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Written and edited by Tammy 30th December 2022 You're looking for an Australian Native, evergreen shade tree, a pop of colour that's hardy and will thrive almost on neglect?? Look no further, this gorgeous girl ticks all the boxes! Brachychiton populneus discolor Kurrajong tree, also known as a lacebark or bottle tree. I had the privilege of seeing this one yesterday right here in our corner of the globe and was just gob-smacked at how stunning it was. Just a mass of vibrant pink flowers and buds amid glossy green foliage. Kurrajongs are native to Eastern Australia, you'll find them growing along the coastline and inland in dryer climates. They need a full sun location in relatively fertile soil to do well. Don't plant them in a wet damp or shady spot. They're tolerative of alkaline or acidic soils, preferring a sandier free draining environment. Frost isn't really an issue for them either. Their water requirements aren't excessive, they'll be happy with a regular, long, deep soak in the hot weather. You are going to need to allow for an area 10-20 meters in height and 3-6 in width. Kurrajongs really do make for a speccy, talking point feature tree and will definitely bring in the butterflies, birds and bees. They're low maintenance, hardy and best still they're an Australian Native. Honestly, I think you can move one of these up to the top of your wish list.

Written and edited by Tammy 12th January 2023 White Fly if in large enough numbers can cause extensive damage. They are a sap sucking insect closely related to other sap sucking insects such as aphids, mealybugs and scale. Adults resemble little white moths while the juveniles' (lavae) are a flattened out round shape very similar to scale. You'll find them throughout your vegetable garden on anything lush and leafy green. Ornamentals aren't immune to them though either. They hide and feed on the underside of the foliage, and as you brush past your plants or disturb them, they'll take flight into the air and be a buzz all around you. I've noticed them to be particularly bad in my own yard this season. By the time an infestation is advanced, the foliage will more than likely be yellow, discoloured, or silvery and even distorted in shape. You might remember I spoke about treating scale in a previous post, I mentioned the sticky secretion left behind by scale was called honeydew, and that a black sooty mould proceeds to grow it.... you could quite possibly see the same symptoms here with the white fly because as I stated, white fly too are a sap sucking insect. How do we treat it? There are a number of things you can try. Sticky insect traps are a quick and easy natural treatment, just hang them in the location of the infestation, nothing to spray or apply. White fly are drawn to the colour yellow making these very effective. They're readily available online and in store at most leading major outlets. You'll get between 5-10 traps per pack and they're generally double sided. You could also try companion planting. The idea is to plant something else nearby that the insects are drawn to (a bit like a decoy) so they are drawn to that instead of your prize plant. I have Hollyhocks growing in my yard, I love them, they're so pretty but I've noticed the why fly love them too so perhaps try planting some hollyhocks throughout your veggie garden. Along with using the sticky traps, spraying a horticultural spray is probably going to be the quickest most effective way to deal with them. Try Eco Neem oil that I previously suggested for dealing with scale. It's an all-natural organic product. But honestly don't rush out and specifically buy it if you've already got some form of white oil product, any white oil will work just fine. Whichever product you choose, the most important thing to remember is to make sure you thoroughly treat the underside of your plants, that's where the white fly and their little nymphs will be. Also, be sure to use the product carefully, follow the manufacturer's instructions on the label. At the end of the day, no gardening comes without its share of pests, diseases and disorders. Half the fun of gardening is the satisfaction of successfully dealing with the challenges it throws at us. It's a matter of constantly being on the lookout for them and dealing with them as quickly and efficiently as possible when the need arises. Keep cool and enjoy your garden!

