Thank you to all who have cared and shared this wonderful time with us … your kindness means the world to Justine and Eric and I just know you’ll see Justine back at the Café within a short period of time … baby in tow!
The next impending excitement is of course, the marriage of Ben (our son and Head Chef) and Nicole (our newest staff member in the Café!) …
THE NURSERY AND CAFÉ WILL BE CLOSED SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH, 2007
Now, with all that news out of the way, let’s get down to the business of the roses …
UNDERPLANTING ROSES …
It’s a commonly asked question .. “what can I plant under or between my roses?” If you spend a reasonable amount of time in the garden, obviously the annual seedlings of petunias and pansies, etc. are ideal. However, I prefer the perennials like alyssum, calendula and penstemon, etc. – rip them out when they start to look a big scraggly and they’ll have dropped enough seed to produce new plants without you needing to do anything! Then of course, you can grow all types of vegetables and herbs amongst the roses – nothing nicer than a hedge-row of parsley as a border in the rose garden. This past season we planted ‘Kale’ (a type of cabbage) around the roses and customers went nuts about it … it looked so fabulous! Bulbs are also great around the roses … And here’s a ‘thought for today’ .. plant three rows of peas ..
Peace of Mind
Peace of Heart
Peace of Soul
and three rows of lettuce ..
Let us be Kind
Let us be Patient
Let us really Love one another!
While you’re busy doing all that, plant a few ‘glads’ amongst the roses as well!!! I’m truly ‘glad’ that I can write this ‘Rambler’ for you! Gardening really is a most rewarding and happy experience … enjoy!
ROSE CARE SEMINARS
There’s always a new or different way of doing things in the garden so we invite you to come along to one of the Seminars and spend a couple of hours with Graham. The following topics will be covered:
- Water efficiency in your garden
- Summer rose pruning
- Fertilizer – when, what, how and why?
- Problem prevention/control
- Natural products – inside and outside!
- Having fun!!!
The Seminars cost $20.00 (children welcome free of charge!) and will be conducted on the following dates:
SATURDAY, 20TH OCTOBER - 1.00PM
SUNDAY, 21ST OCTOBER - 11.00AM
and
SATURDAY, 17TH NOVEMBER - 1.00PM
SUNDAY, 18TH NOVEMBER - 11.00AM
We have invited a couple of very interesting speakers to join Graham in the Seminar presentations – Vicki Williams will present Tri-Nature … a selection of very environmentally sound products which suit where grey-water is used in the garden and Colin Hill, the Production Manager from VicMill Fertilizers. I urge you to book early for this series of Seminars .. call now on 1800 821 990!
MULCHING …
It’s never too late to do but DO IT NOW!! while the soil is still moist and you will reduce evaporation by up to 60%. We encourage placement of pads of wet newspaper under the mulch – leave a 10cm gap around the butt of each rose! Lucerne and/or pea straw are ‘top of the range’ mulches however, they are increasingly more difficult to source. We have used oat/wheat/barley straw mulch with great results. If using manure as mulch, please ensure that it is well composted – if animals have been chemically wormed, those chemicals will leach into your soil and kill vital microbes and worms!!!
FUNGUS CONTROL IN HUMID CONDITIONS …
The addition of ecoRose to your spray maintenance/feeding program does not harm beneficial insects and can be used without wearing protective clothing! TIP: Show the kids how to do it .. they’ll love helping in the garden doing such an important task!!! EcoRose contains a food grade potassium such as you would find in soda water and when sprayed directly onto the leaf surface, it alkalizes i.e. changes the pH of the leaf surface, making it impossible for fungus to survive … eezy peezy … just DO IT!!!
The spray maintenance/feeding program we use and recommend is very safe to use on vegetables and all other plants in your garden – there is no withholding period which means you can safely spray your tomato plants, for example, and eat them that same day!
SERIOUSLY SAFE … TRI-NATURE …
I never meant to keep it a secret .. I’ve been using the Tri Nature range of cleaning products in my home for years and more recently, it’s become apparent that more people are keen to make positive changes for the environment by using environmentally friendly cleaning products … provided the products do what they claim!!! I can assure you – the Tri Nature products are fabulous and if you want to know more about them, come along to one of the Rose Care Seminars and see for yourself how using these products can make a real difference in your home cleaning regime!
+++++++++++++++++++++++
THE VALUE OF ‘NATRAKELP’ LIQUID SEAWEED …
It wouldn’t be the ‘Rose Rambler’ without some reference to Natrakelp Liquid Seaweed … with the prolonged drought, it’s even more important now to use liquid seaweed for soil moisture retention, heat tolerance (up to 5 degrees!!) and of course, reduce plant stress. The algin content of seaweed improves the wettability of potting mix and soil; it enhances the nutritional quality of vegetables and crops and the durability of flowers. Tests have shown that seaweed can increase flower production by more than 30%.
If you have a bottle of liquid seaweed – even though it might be discoloured and reek to high heaven, it doesn’t matter how old it is, it’s perfectly OK to use! Kind of like a good ‘red’ wine .. it matures with age! Remember, we don’t sell such a great product for you to use as an ornament … pour it on the plants in your garden and watch them lap it up!!!
CELEBRATION OFFER
DURING OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER ONLY
BUY ANY 4 ROSES *
TAKE 1 FREE ROSE
*THIS OFFER EXCLUDES STANDARDS & WEEPERS
Due to the garden renovations here at the nursery, there are about 50 roses which were removed from the gardens and have been planted into huge 30cm pots … they are for sale @ $29.50 each … first in, first served!
WATER SMART … REBATE SCHEME …
Did you know that if you spend $100.00 on mulch, you can apply for a Government rebate of $30.00? Yes, call in at the nursery, purchase your mulch and we’ll give you a receipt for same. When your receipts total $100.00, you can apply for the rebate … better in your pocket than the Government coffers!!! Of course, the rebate scheme is applicable to water tanks, soil wetting agents, dual flush toilets, *** water efficient shower heads, etc.
If this scheme applies to you, call in at the Silkie Gardens Rose Nursery and we can give you the applicable forms or log on to www.ourwater.vic.gov.au or phone 136 186 for more information.
IN CLOSING …
If you take too much notice of the Press, the future for gardening and gardeners can seem rather bleak but I prefer to think that the challenge of the water situation will encourage us all to take a more serious approach to every aspect of the environment and our responsibility of caring for our environment! I have recently planted my beans and I will plant the tomatoes after Melbourne Cup – I replanted the front rose garden on the nature strip as I promised I would and I know that with just one x 10 litre bucket of water per week each, plus the thick layer of mulch I used, those plants will flourish. I urge you all to be as positive … maybe defiant even!!!
Remember to book now for a Rose Care Seminar and enjoy your garden this season … call in at the nursery soon – the gardens look fabulous … may everything come up roses for you and yours
Diana, Graham & all at Silkie Gardens Rose Nursery & Café!
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