IN THE GARDEN
By Calum Haygarth Landscape Architect & Horticultural Consultant
With the early Easter break behind us where we had a huge flurry of customers all eager to do things in the garden all we need now is some rain. It seems autumn is here with the nights certainly getting a little crisper and daylight savings ending meaning the nights are a tad darker – its a great time for planting. April is going to be interesting, with the Anzac Day holiday mid week and school holidays looming in South Australia anyway, giving us extra time to get out in to the garden. Autumn is such a great time to plant, as the soil warmth is there but we have the guarantee of cooler weather and, of course, rain. This year the Commonwealth Games have spurred us on to have some medal winning specials on ornamental trees, fruit and nut trees. From April 4 to 22, we will be having a massive half price tree sale to make way for the new seasons trees that we will be digging out of the paddock soon. We are clearing all of the trees and fruit trees in our tree growing area to make room for a further expansion to our Advanced Trees section and this can only mean one thing - bargains all round. Yes, all of our ornamental, flowering, shade, avenue and street trees, along with fruit, nut, kiwi fruits etc. will be up to 50% off, with $5 and $10 trees and fruit trees in our clearance bins. Planting trees now whilst the ground is warm will get some amazing
growth but the main factor is that the plants will be well settled in for next spring. All of the 2018 new release ornamental trees and fruit trees are on our website already with the 2018 new release roses, (see facing page) about to be added by the time this goes to print, a timely reminder to get your rose and tree orders in for new season’s dormant (bare rooted )stock that can be ordered online at any time or call in to the nursery or ring your order through. The biggest stars of last season was the new release ”Always Remember” – chosen by Leukaemia Foundation for their Light The Night awareness campaign for people with blood cancer, with part proceeds to help assist the vital work in finding a cure for blood cancer. We have bushes of these still flowering away merrily in the nursery if you haven’t yet purchased one for this worthy cause. Speaking of which, Butterfly Kisses, a fundraising rose for Variety The
Children’s Charity, which is a stunning soft pink bloom on a compact bush with$5 from the sale of each rose going to Variety, another worthy cause. The two new David Austin English Roses for 2018 are The Lady Gardener, one that has been long awaited by Austin fans in Australia, as it was released in the UK some years ago, to much acclaim, its pure apricot blooms pale towards the edges and it has the most stunning tea fragrance (see opposite page). There is also the “Thomas A’Becket”, named after the famous Bishop of Canterbury who met with a very sad ending, I wonder whether the colour of this rose light red ageing to carmine is a symbol of Ecclesiastical red? As with all Austins this is very highly perfumed with a hint of citrus. It is important to order early as our website (www.limestonecoastroses.com.au) has been receiving online orders since last November for interstate and local orders and many varieties are already close to being sold out. Sugar Moon – will grab all the cut flower enthusiasts with long stem and highly, musky perfumed crisp white blooms, fit for any wedding bouquet, as will Spirit of Rural Women with its vanilla white blooms held on lovely long stems and a spicy fragrance. One of my favourites for this year is Elodie Gossuin a rich pink cupped rose from France. The same breeder as was responsible for the We Will Remember Them rose that came out a few years
ago for the Gallipoli centenary. Its has huge, ruffled cups of rich pink with a stunning perfume, similar style to the ever popular Pierre de Ronsard Rose. Its also refreshing to see some new varieties of climbing roses being released. Climbing Arabia, certainly has tones of the desert in rich oranges softening to sandy gold on the edges. Very disease resistant and not overly thorny it will fill a gap in that colour range in climbing roses. Climbing Future is predominantly white with a blush of pink and a delicate fragrance. These are just a few of the new releases we will be offering this season, bear in mind the season is well advanced and we have been taking orders since November 1 last year, so some varieties are getting close to sold out as we reach the cut off for orders and commence digging roses from the paddock in the next few weeks. To see our entire range of roses head to the Limestone Coast Roses website where you can easily order on
line or call in to the Nursery for more information. The Pot Shop part of the business has been busy receiving container loads of glazed, terracotta, sandstone and concrete pots over the past few months and we also need to clear some of those to make more room for more pots, trees and outdoor furniture. Some of the terracotta which is all now pre-sealed, so it doesn’t dry out like the old terracotta, has been so drastically reduced and with the strength of the Aussie dollar is now cheaper than buying plastic pots. So, come in and browse through the extensive range and pick up a bargain. Much of our giftware, wall art and fountains will also be on clearance, as well as birdhouses, dovecotes etc. as we make room in our new gift shop area, which is bursting at the seams, so an ideal time to pick up an early Mother’s Day bargain. We are situated at 167, Bay Road (Riddoch Highway) 1.3 kms south of the Blue Lake roundabout, so we’ll look forward to seeing you then.
Mac’s Auctions PENOLA TOWN SQUARE STARTS TO TAKE SHAPE Works are well underway at the Penola Town Square with the area really taking shape. The underground services for power, water and drainage are all done, with the contractor completing the power provision to install the main switch board and finalise his works. The areas have been prepared for paving and soil has been placed ready for lawn. Irrigation and paving installation will be commencing over the next fortnight. A grand opening has been planned for the 20 May, so save the date. HAVE YOU HAD YOUR SAY? The 20,000 signatures in 20 days campaign for an indoor/outdoor aquatic and recreation centre in Mount Gambier is already a week old. If this is a project you support then head to Tony Pasin’s office, your closest sporting club or selected local businesses through the CBD and other retail precincts and put pen to paper to show your support. The clock is ticking. lifestyle1.net | 24