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April in the Garden in western Australia

© John Bottomley

At last, it rained yesterday and last night. Apparently in certain parts of the city there were large falls, but here in the hills, little rain fell, but there was enough to say we had some rainfall. However, soils are still a little too dry for a lot of planting, so don't forget to keep the hoses handy. It is better to water the plants you decide to plant out; plants that have spent a lot of time in the nursery do not take kindly to being placed in dry locations. In my own garden, having spent some time in March filling up my sandy, gravelly area with a mulch of dead leaves and woodchips, I believe it will be a good idea to plan what sort of shrubbery I am going to plant there. There are already a few native bushes and the area gets such a lot of sun during the day, it is difficult to see me planting anything other than hardy native bushes. At least I will have removed all the weeds in this area and I will be able to plant out the bushes without too much trouble. There is some shade in this area so I will be planting shrubs like Darwinia oxylepis, which has the common name of Mountain Bell. It is an erect shrub with a lot of bright red bells from winter to spring. The Leschenaultia species, which, like all this family, has the common name of Leschenaultia, are spreading small shrubs, with masses of blue, red or orange flowers. Another shrub worth considering is one by the name of Serruria florida or 'Blushing Bride'; this has the capacity to flower over several months. It is a low shrub that grows to about 1 metre (3 feet) in height and grows perfectly well in the open; in a well-drained position it should reach maturity in three years. Flowering begins in the second season and the plants eventually carry up to 300 blooms on long and slender stems. Those of us who like to pick flowers for the house will find that these flowers are ideal for that purpose and have papery petals, cream in colour with a slightly pink blush around a white centre. White buds appear in April and the flowers should be around until September. It is recommended to prune the Serruria species about 1/3rd back after the plant has flowered.