wear study shoes, bring a hat and water. Spaces limited.  Location: Lane Cove Council. Contact: Michelle Greenfield PHONE: 9911 3579

Sunday 6 December. Brush Farm House Open day. Tours at 11am and 1.30pm. Cost: Free. Bookings essential. Phone 9952 8222

Sunday 6 December. Macquarie Community Garden. Gardeners meet at 4pm on the first Sunday of every month at corner of Talavera and Culloden Roads in North Ryde, adjacent to the University sports fields. If you’re interested in getting involved, come along and talk to the other gardeners. You don’t have to be a student at the Uni to be part of the community gardening club.