DFB's Gardening Thread

[DFB5.0]

Convolvulus sabatius, pronounced "Con-vol-vew-lus", an oldie but a goodie that is in full flower at the moment.

The above is the original cultivar that is generally a well-priced low spreading groundcover. The flowers close up at night, reopening when the light reappears in the morning.

We only occasionally stock the original variety, preferring to offer the newer versions from PGA. These have the same shaped flower but a slightly larger leaf and more variation in colour selection. The newer cultivars also seem to be denser and less "gappy" in growth habit.

'Purple Moon' and 'New Blue Moon' for instance are much deeper in colour -

https://www.pga.com.au/Plants/Plant.cshtml?plant_id=3669
https://www.pga.com.au/Plants/Plant.cshtml?plant_id=3245

'Artic Moon' is pure white -

https://www.pga.com.au/Plants/Plant.cshtml?plant_id=3670

There is also the dual colour 'Two Moons' -

https://www.pga.com.au/Plants/Plant.cshtml?plant_id=2577

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[DFB5.0]

Another oldie, 'Cécile Brünner' rose that is in full flight at the moment.

This particular example would be at least 40 to 50 years old. I've hacked it back to stubs a few times over the last 15 years, each time it laughs and comes back stronger than ever.

Being a much more vigorous variety that certainly needs a special position in the garden, we don't sell many of these anymore.............that is if we can find someone growing them for wholesale.

 

[Balr14]

Summer is over around here. It has been an odd year for growing things, especially tomatoes and vegetables. We had a lot of smoke from the wildfires in Canada that really retarded plant growth. In a normal year, I would have been done with my tomatoes and vegetables by early September. But this year, I just finished with everything just a few days ago... except lettuce, that's still growing.

I really enjoy growing stuff, but the season is fairly short in Wisconsin. So, I'm kind of sad this time of year and really envious of your beautiful plants! Most of them would not do well here.

 

[DFB5.0]

Summer is over around here. It has been an odd year for growing things, especially tomatoes and vegetables. We had a lot of smoke from the wildfires in Canada that really retarded plant growth. In a normal year, I would have been done with my tomatoes and vegetables by early September. But this year, I just finished with everything just a few days ago... except lettuce, that's still growing.

I really enjoy growing stuff, but the season is fairly short in Wisconsin. So, I'm kind of sad this time of year and really envious of your beautiful plants! Most of them would not do well here.

The general consensus is that some years are better than others with regard to tomoto growing. From what I can gather, the level of heat, rain, and sunshine play a big part in how productive they are each season.

We also have a huge problem with Fruit Fly, which had gradually worked its way south over the last 10 years. These things lay their larvae inside soft skinned fruit, which then turn into grubs and ruin otherwise healthy-looking fruit. Tomato's, Chili's, Citrus, Apples, Pears and stone fruit are all affected.

I actually live in a fruit growing region, most of the country's apples, pears and stone fruit are grown in my area. For the most part, the orchards keep on top of Fruit Fly, but its now such a problem that home gardeners need extensive counter measures to ensure they get a clean crop of any fruit or vegetables.

 

[DFB5.0]

Every year it's always "oh, we'll fit them all in".............not this year. Surplus trees are being housed in our holding bays out back...............

When you consider how much of the nursery is dedicated to advanced deciduous trees, that's saying something. And that's not all of them, there is about another 50 odd trees to go in there yet. A combination of slower winter sales plus ordering as much as we could is the cause.

In reality, these trees will probably grow and fill out better than the stock crammed into the nursery.

Two months later...................

Can't believe its been two months! If it wasn't for the hot-cold-hot-cold-hot we have had over the last two months, these would likely have been further along than this.

 

[DFB5.0]

Dahlia "Dalina Tampico", looking irresistible in the nursery today.

This is a compact variety of Dahlia, only growing 40cm high and 40cm wide. It will flower from late spring to autumn and best grown in full sun. I just love how tightly arranged the petals are, not to mention the variegated coloring.

 

[Balr14]

Beautiful! I'll have to remember that name to see if they are available around here and can be grown in colder climates.

Edit: I just found out they attract hummingbirds and butterflies. My wife will love that. She has been trying to attract more hummingbirds for years.

 

[DFB5.0]

Jack of all trades........................

Christmas gift wrapping in full swing, those ribbon and bows all made by me.

 

[DFB5.0]

My first attempt at a Terrarium.....................

 

[Balr14]

I'm curious as to the size and if you put anything like worms or snails in it?

 

[DFB5.0]

I'm curious as to the size and if you put anything like worms or snails in it?

The glass jar is about 13-inches high, 8-inches wide. Apart from the plants, the very bottom of the jar has a layer of charcoal, with premium potting mix on top.

 

[Balr14]

The glass jar is about 13-inches high, 8-inches wide. Apart from the plants, the very bottom of the jar has a layer of charcoal, with premium potting mix on top.

Thanks, I really like it. My mother had one, it was just an old fish tank... didn't have the same viewing impact. But, it lasted for years. I think she had a couple earth worms in it. But, she was over 90 and said things that may not be true.

 

[DFB5.0]

The Victa Commercial 21 performed leaf vac duties today..............

Grass has basically stopped, just tipping light regrowth now. The above is the last Ornamental Pear I have to deal with these days. I once had four properties with a combined 30 Pear trees to clean up every Autumn. Thankfully, they all dropped at different rates, so it spread out my workload across the season, with the last of them holding right up until the start of Winter. Would have carted billions of the things to the green waste every year......................

And no, I didn't set fire to them....................

I did two full loads that day, luckily the green waste tip was only a 3-minute drive from that particular property. Try doing that is a dual cab model.......................

Back to today, despite appearances, the below image is before I started cutting. The technique I use is to blow all of the leaves onto the lawn, in the process clearing a path around the perimeter to avoid the mower blowing leaves onto the pavement. I then get to it...............

After the initial cut.....................

From there, most would be happy, but I then go around with the blower again and re-cut the area to suck up any remaining leaves. With so many more leaves yet to fall, it's probably a waste of time, but I have high standards!

For leaf vacuuming, I would normally be using my Rover ProCut 560 or a 2-stroke Victa for this role, the Rover for its full width chute and massive catcher, the Victa 2-stroke for its sheer power. The Victa Commercial 21 with its partial chute did surprisingly well in this case, the engine barely raising a sweat.

I wish I bought this mower years ago!

 

[DFB5.0]

The start of the winter bare root season this year has been slower than usual. The first delivery from Flemings's arrived at 7am yesterday, of which 600 assorted ornamental and fruiting trees were sorted, labeled, orders pulled and then lined up and buried in sand. A process that took just on 8 hours to complete.

Circa 9am.......................

Eight hours later.....................

A number of varieties were not sent in that initial Fleming's delivery, so there will be a couple of follow up deliveries to follow. The majority of our fruit tree assortment will arrive next week from a secondary supplier. Roses and our yearly allocation of citrus trees typically arrive late June or early July.

 

[Skye]

Read the following article and became aware of the topic this AM.

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...itish-bamboo-crisis-invaded-my-beautiful-home

In the US, we have certain plants considered invasive or hard to remove. I never considered bamboo as being one of those. In general, there are two broad groups: clumpers and runners. While clumpers are considered safe, runners can create extensive damage and problems over the long term.

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