Written and edited by Tammy 16th January 2023 I walked around my garden tonight after work watering a few things, enjoying how nice the lush lawn felt under my bare feet, and I pondered what I wanted to share with you. Lost in my own thoughts as I often am, I absentmindedly yanked on the garden hose, snapping the connector off it as it followed me around the corner of the house. My favourite coffee cup was sent flying off the spot I had sat it for safe keeping, smashing it to pieces on the footpath. Frustrated and heartbroken I walked inside to look for a spare connector, my beautiful partner looked up from preparing tea and asked me as he does most nights, "where are your shoes?" to which I replied "I just broke the hose connector AND my coffee cup in one foul swoop. 😩 I walked back outside without a connector (still with no shoes on) and proceeded to tread on a piece of broken coffee cup ending up with glass in my foot. Now had I have been wearing shoes (PPE) this most definitely wouldn't have happened. I still would've broken the hose connector and my coffee cup but at least I wouldn't have had to eat humble pie whilst admitting I needed help getting glass out of my foot. The moral of the story is .... "Do as I say, NOT as I do". Always wear enclosed protective footwear whilst in the garden to prevent bites, stings or glass in your foot. Wearing gloves not only prevents splinters and blisters, but the sap from some plants such as Euphorbia are poisonous and can actually cause nasty reactions if they come in contact with the skin. Wear a hat, long sleeves and pants, to prevent sunburn and once again avoid exposure to any skin irritants. Wear a high SPF sunscreen on any exposed skin. Protective eyewear in a must to prevent eye injury from irritants or sticks, stones and debris. In all seriousness, these are a few of the things that you really should wear when you're outside in your garden for your own safety. And perhaps don't leave coffee cups laying around outside either, we all have lessons to learn every day, and today this was mine. Happy Gardening!

Written and edited by Tammy 19h January 2023 There's nothing better than walking into a beautiful nursery full of fresh plants, but if you're a 'newbie' to the world of gardening it can be a bit daunting not knowing where to begin. So I'm going to give you a few tips that will be really helpful to you. Firstly, do a little bit of homework before you go, have a few notes jotted down in your phone or in a notebook about the part of your garden you're wanting to plant out. a) Is it a sunny or shady spot? and what percentage of the day is sunny or shady? b) Is your soil heavy black soil, sticky or hard clay or non-wetting sand? c) How much room do you actually have to work with? For example, 2 meters by 6 meters. You can even have a picture already drawn that you can pencil ideas into. Most garden centres are set out 'user friendly' with signage to point you to their different sections. there'll be designated areas for edibles such as fruit trees and vegetable seedlings, Australian natives, shade loving plants and more. Take your time and study the description on the back of the plant identification tags as you wander around amongst the plants. Look at the example I've included above for a strawberry plant, at the top you'll find the common name, the name that you will most likely be familiar with, and beneath this will be the botanical name, kind of like the scientific name. (We'll go a little bit more into depth on plant names another day). Beneath the name you'll find a detailed section about the requirements of the plant. It'll tell you if the plant needs full sun or shade, and how big it is going to grow. Just a tip though, don't take the height and width as gospel, it really is just a guide. In other words, in an ideal situation it could potentially reach...... With this information you might be able to have a go at working out how many of this particular plant you can fit comfortably within your space. The tag will also tell you if the plant needs to be kept moist and requires a lot of water, or if it's drought hardly and happy with minimal water. Some tags such as the strawberry one above, will even go into a bit more detail about, how to plant it, what type of soil it likes, and even what type of fertilizer to use and how often. You don't have to rush and walk out with hundreds of dollars' worth of plants that same day, take your time, take some photos of the plants you like and the back of the tags too, or if you prefer to write down the details on your notebook so you can make a few more decisions at home. And if you're really unsure, don't be afraid to approach the nursery staff, if you explain to them what you'd like to achieve and describe to them a bit more about you garden, the notes we discussed earlier, they should be able to help you. They are trained in this, it's what they do. (What I myself pride myself on being qualified to do 😜) So there we have it, I hope this has enlightened you a little as to how much information is right there within your reach next time you go to the nursery. Happy gardening.

