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The Riverside Leaf-letter May 2013

7715 Goulburn Valley Hwy, SheppartonSheppartonSheppartonShepparton 3631 Ph: 03 5823 1515 Fax: 03 5823 1919

Email: info@riversidegardens.com Website: www.riversidegardens.com ACN: 006 009 141 ABN: 25 978 184 126

Judged Best Medium Garden Centre of Victoria 2008, 2009 & 2010

Just arrived are a new selection of Bogs boots with some very unique and interesting colours to choose from. Also just in are more of our fabulous range of indoor decorator pots.

Our gift shop boasts a wide range of quality products. Whether it be a bar of scented soap, some delicious smelling wax melts, a pretty pot, practical gardening gloves, wall decor, footwear, scarves or furniture, we’ve got something for you to self indulge in or give as a gift.

We’re

more

than

just

plants

Plant of the Month—

Camellia Sasanqua Marge Miller by Simone

Labelled as a ‘long-lived and fantastic performer’, Marge Miller is the first ground cover sasanqua camellia to be bred in Australia. Discovered at Sydney University in 1978 as a result of a pollination demonstration, it was taken home by the gate keeper at the time and grown on by him. He in turn named the plant after his wife.

The highlights of this beautiful plant are the double pink flowers that appear for up to 2 months in autumn, which look lovely against the rich green background of glossy leaves.

When planting a Marge Miller camellia, choose an area with filtered sun or semi shade and well draining soil. Mulch the area well and keep up the water during a hot summer. Once established Marge Miller is cold tolerant.

Use this ornamental plant in locations such as a favourite display pot, a garden wall where it can cascade over the edge, or mass planted beneath your favourite specimen tree. Marge Miller will reach a height of 30cm and grow to a width of 1.5 metres. If you love camellias this plant is a must have for your garden.

Mother's Day

Sunday 12th May 2013

F r e e M i n i G o l f f o r Mums F r e e M i n i G o l f f o r Mums F r e e M i n i G o l f f o r Mums F r e e M i n i G o l f f o r Mums

A L L DAYALL DAYALL DAYALL DAY

H appy Mo the r ' s D ay

It’s Camellia Time by Larry

You may have noticed them starting to flower around your neighbourhood, bold green bushy plants covered in showy flowers. Camellias really make a statement in the garden at this time of year.

The first to flower are the Camellia sasanqua. Sasanqua do well in the full sun to part shade positions in the garden. They also lend themselves well to espalier, topiary and hedging and often have a less complex flower than other types of camellia but make up for it in quantity. With the main flowering from April onwards they really herald the beginning of winter.

The next variety to flower are the Camellia japonica and williamsii. These usually prefer a slightly more protected position from the hot afternoon sun and the majority bare beautifully full flowers. They are great screening plant, specimen plant and also look good as topiary.

Camellias are very hardy plants once established and require very little maintenance. They have few pests and don’t require much water except when they are forming their flower buds. Camellias do need the soil to be to their liking to perform to their best and this can easily be achieved by adjusting the ph to suit, digging through some compost before planting and mulching well to keep the soil cool and moist.

We have a great range of Camellias in the nursery at the moment and they

are looking exceptionally good this year. We also have further stocks of

japonica and williamsii arriving early May along with some beautiful

Rhododendrons, but that's another story .

Lloyd’s Produce

Store

Open 7 days a week 10am—4pm

The Windmill Cafe

&

Chocolate Shop

Open Mon—Fri

10am—4pm Sat—Sun

9am—5pm

Shepparton Motor

Museum

Open 7 days 10am—4pm

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Thankyou to those of you that have offered feed back on our ‘Leaf-letter’. We really appreciate your comments. If you have any topics you would like us to cover please let us know.

Did you know that all of our Leaf-letters are available to view on our website? Well they are, right back to the first one in June 2008. So, if you’re looking for a bit of information that you remember reading in our Leaf-letter, jump on to our website at www.riversidegardens.com and look for Archived Newsletters in the Main Menu.

