 Growing
Gardens
with Anita Morton
Hedge your bets
 For
those of us who love clipping and pruning, a hedge is a dream come true. Even
those who hate clipping and pruning can still get a great deal of pleasure from
a hedge. They are the perfect backdrop to a flower-filled garden, provide visual
privacy and also filter the wind.
The key to a healthy hedge is soil preparation. Dig out a trench the length
of the hedge and about 50cm wide. Go as deep as you have energy to dig - a hedge
is a long-lived investment, and will repay the best soil preparation. Fill your
excavation with good-quality topsoil and compost, mounding it up a little to allow
for the soil settling.
Water the whole bed thoroughly with a soaker hose. Now set out your hedging
plants so that the distance between each plant is half the eventual width of the
mature plant, as stated on the label. So, if they grow to 80cm wide, plant them
40cm apart. Water well, and keep the water and fertiliser coming to get quick
growth. Start trimming straight away to encourage bushiness.
There's a hedging plant for every need, from lillipilly 'Hunchy' (30cm high),
up to tall camellias, port wine magnolias and Juniperus 'Spartan', all of which
will grow up to four metres tall. English box is the classic plant for edging
formal garden beds - unhappily it dislikes our climate, so look for Japanese box
instead. It's much hardier.
A hedge doesn't have to be all one species, and some mixed or 'tapestry' hedges
can be very attractive. The trick is to ensure that the mixture of species you
use all have similar growth rates, leaf size and overall density. Unfortunately,
if you get any of these wrong the result can be less than satisfactory.
Lismore Garden Club News
Most gardeners are keen to have birds in the garden and they are a wonderful
asset.
Flowering native shrubs such as grevillia, callistemon and banksia attract
the nectar eaters like honeyeaters and lorikeets. Low bushy natives are attractive
to fairy wrens and finches as cover from predatory birds. Another way to attract
birds is a feeder, especially the hanging type. It should have some sort of weather
protection and can be hung from a tree branch about 180cm from the ground. It's
best to put out a small amount of seed to start with to attract eastern rosellas,
crested pigeons, king parrots, lorikeets, galahs and finches.
The most important factor is a reliable supply of water in an elevated position
out of reach of predators like cats.
There are never enough old growth gums to go around, so offset the shortage
by installing a few parrot nesting boxes.
Tip: To provide a cheap, effective weather protector for your hanging bird
feeder, invert a large plastic pot saucer, drill a hole in the centre and slide
it over the wire hook that supports the feeder.
Finally: 'Live each day as if it were your last and garden as though you will
live forever.' Unknown author.
Happy Gardening
Ron Burns
- Next meeting Thurs, Aug 7, Lismore Workers Club. For info phone Ron on 6624
7422 or 0421 021 451.
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