Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show

Landscaping Ideas From The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show

It is always interesting to look at the ideas of others when it comes to gardens. The Melbourne International Flower and garden show is a good place to start (especially if you can't get to the big one in Chelsea)

The first garden we will look at is -  Japan - Easy  by the students at Chisholm Institute featured a bamboo water feature (Shishi Odoshi) along with bamboo fence panels. The sand and rock pavers are a simple solution. Acacia cognata is an interesting addition and a good solution.

The second garden is Grey To Green, this one by the students at Swinburne Institute of TAFE. It examines the concept of making use of our under utilised spaces with clever reference to the iconic 'Skipping Girl'. The tree in the background is a Cloud Pruned Luma apiculata, adding shape and form to the garden.

More information on the Flower Show on the Web Site.

New Plant Catalogues

It is that time of the year when the new plant catalogues are coming thick and fast. The latest is from Lynns Rare Plants and she indeed has some really rare plants. For orchid lovers why not have a look at the Cypripedium (see picture right).

Also worth a look are some of the garden gifts she has. We like the copper plant labels, they look great in the garden.
You can check them out at www.lynnsrareplants.com.au

And talking about rare plants you may be interested in the Google Plus Forum on Rare and Interesting Plants

New Rose Releases for 2013

Every year new release roses come onto the market and one of the first for 2013 is LITTLE SUNSET a miniature rose released by Treloar Roses. 
A fabulous patio rose that produces spectacular clusters for yellow blooms with red outer petals. 
A neat and compact growth habit, growing to an average height and width of 40cm is further enhanced by glossy green foliage making this a ideal choice for pots. 
A Silver Medal winner at the 2012 National Rose Trials proves this is one of the best disease resistant miniatures we have come across. 

Treloars also have a number of other new releases along with a great range of Kordes Climbing Roses, all available from May 2013.

New Plant Catalogue from Hillview Rare Plants

The first new plant catalogue for 2013 is now out, this one is from Marcus Harvey at Hillview Rare Plants. 

Pictured right is Iris reticulata "Alida"  light blue flowers marked with pale lemon blotches on the falls. A wonderful iris for the garden, or for growing in containers.

See www.nurseriesonline.com.au for details.

New Plant Catalogues

If you are interested in NEW plant catalogues, stay tuned. We have new lists from Marcus Harvey (Hillview Rare Plants), Shirley and Jane Tonkin (Tonkins Bulbs) and Clover Hill Rare Plants (David Kennedy) all coming soon. Seehttp://www.nurseriesonline.com.au/ for details later this week. 

New Dahlia Catalogue Released.

Jenny Parish is without doubt Australia's number one Dahlia grower. Her new catalogue is now out, with literally 100s of dahlias in every classification to choose from.
Every year Jenny comes up with a number of  new releases and this year is no exception. 


Go to the Country Dahlias catalogue 

Daphne - A look some 'different' Daphne species

Its Daphne time, but we hear you say, thats not a picture of a daphne, they have flowers that are all red and pink not green and yellow. Well what we have here is Daphne pontica, and to tell the truth it's not flowering now anyway, this one flowers in late spring to summer.

Daphne pontica is just one of the many species of daphne, difficult to find, but worth looking for. We provide a look at a few others including the well known D.odora as well as D.cneorum. You can find them through the links on our Daphne Page.

And if you you like you can visit Don Teese at Yamina Collectors Nursery for a look at a few more. And yes Dons Nursery was called Yamina  Rare Plants but now it is Yamina Collectors Nursery.

And daphne that we are trying to get to flower is D.oleoides it is a white flowering species, and it likes sun.  We will keep you posted on that little adventure......