Our Facebook page is updated regularly with new photos of plants from around the nursery and the local area. We have also found some inspirational sites to follow, some with great gardening pictures and ideas, others with interesting gardening stories. Even if you’re not on Facebook you can go to the following link and see our posts. www.facebook.com/RiversideGardensatEmeraldBank If you are on Facebook we’d love for you to ‘Like’ us.

Win Win Win

Here’s your chance to win a $50 voucher simply by answering the following question. The answer can be found in one of this month’s articles.

Question: What is the

name of the spice produced

from the Crocus plant?

Email your answer along with your name and phone number to info@riversidegardens.com by the 30th of the month. The winner will be notified and their name published in the next Leaf-letter.

Planning an outdoor wedding? Be sure to inspect our Wedding Lawn area at any time within our opening hours.

Check out our photo albums on our Facebook page

RiversideGardensatEmeraldBank

Trading Hours

9am—5pm 7 days a week

Mini Golf Prices

Adults $8.50 Children $6.00 Family $25.00 (two adults and two children

Under 16)

Last start for Mini Golf 4pm

And don’t forget, FREE GOLF for mum on MOTHER’S DAY

Monthly Voucher Winners

Our lucky ‘Sales’ voucher winner is

Anthony Best

Be sure your name is registered with us to have the chance to win a $50.00 gift voucher.

All accumulated sales of $150.00 for the month automatically go in the draw.

The other benefit of having your name registered with us is that your purchases are recorded and can be used as a reference. For example, if you ever

need to use a particular fungicide again or you need to be reminded of the name of a plant you’ve

purchased in the past.

This Month’s Special

Jane McGrath Roses

Purchase ONE Jane McGrath standard rose OR TWO Jane McGrath bush roses and receive a 500gr tub of Yates Acticote for

Roses, valued at $8.95 for FREE Just in time for Mother’s Day.

Offer only valid for potted roses and only while stocks last. Does not include bare

rooted stock.

Indigenous Australian Deciduous Trees by Rosalie

Following on from my article last month on Evergreen and Deciduous I commented on the fact that there are very few Australian native deciduous trees. Here’s the six that I could find information on.

Australian Red Cedar—Toona Ciliata Not one that you would plant in a regular house block garden as they can reach 35m high.

White Cedar—Melia azedarach var. australasica Fast growing habit, reaching a height of about 20m. White Cedar produces a yellow fruit which is poisonous to humans but birds seem to love them

Tanglefoot Beech—Nothofagus gunnii Native to Tasmania, the Tanglefoot Beech will get to about 5m in height.

Silky Oak—Grevillea robusta Semi-deciduous and loses its leaves before showing its blooms. Can grow up to 12m high

Illawarra Flame Tree—Brachychiton Acerifolius Not completely deciduous but sheds most of its foliage when the blooms appear.

Boab Tree—Adansonia gibbosa syn.Adonsonia gregorii

Boab trees store water inside their trunks during the dry season and then replenish themselves during the tropical wet season, losing their leaves at the same period starts to conserve energy.

MAY-taining Your Garden by Larry

It is a wonderful time of the year to get out in the garden with ideal weather, softer ground and plenty to keep you occupied. It’s a great time to plant out plants so that they can establish their root systems and adapt to their new surroundings ready for spring growth.

There are also a number of plants that come into their prime, now and over the coming months, like grevilleas, azaleas, rhododendrons, nandinas and camellias. So keep an eye out for them on your next visit to the garden centre and see them in colour, it is a lot easier to make your choice seeing them in the flesh than looking at pictures on labels.

Now is the time to be planting your winter/spring flowering seedlings and bulbs. Things like nemesia, ornamental kale, daffodils and ranunculus should all be planted now while there is still some warmth in the ground.

Get the kids to help rake up the autumn leaves and then have a leaf fight and do it all over again.

Dig over the vegie garden, freshen it up and plant out your winter vegies.

Apply “Seamungus” to the garden around the more frost sensitive plants to help toughen them up for winter and spray your frost tender plants with “Envy” at the first hint of a frost or cover them with frost cloth.

But, most importantly, make the time to sit back, relax and enjoy the ambiance you have created in your own back yard.

