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Caring for Roses in Spring
Roses are among the most popular plants around, and it's not hard to see why. In addition to the tradition of roses across the past 5000 years of cultivation, the rose has a beautiful perfume and colour. For cut flowers they are hard to beat.
Roses require the right attention however; a little TLC has great rewards.
Fertilise and Mulch
In winter you should try and prune roses (as well as plant them if you need to plant more) to remove any dead wood, and shape the bushes, as well as encourage new growth. This is important. It is also important to fertilize twice a year, once in early spring, and then again in mid-summer. Rose foods are avaliable, but if you are growing citrus you can double-up and use citrus food as this will suffice for roses.
If you want to get the very best results, mulching is another important factor. A number of leading gardeners have recommended using pea straw, or lucerne. Lucerne is avaliable in small bales, which expand when placed on the garden. You can but both these at the local nursery, they will range between AUS$7 - AUS$10.
Once again I must thank Don Bourke, and Gardening Australia for the tips.
Using Wood Ash in the Garden
Wood ash can be beneficial to the soil of your garden. If you have a combustion heater, or use an open fire in your home, collecting the wood ash is a good idea, as it can be utilized, rather than discarded.
Using ash as a liming agent
Wood ash basically consists of potassium, calcium, and magnesium. The presence of calcium means that it can raise the pH levels of soil, and so it can be used on acid soils instead of lime. It is especially effective around flowering plants, but be careful of the following situations if you choose to employ it in the garden:
* If you are using treated pine as fuel. (You shouldn't be doing this anyway, as treated pine gives off dangerous chemical fumes when burnt).
* Some charcoals or briguettes have added chemicals to speed up the burning. he ash collected from these products should not be used. Check the product first to make sure this is not the case.
* Don't add ash if you have alkaline soils (pH > 6.5). Most Australian soils are acidic (pH < 6), except for some areas around Adelaide and Perth that have limestone soils (good for wine though!).
For more information on testing the pH level of you soil, you can try here. It is a wise move to know the pH level before you start any attempt to amend the soil.
How much do I use?
For the average soil, you can add one shovel full (or approx. 1kg) to every square metre of soil. To apply, simply spread it out, and work it into the soil so that it doesn't blow about in the wind.
So that's that for ash. I must thank Don Bourke.
Ikebana: Japanese Flower Arrangement
The Japanese have a different way of looking at flower arrangement. While Westerners tend to emphasize the beauty of the blossoms, the Japanese in practising 'Ikebana' (lit. "living flowers"), or 'Kado' (lit. "way of the flowers"), tend to include the linear aspects of the arrangement. They attempt to create a harmonisation of linear contruction, rythmn and colour. They not only to include the blossoms, but the leaves, stems, and branches as well. The structure of the composition is a metaphor for three main points that represent heaven, earth, and mankind.
There are many different schools of Ikebana, and the art can take up to five years to learn proficiently. Among the most common styles are the rikku, seika or shoka (living flowers), and nageire (flung flowers) styles when making arrangements in bowl-shaped vases and the moribana (piled-up flowers) style when using dish-like containers.
Ikebana were tradionally seen in the 'tokonama' (the alcove in the home in which guests were ucually received), and today they can be seen in the lobbies of large buildings, and also shop windows.
To find out more about this fascinating Japanese art form, try this site.
I must thank wikipedia and this site for the help
The Wattle
'Wattle' is the Australian colloquial given to the plant species acacia, and they are wonderful native plants of this country. There are over 850 species of wattle in this country, and they can come in a variety of shapes and sizes, colours and textures, serve a number of different purposes, and hence be adaptable to the intention of almost any gardener
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Weird Plants
I had a very strange weekend. In keeping with that theme the first article for this week will explore some very strange looking plants that you may want to include in your garden
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Tips for Approaching Spring
Spring is coming, and here are some tips for what to start doing before the season arrives
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What to Do in Times of Drought
Australia has many different environments, but much of this vast land is very dry. Here are some tips, courtesy of the master Don Bourke, about what to do, and what to avoid doing in the dry times
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Mycorrhizal Fungi: Great for the Garden
Rather than dump chemicals all over your garden, you may want to eplore the option of mycorrhizal fungi. This stuff has been around for ages. It was discovered by man in the 1800s, and well-documented by the 1930s
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Cool Plants: Orchids
When people speak of orchids, they usually have the type in mind that are used in flower arrangements and for a corsage. This type is the common cymbidium orchid, but in fact orchids are the largest and most diverse of the flowering plants, with some 25,000 - 30,000 species
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Cool Plants: Nasturtium
Nasturtiums are wonderful plants. They thrive in almost any location in Australia, and one is treated to an explosion of delight and colour in their phosphorescent brilliance! They also make a prefect plant if you are choosing to garden with kids as the flowers and leaves are both edible if they young ones are tempted to eat their creations
[ Click here to read more ]
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Roses are among the most popular plants around, and it's not hard to see why. In addition to the tradition of roses across the past 5000 years of cultivation, the rose has a beautiful perfume and colour. For cut flowers they are hard to beat. 
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Comment by stephen
on Captain Corelli's Mandarin Gluton Free Muffin
if you wanna grace the fair virtual shores of brain marinade once more (RSS feed at the bottom) you are always welcome.