Mittagong Garden Gossip

Tropical Southern Highlands

I‘ve just returned from the most fantastic tropical holiday, and I’m inspired to create my own tropical paradise at home. But, how can one create a tropical getaway in the Southern Highlands? The tropics don’t really go with frost and occasional snow. It can be done; you just need some fabulous flamboyant foliage and fragrance.

Gardening Dogs

Does your dog trash your garden? Does he dig up your newly planted plants and lie on top of your Impatiens? Don’t you just want to scream???

Is it just a load of crap?

Is it worth adding anything to the soil when planting? Surely soil contains all a plant needs to grow, so why waste money and add anything? I believe it is worth adding some goodness, and I’m all in favour of cow manure.
What is it about gardeners and manure? They love to talk about it, be it chook, horse or cow. There’s nothing crappy about manure, and composted manure is about the best product you can add to your garden to help your plants.

Drop Dead Gorgeous

Cyclamen are gorgeous plants which flower for ages during the cooler months. They make a fantastic house plant and will also thrive in a shady part of the garden or in a pot. The flowers last and last and some smell delicious. They are easy care, but some of us have a problem with them dropping dead. Can’t we just have the gorgeous bit?
Why do they die? Do they somehow develop a serious disease as soon as we take them home? Of course not; they die because we can’t accept the fact that Cyclamen love the cold.

Clemaytis, Clemartis or Clemmitis

Clematis are gentle climbers which are mostly deciduous. They are all gorgeous, but it’s the hybrid Clematis who are the real aristocrats of the garden. They have huge flowers; some as big as bread and butter plates, and they can be double or single. Anyone who sees a hybrid clematis for the first time stops dead in their tracks and stares at the spectacular blooms “Will these grow here?”