Written and edited by Tammy 24th January 2023 Have you ever experienced the sheer bliss of eating a Plumcot? Sunday afternoon I popped out to my girlfriends' place for a coffee, she has the most beautiful gardens and a 'to die for' fruit orchard that's the envy of all. Standing out to the side in a section of ornamentals stood what I thought was any other Prunus ornamental plum.....but it wasn't. It was a Plumcot, a Plum x Apricot called Plumscrumptious and oh my goodness they taste divine! 'Plumscrumptious' is a product of Flemings Nurseries. They are an interspecific variety, meaning they are the end result of two different species of fruit trees being pollinated by hand, now that's kind of cool! This particular tree in my girlfriend's yard is about 6 years old and stands around 3 meters tall. Like most fruit trees there's no real advantage of letting them get any taller than that, as you can't reach the fruit anyway without messing around climbing up on ladders. You're just creating a feast for the birds. As you can see by the one in my hand that I promptly made short work of, they have a lovely deep rich cherry red coloured skin and similar coloured flesh. The flavour is something really quite special, it honestly has characteristics of both an apricot and a plum. Now unless you can be certain that there are plum trees close by in your neighbour's yard, you are going to need a companion tree for it as a pollinator. Flemmings recommend a Mariposa. Fruit trees are always best sourced and planted in the Winter months, which is known as 'Bare root season' when they are dormant (asleep). Most fruit trees with the exception of Citrus are deciduous. If you're thinking you'd love to own one of these wonderful little trees, it's a good idea to go into your nearest stockist and pop your name down on a waiting list for one now. Often these newer varieties of trees are in hot demand, so it avoids the disappointment of missing out. **Keep an eye on my posts or better yet subscribe to my website to be kept up to date as I'll go into a bit more detail about bare root season in the coming months as it gets closer. In conclusion, I think if you're planning an addition to your collection of fruit trees you most definitely will not be disappointed with one of these. Go and put your name down for a Plumcot today. Happy Gardening! 🪴🍑

Written and edited by Tammy 26th January 2023 I can't think of anything more fitting to share with you today on Australia Day than one of our best kept secret tourist attractions....' Big Red'. A sleepy little town just 15 minutes out of Naracoorte, called Kybybolite (or Kyby as we all know it) is home to the largest living River Red Gum Eucalyptus Camaldulensis in the South East of South Australia. It simply doesn't get more beautiful, iconic and Australian than that. From the strongest and longest standing fence posts to the stunning focal point slab kitchen benchtops, and the warmth thrown out of a winter nights warm wood fire, we can all relate to the Red Gum. The ABC together with Greening Australia ran a competition back in 1996 to create awareness of the importance of protecting our country's oldest majestic giants, and the dimensions of Big Red seen it take out the title of 'The largest living River Red Gum in the South East of South Australia. In 2008 the tree was measured again and found to be still growing strong at a whopping 42 meters tall with a circumference of 12.2 meters. Absolutely breath taking to stand beneath, this tree truly is a giant amongst the giants with neighbouring trees being of similar stature. A good wet year like we've just experienced, has seen its home the Mullinger Swamp full to the brim looking spectacular in itself, and consequently the replenished underground aquifer will see the trees deep roots quenched of thirst now for a while. The iconic 'Big Red' Mullinger Swamp by Tammy When you're out driving around our country roads next, take an extra couple of moments to stop and appreciate the beauty of the amazing big old trees. Honestly what is a few moments out of our busy lives when you put it back into perspective of the age of some of these trees. I hope Big Red is still around for my grand-children's children to appreciate. Happy Australia Day!🌳💚

Written and edited by Tammy 7th February 2023 Has anyone else noticed how amazing and glorious the Golden Elms throughout our region look right now? I couldn't help but notice quite a few of them around Mt Gambier on the weekend, there's an Avenue of them lining the main street of the Millicent township making it look an absolute picture, and of course home here around Naracoorte there's some stunners! I was lucky enough a couple of days ago to have a local lady allow me the privilege of sitting on a park bench beside her beneath her lovely big sprawling Golden Elm for a few moments just to appreciate the view. It was so hard not to get lost in moment looking up into the enchanted branches above. Ulmus glabra Lutescens Golden Elms are a deciduous ornamental. They lose all their leaves becoming dormant over the cooler months, allowing the winter sun to shine through, then the vibrant almost iridescent lime green leaves reappear in the Spring. Evident by their popularity, Golden Elms grow well here in our cool climate. They prefer a full sun to part shade position in a free draining soil and once established, their water requirements are low. They are by no means a small tree for the faint hearted, they can reach heights of up to 15 meters tall and 18 meters wide making for a beautiful big feature shade tree. If you're trying to decide on an attractive shade tree to plant this season and space isn't an issue, you really don't need to look much further than the Golden Elm. Add this one to your wish list. Happy Gardening!💚🌳💚🌳

