Garden Summer 2012
28 Jan 2012 2 Comments
in 4. Seasonal Garden Notes Tags: My garden, Taro Plants, White Hibiscus, Yesterday Today Tomorrow
We have eventually summery kind of summer. In the last few days, the temperatures are constantly hot over 30 deg. C. Few days ago, I transplanted two bushes: Escalonia and Loropetalum chinense. They grew much too close together to the red flower carpet rose bush. The Loropetalum seems to survive but the Escalonia is completely dry. I don’t like this plant very much anyway, so I am thinking about pulling it out and replace it with another plant. Yesterday I went to the market trying to find a replacement plant.
Yesterday Today Tomorrow - Brunfelsia australis
In the market I saw an unusual plant. I did not think I had seen it before. I asked the seller the name, and when he told me that it was ‘Yesterday Today Tommorow’….. I thought he was just kidding. He told me with his thick Italian accent that when the flowers opened the first time it was purple, the next day would change colour to light blue and the next day again it would be white. He said the plant could be grown in a full sun position.
When I got home, I googled Yesterday Today Tomorrow…. and the jolly old fellow was not kidding. The botanic name is Brunfelsia and the other common name is ‘Kiss Me Quick’. In Australia, this tropical plant is very suitable for Queensland and New South Wales. In Melbourne and South Australia will need to be kept away from frost. It is best to avoid hot afternoon sun. I am not very sure what to do now, to replace the Escalonia, it will be in the open space in the front yard. It can be quite frosty in the winter and also it will get hot afternoon sun. I am thinking of growing my Yesterday Today Tomorrow somewhere else.
What else are happening this summer? Oh yes, my white hibiscus is flowering for the first time. I have grown it for few years and it was struggling under the shade of next door loquat tree. The flowers are single petalled, pure white with maroon red stamen and anthers….. and the soft sweet fragrance is lovely. I am really glad it is doing alright now. White perfumed hibiscus is pretty rare.
Last year our friend in Coburg gave us some taro bulbs (note: Indonesian is talas/tales) from her garden. They were ready to cook, but instead we sticked them in our garden to grow. Now they are growing lusciously and so far have multiplied quickly. Can’t wait till they are ready to harvest…. then I can cook Chinese taro cake. Yum!
Fragrant White Hibiscus
What else did I do lately? Other than repotting and dividing the last Cymbidium, I also repotted both water lilies, the pink and the yellow one. The pink variety is not as prolific as the yellow one. The yellow one flowers continuously one after another. All the gold fishes are doing alright. From all the babies that they have, there are only six survive to maturity. Three of them orange with pink spots and the other three are black. None of our friends want to have the baby goldfish, even if they are for free. We don’t really know what to do with them.
Taro Plants
Our old and tired looking garden bench looks like new again after it had a new coat of paint. Now we have moved it to the front garden for the birds to perch on….
It has been dried for more than a week and hopefully will really rain tomorrow like it has been forcasted.
Happy Gardening!
Fish Tub & Yellow Water Lily
Repainted Garden Bench
Feb 08, 2012 @ 07:55:01
The fish tub you made is gorgeous: what a clever thing to do with a pottery urn. How do you grow the water lilies ie. do you buy them first?
Feb 08, 2012 @ 10:08:05
Thank you:)….. Yes we bought the water lily, already grown in a pot. We just plunged it, pot and all, into the water.
The water lily leaves have to float on the water surface, so if it is too deep just adjust it by using a piece of brick or two underneath the pot. It depends on the size of the container, but you can choose different sizes of water lilies. Smaller species are more suitable to be grown in containers.
After about 2 years, repotting is needed by using heavy/clay soil with small pebbles on the top to stop the soil from running out. The water lily also needs some special fertilizer tablets once a year during the growing season to make them flower. Plenty of sunlight is needed to flower well.