Be sure to visit the Kids Market to be held at Emerald Bank Adventure Park on Saturday 4th May, 2013 from 9am—3pm. Special appearances by Dora the Explorer and Timmy the Sheep.

For more info check out our website at www.riversidegardens.com and click on the Current Events and Expos tab or for all the information about what's happening at Emerald Bank Leisureland check out the Emerald Bank website at www.emeraldbank.net.au

Rodney has successfully grown this Crocus at home. The style of the Crocus is ‘Saffron’, and yes, it is the worlds most expensive spice. The three stigmas are hand picked from each flower. It requires about 4,000 stigmas for 25gm of saffron.

Rod planted a seedling size Crocus about 2 years ago. He was surprised with his success as he neglected it over the summer months, probably watering it about 3 times in total. It was in a pot where it would get sun from about 3pm onwards. Once he saw a tiny bit of green growth he then began to nurture the plant and was rewarded with this superb flower and its magnificent styles of ‘Saffron’.

Planting Up An Annual Garden by Simone

Now is the ideal time to plant up an annual display in your garden. Choose a nice pot to plant into or dedicate a position in your garden where you can enjoy looking at from inside.

To get the best results from your plants always use a premium potting mix, for pots we recommend Debco Pot Power. For garden beds, remove and weed the area then turn the soil over with a shovel incorporating compost. For this area we recommend the organic Naked Farmer Soil Activator, which will help improve the condition of the soil.

With all the preparation complete, now comes the choice of what to plant. Seedlings already grown on can be purchased in punnets and planted straight into position. If you are unfamiliar with the plant always read the growers recommendations or ask the nursery staff for advice.

Annuals that like a full sun position are: Primula, pansy, viola, alyssum, calendula, foxglove, lobelia, stocks, polyanthus, kale, nemesia and hollyhocks.

Semi- shade position: Primula, pansy, viola, foxglove, lobelia and polyanthus.

Shady position: Cyclamen, primula, viola, lobelia, cineraria and polyanthus. Hanging Basket plants: Lobelia, spreading pansies and violas, cineraria and nemesia.

Combinations of plants can also look good such as planting a white alyssum as a front border and colourful pansies behind looks great. For pots try a blue lobelia that will cascade over the edge, with some perfumed dwarf stock.

Winter time in your garden doesn’t need to be dull when you can brighten up your outdoor area with living colour.

Tatura Garden Club

Seminar June 5th 2013

Commencing at 10am

Morning session

Lambley Nursery—Perennials

Afternoon session

Julie Brooksby—Horticulturist

Tickets $30 Contact Marlene Miles 5826 2141

Michelia by Deyon

Michelia’s are a group of evergreen shrubs and small trees related to the Magnolia family and are native to southeast Asia. They are prized for their beautifully scented flowers that waft scent through the garden, especially at night. They will grow in full sun positions as well as partly shaded areas of the garden. Michelia’s are quite versatile, making excellent filler shrubs as well as screens and potted features specimens.

Here are few varieties to consider -

‘Coco’ – A hardy evergreen shrub producing sweetly scented creamy flowers. Looks great in a pot and will also take a semi-shaded spot around established trees.

Crocus sativus

‘Port Wine Magnolia’ – Bushy evergreen shrub with a variety of uses. This plant looks equally good in a pot as it does in the garden. Features sweetly scented small flowers that are most pungent in the evening. Glossy bright green leaves are another attraction.

‘Mixed Up Miss’ – A hybrid form of the Port Wine Magnolia, this is a large shrub or small tree. Large white flowers with purple-pink tips and a banana like perfume appear in spring.

Lady of the Night – A variety of the ‘Port Wine Magnolia’ that features larger flowers and leaves. Highly scented and produced in spring, summer and autumn, the flowers are cream colored with magenta markings. Like the original, it forms a bushy evergreen shrub, but slightly taller at 4m.

‘Fairy Blush’ – Called the ‘Fairy Magnolia’, this evergreen plant produces blushed lilac- pink blooms. Very versatile, Fairy Blush is a great potted specimen and can be used as a screen plant or espalier. Also available as a standard. Makes a great gift too.