Written and edited by Tammy 14th January 23 Happy Valentine's Day!❤️ for all the romantics out there. We can't go past a little splash of red, something special. Corymbia Ficifolia (formally Eucalyptus Ficifolia) Red Flowering Gum. When it comes to a wow factor for colour, the red flowering gum stands up to the vibrance of any red rose. They are an Australian Native, originating in WA. Attractive to the birds and bees, they are such an easy to please little tree, happiest in a well-drained sandy to sandy loam soil, in full sun. If time is on your side, and you're keen to have a go, they propagate easily enough and are fairly quick growing too, so consider having a go at germinating some seed yourself. Eye catching as a stand-alone feature tree like the one pictured here but imagine a driveway or avenue lined with them. Red flowering gums are a speccy little tree growing into a nice lollypop shape reaching around 10-12 meters tall by 4-5 meters wide and are just a mass of stunning red flowers throughout the warmer months. If you haven't noticed them already pause for a moment to appreciate their beauty next time you're out and about and see one. You can't say now that you didn't receive a dash of red sprinkled with love today. From me to you, Happy Valentine's Day❤️🌹❤️🌹

Written and edited by Tammy 20th February 2023 Enjoying the peace and tranquillity of a warm bath last night, I listened to the crickets chirping outside, then smiled to myself thinking of the movie "The Castle" and that famous line...."How's the serenity". I thought, they're having a wonderful old time out there, a thriving community of them, what do they eat and where do they hide when they're not entertaining me chirping their little hearts out. Black Field Crickets (Teleogryllus commodus) are closely related to grasshoppers and locusts. With their shiny black armour and powerful front legs, they are burrowers, making their homes under ground and consequently their primary source of food is the roots of your lawn. If yellow dead patches appear in your lawn, you could be suspicious of crickets. Opportunistic scavengers, newly planted veggie seedlings aren't exempt from their diet either, they'll chomp them off at the stems. Fortunately, they have a few natural predators that are probably there in your yard already too. Birds, lizards, possum's, mice and rats (not that you want mice and rats either) spiders and parasitic wasps all have crickets on their hit lists, so hopefully they'll be keeping on top of the numbers for you. You might even find you pets will seek them out, catch them and kill them purely for the thrill of the chase and entertainment. I'm always amused in the late afternoons taking the washing off the line, watching my little JR terrier hunt for them in the lawn, she loves it. When you hear them active at night it's probably as good a time as any to go out with a torch, find them and squish them. As a last resort if you are struggling with an infestation of them there are a couple of products you can try. "Yates Baythroid Insects in Lawns" comes in a 200ml concentrate and is probably a good one as it controls more than just crickets. Another product to look for, a granular comes in a 1 kg box "David Grays Cricket and Grasshopper killer Bait". Always make chemical intervention your last resort only after exhausting all other options and be sure to carefully use and apply the products as per the manufacturer's directions on the labels. Vigilance is always a virtue, keep an ear and an eye out for them, particularly in a few more weeks' time when those new seasons little Brassica seedlings go in. Have a wonderful Monday! 😘🌸🪴

Written and edited by Tammy 23nd February 2023 What a dazzler! The Carnival Red Pincushion Leucospermum hybrid. The vibrance is absolutely breath taking. Leucospermums are in the protea family, native to South Africa. A compact prolific flowering evergreen shrub that reaches around 1 to 1.5 meters high by equally as wide. They prefer an acidic, sandy to sandy loam free draining soil, and a full sun aspect. Once established their water requirements are low, and like our Australian natives they're sensitive to Phosphorus. Incorporating some aged animal manure or organic matter with your soil when planting them will be adequate nutrition initially and, down the track with subsequent feeds after flowering, make sure you use a native plant food as they are low in phosphorus. There's nothing much to pruning them, just routine deadheading to encourage more flowers, and just shaping the plant to your liking. Bring a few longer stemmed blooms inside for a vase, they make for beautiful long lasting cut flowers too. If you're limited for space, or you're a renter and planting one in the garden is not an option, don't despair, there's nothing wrong with growing one in a showy glazed pot. The advantage of that too is being in control of the soil and environment it's going into and, you can move it around to a different location in your yard. So there you have it, there's no excuse and no reason for you not to add a Leucospermum Pincushion to your wish list today. I hope you're keeping cool in this heat, don't forget to leave some accessible water out for the birds, bees and lizards too. Happy Gardening!😘🌸☀️

