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Written and edited by Tammy 24th January 2023 Have you ever experienced the sheer bliss of eating a Plumcot? Sunday afternoon I popped out to my girlfriends' place for a coffee, she has the most beautiful gardens and a 'to die for' fruit orchard that's the envy of all. Standing out to the side in a section of ornamentals stood what I thought was any other Prunus ornamental plum.....but it wasn't. It was a Plumcot, a Plum x Apricot called Plumscrumptious and oh my goodness they taste divine! 'Plumscrumptious' is a product of Flemings Nurseries. They are an interspecific variety, meaning they are the end result of two different species of fruit trees being pollinated by hand, now that's kind of cool! This particular tree in my girlfriend's yard is about 6 years old and stands around 3 meters tall. Like most fruit trees there's no real advantage of letting them get any taller than that, as you can't reach the fruit anyway without messing around climbing up on ladders. You're just creating a feast for the birds. As you can see by the one in my hand that I promptly made short work of, they have a lovely deep rich cherry red coloured skin and similar coloured flesh. The flavour is something really quite special, it honestly has characteristics of both an apricot and a plum. Now unless you can be certain that there are plum trees close by in your neighbour's yard, you are going to need a companion tree for it as a pollinator. Flemmings recommend a Mariposa. Fruit trees are always best sourced and planted in the Winter months, which is known as 'Bare root season' when they are dormant (asleep). Most fruit trees with the exception of Citrus are deciduous. If you're thinking you'd love to own one of these wonderful little trees, it's a good idea to go into your nearest stockist and pop your name down on a waiting list for one now. Often these newer varieties of trees are in hot demand, so it avoids the disappointment of missing out. **Keep an eye on my posts or better yet subscribe to my website to be kept up to date as I'll go into a bit more detail about bare root season in the coming months as it gets closer. In conclusion, I think if you're planning an addition to your collection of fruit trees you most definitely will not be disappointed with one of these. Go and put your name down for a Plumcot today. Happy Gardening! 🪴🍑

Written and edited by Tammy 26th January 2023 I can't think of anything more fitting to share with you today on Australia Day than one of our best kept secret tourist attractions....' Big Red'. A sleepy little town just 15 minutes out of Naracoorte, called Kybybolite (or Kyby as we all know it) is home to the largest living River Red Gum Eucalyptus Camaldulensis in the South East of South Australia. It simply doesn't get more beautiful, iconic and Australian than that. From the strongest and longest standing fence posts to the stunning focal point slab kitchen benchtops, and the warmth thrown out of a winter nights warm wood fire, we can all relate to the Red Gum. The ABC together with Greening Australia ran a competition back in 1996 to create awareness of the importance of protecting our country's oldest majestic giants, and the dimensions of Big Red seen it take out the title of 'The largest living River Red Gum in the South East of South Australia. In 2008 the tree was measured again and found to be still growing strong at a whopping 42 meters tall with a circumference of 12.2 meters. Absolutely breath taking to stand beneath, this tree truly is a giant amongst the giants with neighbouring trees being of similar stature. A good wet year like we've just experienced, has seen its home the Mullinger Swamp full to the brim looking spectacular in itself, and consequently the replenished underground aquifer will see the trees deep roots quenched of thirst now for a while. The iconic 'Big Red' Mullinger Swamp by Tammy When you're out driving around our country roads next, take an extra couple of moments to stop and appreciate the beauty of the amazing big old trees. Honestly what is a few moments out of our busy lives when you put it back into perspective of the age of some of these trees. I hope Big Red is still around for my grand-children's children to appreciate. Happy Australia Day!🌳💚

