Growing Gardens

with Julia Hancock

Curry in a Hurry

There are several plants that exude a strong curry aroma. The most commonly grown curry plant is the Helichrysum angustifolium, whose silvery-grey foliage provides the perfect foil for cottage garden plants. This plant is grown more for its usefulness as an edging plant rather than for its culinary properties.

From the family that brings us the valuable St John's Wort, Hypericum revolutum is called the curry bush because its leaves smell like curry after rain or when crushed. It is cultivated purely for its attractive sunshine-yellow flowers, in cool climates with low humidity.

So where does curry come from? Not surprisingly, it is derived from a plant from India - Murraya koenigii. You may be more familiar with the other murraya, M. paniculata, whose orange jessamine flowers perfume the spring air. It's become a favourite for hedging as it's a handsome evergreen shrub that is fast and easy to grow. Murraya koenigii is also very easy to grow but instead of producing an orange-scented white flower, its blossom is spicy.

Murrayas like a sunny position, but will grow quite happily in shade although they won't flower as well. They grow in any soil providing it is well drained, and young plants make good container specimens. Although they do not require pruning, they can be clipped back after flowering each year into a formal hedge, or topiaried into a lollipop.

Both murrayas produce berries - M. paniculata a shiny scarlet, and M. koenigii a dense black - and both are easy to propagate from these fruits. While the former only sets a moderate amount of fruit, the latter develops large trusses of berries, which are harvested and pickled into a curry condiment in India.

Here in Australia we tend to use only the leaf in cooking, either fresh or dried and powdered, and what better time of the year than this to enjoy a really flavoursome curry?

Lismore Garden Club News

The next meeting of the Lismore Garden Club will be held at the Lismore Workers Club on Thursday, July 3, at 1.30 pm. The guest speaker will be former Solomon Islands missionary Pastor Ray Eaton. All are welcome. For further information phone Mary on 6621 5273.

When one is hooked on gardens you don't miss the opportunity to see a truly outstanding garden of vast proportions. On a recent visit to Newcastle my wife and I were invited to accompany our daughter, her husband and two girls to the wonderful Hunter Valley Gardens in the winery region at Pokolbin. Mere words seem inadequate to describe the grandure and space here limits description of the extent and diversity of the world-class gardens. Suffice it to say that it is an essential "must see" for everyone even remotely interested in gardens. The Lismore Garden Club will be arranging a bus trip to The Hunter Valley Gardens at a date to be advised. The Hunter Valley Gardens are at Broke Road, Pokolbin, NSW. Phone 4998 7600.

Jobs to do now: Check outdoors potted plants twice weekly for watering. Also cuttings and seedlings need to be kept moist.

What to Plant now: Flowers - Alyssum, Candytuft, Linaria, Calendula, Dianthus, Liuingstone, Daisy, Lobella, Nemesia, Pansy, Primula, Viola and Roses. Vegies - Beetroot, Broad Beans, Cabbage, Asian Greens, Herbs, Carrot, Lettuce, Onion, Pea, Silverbeet, Tomato (frost free areas).

Garden Tip: Never throw away laddered panty hose. They make the best plant ties. They last well in all weather. They stretch (not strangle). Most colours blend with plants.

Happy gardening,
Ron Burns