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Blackheath & District Horticultural Society Inc

Established in 1920 Newsletter –March, 2019

Hello to all gardening friends, The year is slipping by very quickly and the Man-agement Committee has had their first Show meeting. It was decided to make our entry system at the show more simple and not involving so many members. There will be clear instructions in our schedule for 2019 Many of the Constitution votes have been returned to our Secretary. These votes have been unopened and will be opened by an independent scrutineer at our April Meeting. The last day for returning your vote is 7th March,2019 Happy gardening from Laraine

Hilda Lowe’s 90th Birthday At our February meeting we paid tribute to Hilda Lowe for her tremendous contributions to our so-ciety with the running of plant stalls at our show

over the years and the many times Hilda has opened her garden to all our members. Hilda has volunteered to open her garden again this year but she explained it is now a much easier garden to manage. There is no doubt her garden will be neat and well manicured. Above is a photo of Hilda cutting her cake with Mary Lawley.

Next General Meeting Thurs, 7th March, 2019 10.00 am – 12.00 noon The Rhododendron Gardens Bacchante Street, BLACKHEATH at 10:00a.m.

General Meeting:- 10.00 –

10.45 am

Mini Flower Show:- by Jane

McKanna

Demonstration:- by Jane

McKanna on how to take cuttings and pot plants for our show.

Morning Tea:- 10.45—11.15am.

(Please bring a plate to share or a

gold coin donation.)

Guest Speaker :- Trish October

–a gardener extraordinaire.

Host, Greeting & Sign On will be Joan McQuillan from April. Thank you to Mary for your wonderful work as hostess.

Morning Tea Ladies Carole Lee & Mary Lawley Thank you ladies for always being there!

Executive Committee2018- 2019 President: Laraine Graham Ph 0408 309 624 Email contact: bdhsinc89@gmail.com Vice President: Walter Hitchell Secretary: Liz Parker Treasurer: Brenda Lush

Committee Members: Silva Ikaunieks Katie Jakes Christina Rayment

Chrysanthemum

Jane McKanna judging our mini-

show.

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Along the Garden Path.

No occupation is so delightful to me

as the culture of the earth, no culture

comparable to that of the garden.....but

though an old man, I am but a young gardener.

Thomas Jefferson

FOCUS ON A PLANT

Natives

What treatment do you need to give your natives during March to ensure improved or more successful results?

As bottlebrush finish flowering, trim behind the old flower heads to encourage lots of new growth.

Investigate and remove any gall wasp damage on wattles. This damage is seen as ugly swellings on the plant stems. Cut them off, bag and dispose of them in the garbage so that other plants are not infected.

Plant the perfumed mint bush (Prostanthera ovalefloia) It has a purple flower display in the Spring.

Tip prune summer flowering natives once they have finished flowering to keep them compact.

For plants that produce ornamental woody fruit such as banksias and hakeas, leave some spent flowers to develop, as these canbe used as ornamental arrangements in the house.

Take cuttings of plants such as boronia, correa , lillia, ereostemon and grevillia.

Plant natives now, so they will be well

established before winter.

Grevillea flamingo. This is a bi-coloured plant, pink and gold in colour and it has a huge profusion of flowers in the spring. It will grow in our climate if it is given a protected position and should be cut back lightly after a heavy flush of flowers. Fertilise it after pruning with a handful of low phosphorus fertiliser and water in well.

DESIGNING WITH ROSES

Its time to look outside the square and redevelop the rose garden. Traditionally roses are grown in rows

surrounded by green lawn. It was believed that space between roses and not growing other plants with them, reduced the incidence of disease, but the opposite is often the case.

Try growing roses with bulbs, perennials and annuals. Perennials and roses share the same flowering seasons and offer great design opportunities. Examples of companion plants to share the rose space are ground covers such as geraniums and companula or dianthus and cornflowers and foxgloves that will grow up between the stems of roses.

When you plant a rose garden, choose colours carefully. For example, deep red and purple look dramatic together. Consider the colours of companion plants so that they complement the

Get Well Soon

To our members who are not feeling well goes every best wish for a speedy recovery.

Welfare Matters:

Please notify Silva Ikaunieks if you are aware of any society members who

may be in hospital or ill. Silva will send him or her a card. Silva’s email is

silvaikaunieks@gmail.com

Prostanthera ovalefloia)

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roses. Silver is a basic foliage partner to roses. Lavender, artemesia , silver bush lambs ears and iris are great choices .

Although most roses have their main flush of colour in spring, don't forget that many flower through Summer and Autumn.

If roses are your one true love, there is no reason why you can't grow different kinds together. You can provide colour on the ground too by underplanting with small roses such as carpet roses that are available in many colours and just need a good hair cut with garden shears once a year.

Use climbing roses to cover an eye sore such as an ugly fence or an old water tank.

MARCH GARDEN JOBS. March is a busy

month for gardeners. As leaves begin to fall, you can think of them as litter to tidy or as potential nutrients to be added to the garden . So fill the compost bin with this rich harvest that will be added to the garden in the next 6 months.

Start planting spring flowering bulbs when the night temperature drops.

Water new plantings regularly while the weather remains warm.

Keep vigilant and check for snails and slugs on emerging established bulbs.