Written and edited by Tammy 3nd February 2023 The sun peeped up over the vineyards shortly after 6am yesterday morning as we left for work, I went from pondering harvesting and the pending rain, to the fact that it was lighter earlier this time last week, then, how plants know that the season is about to change. Do they get a memo that the next season is fast approaching? No, they don't get a memo, they determine what time of the year it is based on the length of the days, hours of daylight. There's a fancy word for it, called 'photoperiodism'. It's the terminology given to a plants ability to regulate its development based of the hours of daylight. A chemical within plants called Florigen tells the plant 'The days are getting shorter, time to hurry up and stop putting on foliage and focus on reproduction before time runs out'. With deciduous trees, we get all those beautiful Autumn colours .....that's a direct result of the chlorophyll in the leaves breaking down as the days shorten. The pretty colours were there all along, you just couldn't see them because of the chlorophyll. Without leaves, the tree loses its ability to photosynthesise and keep doing its thing, so it shuts down (becomes dormant) and goes to sleep for the season. As soon as the ground begins to warm, and the days begin to lengthen it signals the plants to wake up and the cycle begins all over again. So, plants are actually smarter than us, we look at a Calander, the time on the clock, or we notice the colour of the leaves on the trees, and we think 'wow the season is changing' but in reality....... plants are all over this way before you and I realise what is going on. What's the lesson in this, other than me getting out of a warm bed in the dark? listen to your plants, watch for the little clues, the changing colours of the leaves, vegetables bolting quickly to seed, or them simply slowing down with their rate of growth. They will let you know what is going on. Enjoy this beautiful drop of rain, 'liquid gold' and have a wonderful Friday. Happy gardening😘🌳

Written and edited by Tammy 7th February 2023 Has anyone else noticed how amazing and glorious the Golden Elms throughout our region look right now? I couldn't help but notice quite a few of them around Mt Gambier on the weekend, there's an Avenue of them lining the main street of the Millicent township making it look an absolute picture, and of course home here around Naracoorte there's some stunners! I was lucky enough a couple of days ago to have a local lady allow me the privilege of sitting on a park bench beside her beneath her lovely big sprawling Golden Elm for a few moments just to appreciate the view. It was so hard not to get lost in moment looking up into the enchanted branches above. Ulmus glabra Lutescens Golden Elms are a deciduous ornamental. They lose all their leaves becoming dormant over the cooler months, allowing the winter sun to shine through, then the vibrant almost iridescent lime green leaves reappear in the Spring. Evident by their popularity, Golden Elms grow well here in our cool climate. They prefer a full sun to part shade position in a free draining soil and once established, their water requirements are low. They are by no means a small tree for the faint hearted, they can reach heights of up to 15 meters tall and 18 meters wide making for a beautiful big feature shade tree. If you're trying to decide on an attractive shade tree to plant this season and space isn't an issue, you really don't need to look much further than the Golden Elm. Add this one to your wish list. Happy Gardening!💚🌳💚🌳

Written and edited by Tammy 10th February 2023 If you were a 'newbie' to gardening, you'd probably be asking "what is till?" Is it important and do I have to do it?" Tilling is just a fancy word for digging, turning your soil over, and it sounds like a lot of hard work to me, so I'm not really into tilling. Let me share a few more good reasons why. Firstly, why would you break your back if you don't need to, gardening is supposed to be enjoyable right? It was once thought (and some might still think) that you needed to turn your soil over in preparation for a new garden bed, to chop up the weeds, to aerate it, incorporate your compost and fertilisers and "fluff" it up. The trouble with this is, the moment you start turning shovels full of soil over bringing what's beneath up to the top, you disrupt and alter the structure of your soil. Not only does it increase the surface area from which water runs off, and lead to erosion, but all those glorious little critters earthworms, beetles and microbials that live within your soil, have their homes torn apart and in some instances are left on the surface to die. How sad is that!!🥺 It's not the way Mother Nature does it or intends it to be, think of it that way. It's far more beneficial to build up good, thick, generous layers of organic matter regularly and let these little fellas do their thing and work their way through it incorporating it for you. They'll be happy healthy and well fed, our soil structure is sound, our backs are good, and our plants will be happy and thrive, win win I'd say. And the weeds? Often that's just what the weed seed bank needs to kick it back into gear. Weeds love growing in freshly disturbed soil. Smothering weeds is often enough to supress them. As for the tired, finished summer vegetables that you would otherwise spend half the day pulling out? You don't really need to. You can still chop back the bulk of it and throw it into your compost, but as for the roots, they're not doing any harm by staying there. In actual fact They help hold the soil intact. Are broken down by your soil critters. Create little channels for the water to follow down through to infiltrate your soil. They 'll create shelter and protection for your new seasons little seedlings to come up in amongst, so they're not standing out there all alone exposed to the wind and extreme elements and waiting for the snails to come along. Each to their own, but I personally feel it's in your best interests not to till your soil if you can avoid it. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy your gardens. Stay off the shovel😜😘🪴

