* To redeem this offer, YOU MUST bring this edition of the ‘Rose Rambler’ with you!!!
* Standard & Weeping Roses are not included in this offer
* Limit 3 FREE Roses per customer
Our reason for giving you this fabulous opportunity to stock up on roses is that …
Thursday, 21st February is THE BIG DAY when we are celebrating my 50th Birthday and in true Dutch tradition, it’s my shout!!! So do come along to the Nursery and have a whole lot of fun with all of us and share this very special day! Just remember to bring this issue of the ‘Rose Rambler’ with you!!!
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THRIP & EARWIGS … Hasn’t this been the most impressive and lovely season for the roses? The only real down-side was the early outbreak of thrip which damaged all the buds … the phones rang hot for weeks and I would like you all to remember for the next outbreak … there is not a single thing you can do when there is an infestation of thrip! The tiny little, sucking bugs come in on the hot northerly winds and cooler, inclement weather kills the critters!! Thrip damage is very evident on the pale coloured flowers so hedgerow plantings of the popular ‘Iceberg’ rose all had to be trimmed during the first flush of flowering. Every rose has it’s season – this past season was definitely not one for ‘Iceberg’ – there were times when I thought we might never sell another ‘Iceberg’ … I don’t think so!!!!
Most gardens were inundated by earwigs which also climbed up into the flowers and caused distress – once again, not a lot you can do to eliminate them but if you have standard roses, you could smear a layer of Petroleum Jelly (Vaseline) around the stems of the roses … the bugs won’t climb through the jelly!!! Rolled up damp newspaper can be left around the roses and the earwigs (and other bugs) will make themselves at home very quickly .. this needs to be checked and removed/replaced daily to be effective!
Interestingly, the rain solved a lot of problems for all of us!!!
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FLOWER & GARDEN SHOW … We’ll be there again this year and we’re all excited about the theme of our display .. ‘ROSES & COMPANIONS’. Graham’s been busy for months preparing roses in large tubs which are companion planted with a riot of colourful flowers, delicious herbs and veggies. We are promoting some delightfully fragrant roses which we consider to be sensational and which should be more widely grown in the landscape and home garden.
M.I.F.G.S. - WED 2ND APRIL – SUN 6TH APRIL, 2008
Do be sure to visit our display at Site A 58 (Rathdowne Street side), have a chat with Graham and Wayne and meet our growers and suppliers … all our rose maintenance products will be available for purchase!
THE GOOD OIL ON ECO-OIL - MITICIDE/INSECTICIDE … The benefits of using this Botanical Oil Concentrate in conjunction with NATRAKELP Liquid Seaweed continue to amaze us. One customer recently told us of his success using Eco-Oil to control Whitefly on his broccoli plants – he confidently sprays and picks the broccoli to eat the same day!!!
If you’re spraying your roses, don’t pass by the citrus tree or the azaleas or the tomato plants – give them all a good spray at the same time! Eco-Oil is a very effective organic method of controlling aphids, mites, whitefly, citrus leafminer and scale insects so you can imagine how beneficial it is throughout the entire garden and it is our experience that preventative spraying is far more effective than waiting for a problem to occur and then trying to eradicate adult insects - Eco-Oil is designed to have a very rapid impact on the egg and larvae of insects.
Remember too, Eco-Oil is proven not to harm beneficial insects such as ladybirds. Obviously, it won’t do you or your family any harm either – a major environmental breakthrough! Eco-Oil also acts as a wetting agent and as such, sticks the NATRAKELP Liquid Seaweed to the foliage thus strengthening the foliage and making the plant stronger and more resistant to disease and pests.
We always recommend spraying prior to 10.00am but never spray on days when the temperature is expected to exceed 30 degrees! Healthy, happy plants … organically, naturally!!!
For more information about the Eco-Garden range of products which are all available at the Silkie Gardens Rose Nursery, have a look at their website … www.ocp.com.au - it’s most interesting to know more about the products you are using and understand why you are using them!
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GREAT NEW ROSES … If you’re planning to add a few new roses to your garden in the future, the next few months will be the time when you’ll see the roses at their stunning best so arm yourself with pen, paper and camera and go visiting gardens … observe and record the height/size and other details about why you fell in love with a particular rose – if you don’t know or can’t find the name of the rose, bring photos and descriptions to the nursery and we’ll surely be able to assist you!
Here is a list of some beauties that we would totally recommend:
‘Heaven Scent’ .. perfectly formed pale pink Hybrid Tea shaped flowers with a perfume to die for!
‘Elle’ .. heavenly fragrance with flowers diverse in colour from deep apricot fading to pink – extremely healthy!
‘Makybe Diva’ .. absolutely perfect blooms of pale pink/cream, fragrant and a truly healthy bush!
‘Jubilee Celebration’ .. unique, exotic colour variation of gold/pink/mauve, free flowering and fragrant!
‘Lion’s Rose’ .. stunning for the variety of cream with apricot, exquisite form and fragrance – suit hedge!
‘Grimaldi’ .. huge display of striped salmon/pale red/white blooms in awesome abundance (see at Flemington Race Course) … unbelievable!
And, of course, there are a whole lot more but these just might excite you to dig up a bit more lawn and add some great new roses to your garden! You’ll be able to see and smell the above if you ….
WALK & TALK WITH GRAHAM
SUNDAY, 2ND MARCH - 1.30 PM
AND
SATURDAY, 8TH MARCH - 1.30 PM
Take a stroll through the nursery gardens with Graham … stop off and do a pruning demonstration, see how thick mulching can be beneficial, watch how easy it is to plant a rose the right way by adding compost and how to stake a standard rose so that it never breaks … generally, have a whole lot of fun with a group of gardeners who are as enthusiastic as you are!
The ‘Walk & Talk with Graham’ will probably take up to one and a half hours, cost $15.00 per person and kids are welcome to come along free of charge … we recommend you book a place NOW!
NEW PRODUCTS AVAILABLE AT SILKIE GARDENS … With heightened awareness of the necessity that we all take a greater responsibility for our household waste and the impact that waste has on landfill and the environment, we are proud to tell you that after thorough research and development, we are now agents for “AEROBIN” - a truly effective outdoor composting bin which “makes it easy to clean up your act!”
I’ve always detested the smelly little ice-cream container that’s been on my kitchen bench! Sometimes I would get the guilts and re-invent it but more often than not, I resorted to putting compostable waste in the rubbish bin and the idea of walking back and forth to the compost heap …. you’ve got to be joking! All that is now a thing of the past because I have an “ECO BOKASHI BUCKET” beside the regular rubbish bin in my kitchen. No more guilts and definitely no more smell!!! We put the heads and tails of prawns in the Eco Bokashi Bucket at Christmas time and I only emptied the bucket a month later – all the ‘stuff’ in the bucket had fermented and I just poured the whole lot into the compost heap … once a month trip to the compost heap – now that makes real sense!!!
If composting is an issue in your household, call in at the nursery and see these two systems in action – we know you’ll be impressed and we are proud stockists for both fabulous products.
It’s already the end of the page … call in at the Nursery soon and meantime, enjoy your garden ..
Diana, Graham & all at Silkie Gardens Rose Nursery & Café!
Previous Newsletter - Spring / Summer 2007
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