Gardening writer JACKIE WARBURTON showcases her seasonal favourites from a year in the garden.
Here’s a year’s worth of my favourite plants starting with angel wings (Senecio candicans) for summer.
I first saw this plant at one of the amazing show gardens at this year’s Floriade. Its unusual, fat, felt-like silvery leaves were very attractive amongst the soft blues in that garden. I have it in the brightest red pot and it looks striking. I think it will suit any garden.
All senecios love full sun and not much water. Unfortunately, they need to be protected from frost and brought indoors or to a glasshouse for winter.
My best autumn plant this year was staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina). I have planted this tree in my garden purely for its autumnal colour, but so far its spring/summer foliage has been beautiful and contrasting with a dark backdrop.
It’s a small tree that grows to about five metres tall. To keep it in check, it can be cut to the ground every few years to encourage foliage growth.
My best plant for winter would have to be the slow-growing, evergreen shrub, Garrya elliptica, which can reach six metres. When the catkins are all over the shrub in the depths of winter, it’s telling us that spring is just around the corner.
They are dioecious, meaning they are separate male and female plants. Male plants are showy and can grow to 20 centimetres long catkins and the female catkins are considerably smaller.
There’s a dwarf form called Evie that grows only to three metres or James Roof that’s a little bigger. Both are suitable for a suburban backyard and even grown as a hedge under the backyard powerlines
Finally, my best spring plant is cactus. Its main flowering time is around November and, although the flowers might only last a day, the fragrance they bring to the garden is delightful.
They are easy to care for, from a windowsill to a whole garden..
MY best tool would be my battery-powered secateurs. They are marketed as effortless, and they are just that. It’s a terrific tool for those who do a lot of work in the garden or if their hand strength is not what it used to be.
MY best book was launched last month called Our Grassy Landscapes.
Written by historian and land carer Jenny Horsfield, it tells the story of how our ecological landscapes have changed over the years in the Tablelands and the Monaro region, and a celebration of the local people who care for them.
It’s a credit to Jenny’s dedication and love of our local environment, and of all the hard work she has done for the Minders of Tuggeranong Homestead (MOTH) over the past 20 years.
KEEP the vegetable patch growing strong with a good balance of fertilisers and water over the summer months.
Sometimes the sun can burn plants quite easily, so large golf umbrellas or shade cloth thrown over a structure will shade flowers as well.
Long deep watering is beneficial to the roots of plants to help them survive longer in dryer periods. Keep lawns close to the house watered to help cool living spaces.
Jottings
- Water in the cool of the day.
- Start to sow winter vegetables to plant out in autumn.
- Liquid feed gardens to keep growth even and healthy.
- Pick stone fruit just at the blush stage and ripen indoors.
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