Written and edited by Tammy 14th January 23 Happy Valentine's Day!❤️ for all the romantics out there. We can't go past a little splash of red, something special. Corymbia Ficifolia (formally Eucalyptus Ficifolia) Red Flowering Gum. When it comes to a wow factor for colour, the red flowering gum stands up to the vibrance of any red rose. They are an Australian Native, originating in WA. Attractive to the birds and bees, they are such an easy to please little tree, happiest in a well-drained sandy to sandy loam soil, in full sun. If time is on your side, and you're keen to have a go, they propagate easily enough and are fairly quick growing too, so consider having a go at germinating some seed yourself. Eye catching as a stand-alone feature tree like the one pictured here but imagine a driveway or avenue lined with them. Red flowering gums are a speccy little tree growing into a nice lollypop shape reaching around 10-12 meters tall by 4-5 meters wide and are just a mass of stunning red flowers throughout the warmer months. If you haven't noticed them already pause for a moment to appreciate their beauty next time you're out and about and see one. You can't say now that you didn't receive a dash of red sprinkled with love today. From me to you, Happy Valentine's Day❤️🌹❤️🌹

Written and edited by Tammy 18th February 2023 If you haven't already spotted them, head down along Stewart Tce past the Shell Roadhouse in Naracoorte when you're out and about next and see for yourself just how stunning these little Crepe Myrtles are looking! I remember our local council planting them only 5 years ago so it's amazing to see how they've matured in such a short time. If you've ever been curious about planting one, this should give you a bit better idea. Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei Crepe Myrtle 'Tuscarora' are just one of large selection of assorted colours, shapes and sizes of these trees. A deciduous, multi-stemmed large shrub/small tree Tuscarora can potentially reach around 8 meters tall by 4 meters wide making them an ideal size as a 'feature tree' in a garden or defining an entrance or driveway. They show off mass displays of flowers on the new growth late in Summer. Relatively drought tolerant and hardy once established, they do best in a full sun position in most free draining soils. Like anything Crepe Myrtles will benefit from a sparing feed of good balanced slow-release fertiliser in Spring as they come out of dormancy. Be mindful not to go overboard though as you'll end up with excessive lush foliage at the expense of blooms. Evidently, they grow well here in our area, so if you're starting to plan what you'd like to put in this bare root season, give some consideration to a Crepe Myrtle. You won't be disappointed. Looking like it's going to be another perfect weekend for gardening. Enjoy!

Written and edited by Tammy 20th February 2023 Enjoying the peace and tranquillity of a warm bath last night, I listened to the crickets chirping outside, then smiled to myself thinking of the movie "The Castle" and that famous line...."How's the serenity". I thought, they're having a wonderful old time out there, a thriving community of them, what do they eat and where do they hide when they're not entertaining me chirping their little hearts out. Black Field Crickets (Teleogryllus commodus) are closely related to grasshoppers and locusts. With their shiny black armour and powerful front legs, they are burrowers, making their homes under ground and consequently their primary source of food is the roots of your lawn. If yellow dead patches appear in your lawn, you could be suspicious of crickets. Opportunistic scavengers, newly planted veggie seedlings aren't exempt from their diet either, they'll chomp them off at the stems. Fortunately, they have a few natural predators that are probably there in your yard already too. Birds, lizards, possum's, mice and rats (not that you want mice and rats either) spiders and parasitic wasps all have crickets on their hit lists, so hopefully they'll be keeping on top of the numbers for you. You might even find you pets will seek them out, catch them and kill them purely for the thrill of the chase and entertainment. I'm always amused in the late afternoons taking the washing off the line, watching my little JR terrier hunt for them in the lawn, she loves it. When you hear them active at night it's probably as good a time as any to go out with a torch, find them and squish them. As a last resort if you are struggling with an infestation of them there are a couple of products you can try. "Yates Baythroid Insects in Lawns" comes in a 200ml concentrate and is probably a good one as it controls more than just crickets. Another product to look for, a granular comes in a 1 kg box "David Grays Cricket and Grasshopper killer Bait". Always make chemical intervention your last resort only after exhausting all other options and be sure to carefully use and apply the products as per the manufacturer's directions on the labels. Vigilance is always a virtue, keep an ear and an eye out for them, particularly in a few more weeks' time when those new seasons little Brassica seedlings go in. Have a wonderful Monday! 😘🌸🪴

