Last Friday I was honoured to speak at the University of Essex in support of The Beth Chatto Education Trust, of which I am a patron. My brief, to talk about the importance of education in horticulture, was an easy one to meet and that much more relevant with the Trust firmly up and running. […]
Pycnosorus Globosus 'Billy Buttons' - 15+ seedsBrighten your garden with these super colorful and fun Billy Buttons, an easily grown Australian native flower ball that looks great in any garden and will continue to please in floral arrangements and as a dried flower. Each of our Billy Button plants produce at least 150 flowers per year. Billy Buttons flower most seasons of the year. They are incredibly frost and drought tolerant. The plants are easily dividable and are fast growers from seed. Seed Starting Method Raise seedlings and plant out Sowing Depth 4mm Growing Season Spring & Summer Germination Time 7-21 days at around 8-22c Hardiness Hardy Perennial Plant Spacing 40cm Plant Height 100cm-120cm Planting Position Partial or full sun, moist well manured soil Days Until Maturity 200 days Growing tips WIll thrive in just about any conditions including boggy or dry soil. Ours do particularly well when given plenty of water. A highly tolerant plant.
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What's flowering in February? February is a bridge between seasons, with availability of some late summer flowers as well as some early autumn blooms. The first thing I notice as a grower is that the Protea Pink Ice begin to bloom again in larger numbers. They look fresh and clean as their autumn flush begins towards the end of February. Protea Pink Ice available in good quantities in February They are a great flower adding colour with their pink outer bracts and purple centres, but also providing highlights with their icy white tips which catch the light when used in bouquets. Banksia Occidentalis Banksia Occidentalis begins to flower in late summer. It is at its best when the days are still long and full of sunshine to intensify the colour while the flowers are on the bush. I grow 2 different colour types. The one pictured above is a rich pinky red with a red central core and red pins. Not pictured are a more orangey red which have a warm yellow central core with rich red pins, that gives the flower a warmer look overall. Banksia Occidentalis They're a great long-lasting flower providing intense colour and fabulous texture. February Bouquet by Swallows Nest Farm This February bouquet teamed Protea Pink Ice and Banksia Occidentalis in a texture rich Australian Native design. I used a lovely light pink shade of Corymbia Ficifolia, a summer flowering gum that comes in many shades. It is available in Summer over a period of a couple of months, depending on weather conditions. I also used the Corymbia gum nuts, still green from the previous years flowering. Bouquets for a February Wedding by Swallows Nest Farm You can also see late flowering Pincushions called Leucospermum Fountain. In the mix is some red Kangaroo Paw, and new season Leucadendron Safari Sunset which are beginning to be available in small numbers in February. Clockwise from left: Leucospermum (Pincushion) Fountain, Risdon Peppermint Foliage, Leucadendron Silvan Red, Banksia Occindentalis, Protea Pink Ice This collection of flowers are all available and looking great in February. Leucospermum (Pincushion) Fountain The Pincushion, L. Fountain are a great late flowering variety that start to bloom around Christmas and keep going until February and even March. When they first begin to flower they are a lighter apricot orange. As the flowers age they deepen in colour to a pinky red in the centre with rich orange "pins". February Wedding by Swallows Nest Farm This February bride's bouquet uses Pink Ice Proteas, Fountain Pincushions, Brunia Albiflora and rich pink Kangaroo Paw called Bush Pearl. Peachy February Bouquet by Swallows Nest Farm This peachy bouquet from February uses the same main flowers - Protea Pink Ice and Fountain Pincushions, but in a different style. I grouped the Pincushions together for that intense peachy colouring to be the main focus. Peachy February Bouquet by Swallows Nest Farm The foliage used is a gorgeous eucalyptus called E. Crenulata. It has lovely blue green foliage with a purple tinge to the tips. Its the details that make a great bouquet, and in these I used blackberries. Blackberries are a great colour in February before they start to ripen, and they are the epitome of "local" and "seasonal" in late summer in Tasmania. Leucadendron Silver Tree Also available in February is Leucadendron Argenteum, called Silver Tree. It has the most shimmering, silvery texture to the leaves and it just perfect in bouquets. Brunia Albiflora Brunia Albiflora is available in large quantities in February. It has a lovely textural effect in bouquets with its glowing balls in neutral tones. Great in silvery, leafy designs but equally brilliant in