PLANT OF THE MONTH - Grevillea 'Ivory Whip' Grafted

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Grevillea 'Ivory Whip' is a great compact easy to grow grafted shrub, 1.5m h x 1.5m w, with a  spreading habit which makes it a great addition to most gardens.

It has very attractive foliage, and the white flowers with a subtle tinge of pink are on display for most of the year. For best results occasional tip pruning will help to maintain its stunning form and continue to encourage prolific flowering.

Grevilleas are intolerant of high levels of phosphorus so we recommend the use of Troforte All Purpose fertiliser, which will ensure your plants receive the correct balance of nutrients required for development.

STRAWBERRY TOWER

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Hey kids, why not create a colourful strawberry tower which in a very short time will be dripping with delicious berries.

Here´s what you´ll need:

  • Three different sand buckets (in descending sizes  and in different colours)
  • One bag of Plants Plus or Earthcore Potting Mix
  • Between six and ten strawberry plants (depending on the size of your buckets)
  • Kids Garden Gloves
  • An Earthcore Trowel and Fork

When choosing your strawberries look for the following varieties:

Strawberry ´Delight´ Sweet medium sized fruit and pretty pink flowers
Strawberry ´Hokowase´ Large sweet fruit early in the season
Strawberry ´Lowanna´ Large fruit over a long season. Bred for Aussie conditions.
Strawberry ´Supreme´ Sweet, firm fruit early in the season. Higher in Vitamin C than other varieties.
Strawberry ´Red Gauntlett´ Large sweet fruit. A popular commercial variety
Strawberry ´Tioga´ Medium sized fruit with a classic strawberry flavour

1. Ask an adult to help you drill holes in the bottom of your buckets for drainage.

2. Half fill the largest bucket with potting mix and place the middle size bucket on top.

3. Plant the bottom bucket with strawberries, topping up the sides with potting mix as you go, so that there is a ring of strawberries around the middle bucket.

4. Now fill the middle bucket roughly half way with potting mix and place the smallest bucket on top.

5. Repeat step 2, only this time plant a ring of strawberries in the middle bucket.

6. Finally, fill the smallest top bucket almost to the top with potting mix and plant it out with strawberries.

7. Place your strawberry tower in the sun. Water and liquid feed regularly and you´ll be rewarded with a cascading tower of strawberries, so sweet that you can eat them straight off the bush!

 

MEMORIES OF MUM’S GARDEN

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Mother’s Day in May always takes our thoughts back to childhood and the way life was – the food we ate, the holidays we enjoyed, the family outings. The garden, too, holds a special place in our childhood memories and the plants our mothers grew and loved will always stay in our minds.

We’ll all have different memories, but maybe this year, we should try and remember what plant was special for our Mum and see if we can find one for her. Mum’s always love whatever their children give them, so if you can’t find the one you want, I’m sure she’d still welcome acyclamen, orchid, African violet, a pot of pansies, a lemon or camellia tree or a passionfruit vine.

Remember plants will last a lot longer than a bunch of flowers.