Written and edited by Tammy 23nd February 2023 What a dazzler! The Carnival Red Pincushion Leucospermum hybrid. The vibrance is absolutely breath taking. Leucospermums are in the protea family, native to South Africa. A compact prolific flowering evergreen shrub that reaches around 1 to 1.5 meters high by equally as wide. They prefer an acidic, sandy to sandy loam free draining soil, and a full sun aspect. Once established their water requirements are low, and like our Australian natives they're sensitive to Phosphorus. Incorporating some aged animal manure or organic matter with your soil when planting them will be adequate nutrition initially and, down the track with subsequent feeds after flowering, make sure you use a native plant food as they are low in phosphorus. There's nothing much to pruning them, just routine deadheading to encourage more flowers, and just shaping the plant to your liking. Bring a few longer stemmed blooms inside for a vase, they make for beautiful long lasting cut flowers too. If you're limited for space, or you're a renter and planting one in the garden is not an option, don't despair, there's nothing wrong with growing one in a showy glazed pot. The advantage of that too is being in control of the soil and environment it's going into and, you can move it around to a different location in your yard. So there you have it, there's no excuse and no reason for you not to add a Leucospermum Pincushion to your wish list today. I hope you're keeping cool in this heat, don't forget to leave some accessible water out for the birds, bees and lizards too. Happy Gardening!😘🌸☀️

Written and edited by Tammy 26th February 2023. As a self confessed plant junkie I know that excitement and thrill of going shopping for plants and driving home with a car full of lush healthy indoor plants dreaming of being able to create the same look seen on Pinterest or the pages of a magazine. Resist the temptation, try to do a little research first on the care requirements for the particular plants you like. By doing some research upfront you can save yourself a lot of time, money and heartache pouring all your efforts into something that’s going to constantly struggle, and instead choose a plant that’s going to work perfectly in the position you’ve got. Humans, plants and animals are adapted to the environment they live in. A cactus comes from an arid, hot, dry climate with next to no water so it would probably struggle in a shaded moist or humid environment, the same way a tropical plant that originates from a jungle would struggle in a desert. When researching plants, keep this in mind, does it come from a shaded warm tropical environment? Can I replicate this? Maybe there’s a corner in your bathroom for a plant like that, have a quick look at the post I done recently on my Hares foot fern that's thriving in my bathroom where it's getting the moisture and humidity it needs and bright but filtered light. Another thing to consider is how much maintenance and upkeep the plant is going to need. Some plants are ‘sooky’ and fussy, susceptible to insect infestations like spider mite, or prone to drooping or going crispy if their watering regime is not on point. These are perhaps not the best plants for a newbie. On the other hand, there are some easy care, low maintenance plants like Zansibars and Snake plants that need minimal water and almost thrive on neglect. Think about how dedicated you plan to be or more importantly, how much time you have to invest. I hope this helps you a little and perhaps even saves you a few dollars in rookie mistakes, rest assured I’ve had a few misfortunes along the way too! With a lighter wallet I've learned to stick to the ones that I have success with. And on that note, I’ll leave you now with a few pics of one of my favs…my Philodendron Squamiferum. Touch wood this IS one of my success stories. Thriving in my lounge room that’s not very bright but, does get some nice early morning Easterly light through the sliding doors. Almost 7 foot tall now in a 52 litre heavy ceramic pot with a lightly sanded tree branch to climb and cling to.  She about 4 years old now and puts on 4-5 new leaves every year over the summer months when all plants are actively growing. One 9 litre watering can full of rainwater with a dash of Seasol seems to be adequate every 4-5 weeks with even less over the winter months, and a feed of good quality indoor plant food in the Spring when most plants begin to actively grow again. I've wrapped a set of warm fairy lights up throughout the stems of mine for some elegant night time ambiance. You're only limited by your own imagination. What’s your favourite indoor plant?🪴 Happy gardening😘🌺

