Growing Gardens

with Anita Morton

Catalogue temptation

It's that time of year again - catalogues listing the most desirable spring flowering bulbs are dropping into the letterbox, and all the gardening magazines are stuffed with bulb ads. I have terrible trouble restraining myself from ordering truckloads of tulips and squads of snowdrops.

But I know that I'd be doomed to disappointment if I did. None of those plants are suitable for our climate, though they might bloom for us once before they die. Unless you are prepared to treat these bulbs like annuals - one flowering then throw them out - they are a mistake.

That's not to say that all spring bulbs are disappointing. By no means; there are plenty that will grow happily and flower well in our area. Top of my list for spring is the gorgeously scented cream Freesia refracta alba, an old-fashioned flower that's incredibly hardy. Other spring-flowering beauties include Babiana (baboon flowers), Cyrtanthus (ifafa lilies), Hippeastrum, Freesia (coloured types), Ixia, Lachenalia (soldier boys), Lapeirousia (flame freesia), some Narcissus (jonquils only) and Sprekelia (Jacobean lily).

In theory we should also be able to get good results from both Anemone and Ranunculus, but I've never had any luck with them - it may be that I'm too mingy with the water during their autumn to winter growing period. By all means give them a try, but be prepared to discard the corms after one season.

In the don't-waste-your-money category are many of the old favourites. Snowdrops (Galanthus) just wither and die, but fortunately the unrelated Leucojum (snowflake) can fill that niche. If only they were scented! Tulips, hyacinths and daffodils might flower once, but that is the end of them. For early spring scent we have to rely on freesias and jonquils like Paper White, Silver Chimes and Grand Soliel d'Or. Fortunately for us, this is no hardship!

Lismore Garden Club News

The next meeting of the Lismore Garden Club is April 7. Details to be advised.

Plumaria (frangipani) are a small garden tree that have waxed and waned in popularity. Right now however, they are very much back in vogue. And rightly so, as most of the wide range of colours are very worthwhile growing.

The most common frangipani is Plumaria rubra, which is deciduous. This fact qualifies it as being an excellent host tree for some types of orchids. The frangipani leaves provide essential shade in the summer, and after they fall in the autumn, allow in the warm winter sunshine. Plumaria rubra acutifolia is the common white frangipani and is the most widely grown. Probably because it is the one that has that lovely gentle classic frangipani fragrance.

Another frangipani which is becoming popular is Plumaria Obtusa, which a most beautiful evergreen small tree. As well as being green all year round, it has rounded ends on the lovely glossy leaves and large heads of beautifully perfumed large white flowers. The petals, like the leaves, have rounded ends. This particular frangipani is well worth a try. I have seen it for sale in some of the local nurseries under the name Plumaria Obtusa "Singapore White".

Frangipanis are easily propagated from small sections of branches taken when the plant is dormant in winter.

Happy gardening
Ron Burns