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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! 😘🌸🪴

Written and edited by Tammy Johnson 22nd Dec 22 With the warmer seasons now finally upon us our lawns spring back to life. You'll probably find yourself, like me, out there mowing your lawns weekly to keep up and maintain them looking in tip top shape. With the good rains we've had this season replenishing the deeper subsoil moisture my own lawns (pictured above) are looking the best they have in a long time. If you follow these steps, you'll have the best-looking lawn in the street guaranteed! Feed feed feed. Your lawn is using a lot of energy to keep growing at the pace it is so just like your teenage kids it's going to be hungry. Use a good balanced NPK fertiliser like the Brunnings green up. Apply it at the rates recommended on the product label and mark it on your Calander to apply it at least every three months. You can also top dress with organic compost or aged animal manure. Your microbes will love you for it. *Hint- just remember not to feed your lawns when it's over 30 degrees, wait for a cooler day, and water it in well. Mow regularly. Mowing your lawn regularly not only keeps it looking 'Mickey Mouse', but it will encourage continual fresh new growth and if there are any weeds, you'll catch them before they flower, dropping seed and replenishing the seed bank. Water. Finally water your lawns regularly and deep, particularly over the hot dry weather. Water in the cool of the morning to prevent moisture loss through evaporation in the heat of the day. You're far better off to water less frequently but for longer periods. A regular good, long, deep soak encourages the roots of your lawn to follow the water down and establish deeper as opposed to frequent short waterings where your roots will stay shallow making them more susceptible heat stress and just make for a less robust lawn all together. ultimately you want a good deep strong healthy root system on your lawn. And it's about as simple as that. Don't hesitate to message me if you have any queries. I'm always up for a chat. Happy gardening!

Written and edited by Tammy Johnson 18th December 2022. Following on from my first blog post about soil nutrition, I want to briefly touch on the other vital key component which is soil pH, and what the relevance of it is to your garden. What is soil pH? pH stands for 'potential of Hydrogen ions.' the H is always uppercase as hydrogen is a chemical element. Put simply, pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of soil. I won't get any more scientific than that, I'd rather keep this simple. Most plants are happy in a relatively neutral soil pH of between 6.6 and 7.3 (7 is neutral). Anything above 7.5 is considered Alkaline and will need Sulphur to bring it down - Sulphur is an acidifier. Anything below 6 is considered Acidic and Lime will be required to raise the pH - Lime has the ability to neutralise acidity. The problem is that when soil becomes too alkaline plants can't derive nutrients from the soil regardless of whether they are there or not. Any nutrients present will be 'locked up', bound to the soil particles essentially starving your plants. And when our soil is too acidic the Aluminium and Manganese in the soil become soluble allowing for too much uptake by your plants causing toxicity, essentially poisoning your plants. Both lime and sulphur are products you'll find readily available online and through most leading outlets, just use them at the recommended rates on the product labels. To test your soil pH is really very easy to do yourself. All you'll need is a 'soil testing kit'. A Manutec soil testing kit will be available through most leading outlets. I don't expect you to remember the 'nitty gritty' parts of this, even I have trouble remembering it, but I DO want you to take away this, the pH of your soil IS really important and needs to be right. I hope I haven't bamboozled you too much! Remember I'm always up for a chat so don't hesitate to message me. Happy Gardening 😘🪴