% | Grace H. Garton %

Welcome to my garden! I’ve started writing about my garden as a way for me to keep a record of my plants and how the garden will progress over the seasons and years. I have always been a keen gardener ever since I can remember; it is the same with cooking and art. These are the three things in life that I can not do without, and it’s hereditary!

A while back, I had my own small business as a gardener and landscape designer in Hobart. My head was filled with plant names and I was an obsessive reader of garden books, going to nurseries and propagating plants. Over time, I forgot many plant names…so to refresh my memory I am writing it all down here.

I am including a notes about each species, including pruning and other tips.

I may even start a nature journal!

Abutilon

This plant has many, many names, the most common being, Chinese Lantern.

I have two varieties growing in my garden; each were grown from a cutting. One is a buttery yellow and the other is a salmon pinky orangeThe pinky orange Abutilon is growing in the front garden at the corner of the house. Unfortunately I let a cape gooseberry grow and the weight bowed the young trunk. I’ve since staked the plant in the hope to straighten the trunk. I don’t think it will be perfect, but it’s better than it was.

The yellow Abutilon is growing in my flower garden, a few meters away from my studio window.

Tips

Best grown in full sun or part shade.

Fertilize once a month, tip prune to encourage a bushier growth. Prune in winter. Abutilons can be pruned back hard in April to May, cutting stem to three buds from the ground. This makes a bushier growth.

Cuttings are easy to propagate, which I have done and can be planted in pots! Companion plants for Abutilons are, Heuchera and Fuschia

Acis Autumnalis ‘Autumn Snowflakes’ hardy, easy to grow bulbs. Providing Autumn colour, activated by the summer/autumn rains. Drought hardy, grows well in pots. Plant in full sun to part shade. Grows to 15 – 30 cm in height. Dormant in summer.

Alstroemeria

Also known as Peruvian Lily and Lily of The Incas. Tuberous perennial. Blooms from late Spring to early Autumn. Plant in semi shade or full sun. Use as a border plant, planting 45 cm apart. Can be grown in pots. Plants require a potassium rich fertilizer, every five days, during the growing season. Although winter hardy they may need protection from heavy frost. Pick flowers from the base and dead head regularly.

Alstromeria Psittacina, Alstromeria Regina are two of the four varieties growing in my garden.

Lilium Candidum, Madinna lily

Blooming in late spring and early summer. These lilies have a sweet fragrance. Can be grown in pots. Plants grow well in full sun. 4 to 6 feet tall. Best to plant bulbs in a zigzag pattern, 2-45cm apart, making sure plants have room for air to circulate through them, helping to reduce disease. Plant in rich organic, well rotted composted soil. soil ph should be between 6.0 and 7.0. Plant bulbs in Spring into warm soil.

New varieties just purchase from van Diemen Quality Bulbs are Lilium Nova Joy, Strawbery Event. Tango Lilium, Blushing Joy, White Pearl.

Dutch & Bearded Iris

Dutch Iris (holandica x iridaceae) Last Autumn, I planted a small mix of Dutch Iris throughout the garden. They grew and flowered beautifully, the flowers lasted for a long time. Now they have finished blooming and the foliage is beginning to yellow it’s time to stop watering, wait for the leaves to die down and snip at ground level. Then decide whether to lift them to replant next Autumn or leave them in the ground.

Companion plants to put in for next year. Alliums, tulips. peonies, Anaphalis margaritacea, late dafodils, lupins and larkspurs.

Serena Louise is a bearded iris, I purchased from Van Demon Quality Bulbs (VDQ) last Autumn. I planted her straight away, between two rose plants at the front of the house. The soil is not so good there, large rocks need to be lifted out. The day she flowered was a splendid sight but, I will need to find her a better place.