It always amazes me that one should be looking forward to winter. Autumn has arrived in Western Australia and it's rained a little too - perhaps about 23mm (about 1 inch) in the last few weeks. Being born in the Northern Hemisphere, I used to look forward to the end of the winter.
Garden Week 2000 will be held in Kings Park, a park in the City of Perth close by the Swan River, from Tuesday April 4 to Sunday April 9. This is the highlight of the gardening year in Perth and a must for all gardeners.
Cooler days mean it will be a pleasure to be out and about enjoying those gardening activities.
The local garden centre recommends it is a good time to plant azaleas and camellias. A variety that has just been released Australia wide, Sasanqua Camellia, is a new type of ground cover or spreading shrub.
The Sasanqua is useful as a ground cover or border plant. It can also be grown in a hanging basket. It grows to 60 cm (24 inches) and about 1 metre in width (3.3 feet). The plant will grow in the sun or in the shade and has a long flowering season.
I am always looking for something like this that can be planted on a slope or a large open area. We have such a large block to fill. There are plenty of azalea species that we can use also. These days it is possible to buy azaleas that will flower in areas from shade to full sun.
Some people suggest that bulbs be planted around about this time. It is better to wait until April, when it is a little cooler. Pots full of bulbs will look terrific in the spring. It perhaps is traditional that hyacinths, daffodils, jonquils, are favoured for container planting. However, any species of bulb would look well in a pot as long as the pot is placed in a good position.
Last year we didn't have much luck with planting the bulbs in the garden. So, we have decided that it will be as well to try planting bulbs in a series of pots around our rather large veranda.
I understand that there are special-potting mixes manufactured specifically for bulbs. It would be a good idea to ask your local garden centre what is the best type for any particular bulb species.
Certainly olives are the flavour of the month as far as fruit are concerned. The one we planted earlier in the year, an Olea europaea, has flowered and has a small amount of fruit on its branches. We are looking forward to the time we can use the olives for pickling. Having looked after the tree pretty well during the long hot summer, it appears to be in good health, now is the time to feed well with citrus fertiliser. I don't think that there will be much harvesting of fruit this year. Nevertheless, it is pleasing to have another fruit tree, instead of relying on the shop bought fruit all the time.
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