Archive for August, 2009

• The Orchid Club’s Annual Show

  Date: 2009.08.30 | Category: Horticulture | Response: 1

  Last weekend our local orchid club had it’s annual show in the town hall.  As you can imagine, the hall was bursting with big, luscious, colourful blooms! All looking spectacular and enough to turn on the most ardent non gardener type.

  

  There were a lot of cymbidium orchids in the show but also some beautiful, intricate and extremely delicate natives such as the Sydney Rock Orchid shown in the next photo.

  

  These are such beauties and grow in our local area on the cliff faces around many river beds and waterfalls. They are an epiphytic orchid which means they thrive on trunks and branches of trees or even rocks. Epiphytes are sometimes referred to as ‘air plants.’

  

  

  How impressive are they? Many people are scared to grow them because they really do appear to be just so delicate. The orchid club does an annual demonstration and workshop at our garden centre each year and shows how to pot and care for them. Most of the club members say to “just keep ‘em in a pot under a tree down the backyard and they will be fine.” It seems that if you fuss over them, that will most probably be their downfall.

  

  

  I love the green ones, I think they are my favourite!

• There is no denying a seagulls hunger

  Date: 2009.08.15 | Category: just general stuff | Response: 0

  

  Lunch in Mallacoota after doing a garden consultation.

• My Grafted Emu Bush

  Date: 2009.08.07 | Category: Horticulture | Response: 2

  I have this lovely little grafted Emu Bush in my garden (Eremophila latrobei.) It is currently in flower even though it is Winter here and has been flowering for quite a while now. It is a bright and sunny sight on a cold miserable day.

  

  This particular species of Eremophila is from the inland states of Australia. It like the hot dry country, thus it can be difficult to grow in my Eastern seaboard garden. This one is grafted and it is grafted onto Myoporum rootstock. The Myoporum is in the same family as Eremophila and it is an extremely hardy little plant! This makes it then very easy for avid Eremophila lovers to enjoy this plant grown anywhere in Australia. How fantastic is that?

  This little eremophila only grows to around 2 metres or so in height and it has the most beautiful purple flowers. The foliage is stunning too, being quite grey (which usually indicates drought hardy to me!) and it has very pretty little seed pods.

  If you are interested in growing Eremophila’s, be sure to check out all the grafted species available now. There are many enthusiasts out there and about 200 different species to collect!