Written and edited by Tammy 9th March 2023 With the beautiful drop of rain, we've had in the last few days freshening everything up, clearly, it's not just me who appreciates it, snails do too. Within no time at all of a fresh shower of rain, snails appear out of nowhere. They're crawling up the colourbond fence, around the rim of your pots and making a beeline straight for the veggie patch, and... pretty much anything else they can get into. Nothing is off the menu! Snails tend to be nocturnal (unless it's raining) of course, so if you go outside with a torch at night, you'd find them actively moving around in the cool damp night air. They need moisture and humidity otherwise their bodies dry out, so throughout the day they remain hidden under a rock, piece of timber or anywhere out of view where they're not exposed to the threat of drying out. So, what do we do about them destroying everything in sight? The last thing we do is resort to chemical pesticides or insecticides. Start out with some cultural practices. Go out after dark with a torch and a bucket when they're active, collect as many as you can and drown them in some water with a bit of dish liquid if you're not upto squashing them. (I get a bit grossed out about squashing them too) Let the chooks and ducks out for a bit of time to free range, they'll do the hard yards for you! If it's not practical to do so, or you're not keen on letting them scratch up the garden, just throw the snails over the fence into the pen for them. Try putting out beer traps. If you don't have beer in your fridge, dissolve some vegemite in water, they love the yeast and are drawn to it. In the morning you'll be able to dispose of a heap of them in one go when you refresh the trap. You could also try putting some copper tape around the trunks of small trees and shrubs to prevent them climbing up and getting into the foliage. A scattering of crushed eggshells around the base of plants can aid in the same way. Both these options create a physical barrier that is unpleasant for them to crawl across. Don't forget the natural predators too. Snails make up part of the daily diet for some of our other welcomed wildlife, lizards and birds. Lastly, If the snail numbers really are out of hand and you need to resort chemical intervention, consider using a pet and wildlife safe option. Try the Multicrop product called Multiguard Snail and Slug Killer. Use it sparingly and sensibly according to the manufacturer's directions on the label. The food chain is a delicate balance, if we take one thing out altogether, something else will then either starve or potentially breed up to uncontainable numbers. It's about keeping everything in balance. Enjoy your gardens and have a wonderful weekend!😘🪴🌸

Written and edited by Tammy 27th March 2023. I was out at my girlfriends place a few weekends ago helping her harvest huge bounties of apples and pears from the trees in her orchard. As she is a junior primary school teacher, we were discussing her taking some apples in for the kids to each have a piece of home-grown fruit. From there we got onto the subject of teaching kids the difference between a piece of fruit and a vegetable, and then she showed me the most delightful little children's book that I couldn't help but share with you. The book by Author Jean Richards, first published in 2002 is called "A fruit is a suitcase for seeds". It's so cleverly written and insightful leaving you thinking, "wow I never thought about it like that before", and it's so relatable and easy to understand for a young child. (Well for me too!) Now my understanding has always been that edible plants that are purely foliage, stems, and roots, are a vegetable. Think spinach, carrots, celery, they all consist of roots, stems and foliage. And then I think of fruit as being the end product of a pollinated flower on any foliage plant, reaching maturity. Think of it as the protective encasement nurturing and growing seeds within. Wow this really IS a lesson on 'the birds and the bees' in more ways than one. 🤪🐝 The book goes on to explain and give examples of all types of scenarios such as strawberries being an exception wearing their seeds on the outside, and some fruits only having one seed, avocados or peaches, where others have many; think rock melons or pumpkin. It describes how clever seeds are having their own mode of transport to get around and populate the place. Some travel in the air, the water, washed away once gravity drops them to the ground, others travel in the tummy of an animal when an animal eats them, then the animal expels them somewhere else. All in all, I was impressed! Definitely a book worth having in your library to read to your kiddies or grandies. You can never read to them too much, and what better way can there be to inspire the next generation of gardeners and plant enthusiasts. Happy gardening! 😘🌸🪴