Plant pansy, viola and iceland poppy in a sunny spot and you will be rewarded with Winter flowers.

Sow sweet peas on Saint Patrick's Day (March 17) or if it’s cold in Blackheath hold off planting until Spring.

Dead head roses.

Use a garden fork to aerate soil that is compacted and weedy.

WHAT'S ON

2nd - 3rd March Edible Garden Trail. 10am - 4pm . Various locations in the Blue Mountains . (02 ) 47574231 $25 for weekend . More than 40 edible gardens including orchards , vegie patches , chooks and bees .

16-17th March Miniature Rose Show. Sat 12 - 5pm Sun 10am - 4pm Mittagong R S L Club

0401 060 031. Gold coin donation. Demonstrations Plants for sale.

30thMarch Ingleburn Autumn Flower Show. 12.30 4.30pm at the Greg Percival Community Centre

0418 233 852 $2 entry. The 92nd annual show of the Ingleburn Horticultural Society. Plants for sale, gar-dening advice afternoon tea. Exhibitors welcome.

IN THE KITCHEN WITH WALNUTS

Walnuts (juglans spp.) are beautiful fragrant trees that produce nuts in a hard shell and valuable tim-ber, however they grow to 30 metres in height and can live for centuries. So this is not really a tree to grow in a suburban block. Autumn is the time to en-joy fresh walnuts.

Walnut Flat bread. This is a Maggie Beer recipe

This flat bread can be served with pate or cara-melised on-ion.

Ingredients

1 cup milk 7gms. dried yeast

2tblsp. honey 2 cups plain flour

1/2tsp ground ginger

1& a quarter cups chopped walnuts

3tsps salt 2tblsp. olive oil

2/3 cup buckwheat flour

Method

1.Preheat the oven to 200 degs. Warm the milk for 1 minute then pour it into a large bowl. Whisk in the yeast, honey and flour. Let it stand for 15 minutes after which it should start to bubble.

2. Add ginger, walnuts, salt, olive oil to the yeast mixture and gradually add the remaining plain flour and buckwheat flour.

3.Remove the mixture from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Divide it into 4 equal pieces and roll out each piece to 2cm thick.

4.Replace the flat bread on a lightly floured baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

5.Remove bread from the oven and place on a rack to cool. Cheers, Robin Shute

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BUS TRIPS February 14 Horticultural club outing

What better way to spend Valentines Day than be-ing out in the fresh air with a group of like-minded people checking out gardens! It was a cool morning as 10 of us set off from Blackheath and headed to-wards Bilpin. We stopped for coffee at the Mt Tomah Botanical Gardens and enjoyed the stunning view from the cafe verandah. There was some dis-cussion about the street address of our first garden, Woodgreen, which was quickly resolved. Wood-green was purchased by Peter and Peta Trahar in 1986, and their passion and determination have turned the garden into a spectacular showcase of rare and perennial plants. The garden covers around 2 acres within a much larger acreage and was originally an Angus stud. There are still Angus cattle and some unique Polish chickens on the prop-erty. Peta walked us round the garden and happily answered our questions about any aspect of her fabulous garden. Around lunchtime, we bid farewell to Peta (and William the greyhound) and headed to our next garden - Windyridge at Mt Wilson. The owner greeted us warmly and gave us a brief spiel on the history and layout of the garden. Before setting off to wander the grounds, we sat around a large table and had a picnic lunch (and the sun came out!). Windyridge focusses on landscape de-sign and the use of beautiful cool climate plantings to entice the visitor to explore what is beyond the various archways, secret gardens and water fea-tures - it is a wonderful garden with something to please everyone. The well stocked nursery was a delight and many of us were still foraging on the plant tables and purchasing plants even as the bus was ready to leave. A fabulous day out!

Katie Jakes

Bus Trip to Bathurst on Thursday 14th March 2019

We'll stop at Macca's at Kelso for morning tea, then on to Machattie Park in Bathurst to see the Begonia and Fern Houses, now at their best. Lunch at the 'George'. In the afternoon we will go to see Cathy Annis Brown's property at Robin Vale, just outside Bathurst on the Blayney Road. Have been told it is a marvellous property with outstanding gardens. Cathy is opening it especially for us. Many thanks to Mary Storrie for this lead. Hopefully we will have time to go to Churches Garden Centre in Seymour Street and Riverside Nursery in Morriset Street, both in Bathurst. Sounds like a busy day!

Brenda Lush

BOOK REVIEWS

Philosophy in the Garden by Damon Young

True gardeners know that having a patch of dirt is as essential as breathing. This book relates how fa-mous authors enjoyed and used their gardens.

From Jane Austen who stopped writing when she didn’t have one; to Marcel Proust who had Bonsai in his bedroom because he was asthmatic.

Sticky Fingers , Green Thumbs by Hayley McKee .

This author rates cooking and gardening equally . There are 60 recipes fashioned around ingredients from the garden to give cakes and snacks a great flavour, texture and colour. Growing and harvesting tips are included. Robin Shute

The Wasp and the Orchid by Danielle Clode

Biography of Edith Coleman “Naturalist” who, in the 1920’s proved how and why a particular wasp pollinated particular native or-chids, which then became known as “pseudocopulation”. She also inves-tigated the habits of many other fauna and flora.

Delia Broun