Written and edited by Tammy 9th March 2023 With the beautiful drop of rain, we've had in the last few days freshening everything up, clearly, it's not just me who appreciates it, snails do too. Within no time at all of a fresh shower of rain, snails appear out of nowhere. They're crawling up the colourbond fence, around the rim of your pots and making a beeline straight for the veggie patch, and... pretty much anything else they can get into. Nothing is off the menu! Snails tend to be nocturnal (unless it's raining) of course, so if you go outside with a torch at night, you'd find them actively moving around in the cool damp night air. They need moisture and humidity otherwise their bodies dry out, so throughout the day they remain hidden under a rock, piece of timber or anywhere out of view where they're not exposed to the threat of drying out. So, what do we do about them destroying everything in sight? The last thing we do is resort to chemical pesticides or insecticides. Start out with some cultural practices. Go out after dark with a torch and a bucket when they're active, collect as many as you can and drown them in some water with a bit of dish liquid if you're not upto squashing them. (I get a bit grossed out about squashing them too) Let the chooks and ducks out for a bit of time to free range, they'll do the hard yards for you! If it's not practical to do so, or you're not keen on letting them scratch up the garden, just throw the snails over the fence into the pen for them. Try putting out beer traps. If you don't have beer in your fridge, dissolve some vegemite in water, they love the yeast and are drawn to it. In the morning you'll be able to dispose of a heap of them in one go when you refresh the trap. You could also try putting some copper tape around the trunks of small trees and shrubs to prevent them climbing up and getting into the foliage. A scattering of crushed eggshells around the base of plants can aid in the same way. Both these options create a physical barrier that is unpleasant for them to crawl across. Don't forget the natural predators too. Snails make up part of the daily diet for some of our other welcomed wildlife, lizards and birds. Lastly, If the snail numbers really are out of hand and you need to resort chemical intervention, consider using a pet and wildlife safe option. Try the Multicrop product called Multiguard Snail and Slug Killer. Use it sparingly and sensibly according to the manufacturer's directions on the label. The food chain is a delicate balance, if we take one thing out altogether, something else will then either starve or potentially breed up to uncontainable numbers. It's about keeping everything in balance. Enjoy your gardens and have a wonderful weekend!😘🪴🌸

Written and edited by Tammy 27th March 2023. I was out at my girlfriends place a few weekends ago helping her harvest huge bounties of apples and pears from the trees in her orchard. As she is a junior primary school teacher, we were discussing her taking some apples in for the kids to each have a piece of home-grown fruit. From there we got onto the subject of teaching kids the difference between a piece of fruit and a vegetable, and then she showed me the most delightful little children's book that I couldn't help but share with you. The book by Author Jean Richards, first published in 2002 is called "A fruit is a suitcase for seeds". It's so cleverly written and insightful leaving you thinking, "wow I never thought about it like that before", and it's so relatable and easy to understand for a young child. (Well for me too!) Now my understanding has always been that edible plants that are purely foliage, stems, and roots, are a vegetable. Think spinach, carrots, celery, they all consist of roots, stems and foliage. And then I think of fruit as being the end product of a pollinated flower on any foliage plant, reaching maturity. Think of it as the protective encasement nurturing and growing seeds within. Wow this really IS a lesson on 'the birds and the bees' in more ways than one. 🤪🐝 The book goes on to explain and give examples of all types of scenarios such as strawberries being an exception wearing their seeds on the outside, and some fruits only having one seed, avocados or peaches, where others have many; think rock melons or pumpkin. It describes how clever seeds are having their own mode of transport to get around and populate the place. Some travel in the air, the water, washed away once gravity drops them to the ground, others travel in the tummy of an animal when an animal eats them, then the animal expels them somewhere else. All in all, I was impressed! Definitely a book worth having in your library to read to your kiddies or grandies. You can never read to them too much, and what better way can there be to inspire the next generation of gardeners and plant enthusiasts. Happy gardening! 😘🌸🪴