colourful bouquets where it adds textural depth. Protea Varieties Clockwise from top left: Protea Pink Cream, Protea White Ice, Protea Compacta Red At Swallows Nest Farm, we grow a range of protea varieties, many of which flower in late summer and autumn. The Protea Compacta are a rich pink, with warm red centres. The Protea White Ice are a creamy protea with a blush centre. Cascading Bouquet from a February Wedding In this cascading bouquet from a February wedding, you can see both Protea Compacta Red and Protea White Ice used. Brunia Albiflora also features, with some hot pink flowering gum, Banksia Marginata, and Protea Pink Ice. Protea Pink Cream Protea Pink Cream are a soft pink protea with a central mass that is creamy and pointed. They are available in late autumn and winter in larger quantities but will sometimes begin flowering in February. Clockwise from left: Wattle, Corymbia Ficifolia in soft pink, Eucalyptus Crenulata Beautiful Eucalyptus Crenulata foliage, soft pink flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia) and flowering wattle - beautiful Australian pastels all available in February. Corymbia Ficifolia - flowering gum in hot pink Corymbia Ficifolia is the botanical name for what is commonly called flowering gum or Red Flowering Gum. It has been reclassified and is no longer part of the Eucalyptus family. Despite its name, it flowers in a range of colours from white through a the shades of pink and orange and red. It is a stunning colour and texture flower for use in February. Floral Hair Comb from a February wedding Corymbia Ficifolia features in this floral comb for a February bride. I used some flowering tea tree, wax flower and a gorgeous soft shade of pink flowering gum. Simple and stunning Colourful February Bouquet This colourful bouquet from a February wedding used 3 different shades of pink flowering gum as the main flower. Also in this bouquet is a Protea Pink Cream, a Pincushion Fountain some yellow Leucadendron Pisa with its silvery white central cone, and some olive green Pittosporum berries. Branches of flowering wattle are also used. February Leuacdendrons - L. Maui Sunset left, L. Pisa right Leucadendrons available in February include Leucadendron Pisa, a leuco which flowers yellow in spring. Its central cone then grows and swells, becoming a beautiful silvery white centre, often with a purple blush. The outer bracts turn from yellow to a yellowy lime in February. They look great in bouquets and boutonnieres too. Maui Sunset is a more sage coloured leuco with a pink tinge to the tips. Banksia Baxteri Beautiful Banksia Baxteri is available in February. It is a summer flowering banksia with a creamy lemon colouring with silvery highlights. It is commonly called the Birdsnest Banksia due to it's shape. The leaves of Banksia Baxteri are wonderful too, with a striking zig zag shape. February Bouquet in rich colours This February bouquet used Banksia Baxteri as its main flower. Richly colour Banksia Occidentalis also feature, and you can see Brunia Albiflora too. I loved using a beautiful native Coral Fern here too. The fronds soften the edge of the bouquet. It can be tricky to predict what will flower when, especially when you factor in the weather. Because February marks the end of summer and beginning of autumn, it can be more difficult to predict but on the whole, the flowers pictured here are end of summer blooms. If you have any queries about February flowers, just contact Grace via the blogger contact form on the right side-bar.
The Chelsea chop is a method of pruning perennials used to delay or extend the flowering season, but can you simply chop all your perennials and get these results? Some plants benefit greatly from this method, while others suffer or it isn’t conducive to their growing habit. Join organic farmer Jenna Rich as she goes through 15 plants that benefit from the Chelsea chop.
Landscape designer Matt Leacy of Landart Landcapes, shares his top plant picks for creating a native Australian garden in a coastal environment.
The slender wands of flowering Common Black Cohosh beckon us to explore woodlands. Common Black Cohosh is a perennial rhizomatous forest herb. Its horizontal rhizomes bear numerous adventitious roots on the underside and aerial stems of annual duration on the upper side, along with knobby scars left from aerial stems of previous years. Leaves are…
There was eighty years experience breeding kangaroo paws when Angus Stewart met 82 year-old pioneer breeder Keith Oliver in his Perth garden recently. Angus had wanted to meet Keith for thirty years.
Ornamental millets (Pennisetum glaucum) have been on my radar for over 16 years when the variety ‘Purple Majesty’ won an All-America Selections (AAS) award in 2003. This maroon-leaved selection was … Continue reading "Ornamental Millet (Pennisetum)"
After a tree change to central NSW, Fiona and Alex have created a native garden that flourishes despite the harsh conditions of the high country.
