ARS Tasmania Newsletter – April 2019

• Date: 2nd April 2019
• author: Lesley Gillanders

IN MY GARDEN

Our recent drought brought several paddymelons into the garden to feed on a few patches of green lawn which is struggling to survive. Luckily the gates at each end of the house were closed, or there would be a lot of damage to the treasures planted in the rock garden apart from the other shrubs throughout the garden.

We had a good specimen growing near the gate of Leucodendron argenteum commonly called "Silver Tree" Sadly, after reaching one and half metres it slowly died and Ken removed it yesterday. This was our third and last attempt to grow this lovely tree.

The dry hot weather suited our Belladonna bulbs. Amaryllis belladonna "Hathor" has several white trumpet shaped flowers yellow in the centre on each stem. Sternbergia lutea is another bulb that has liked this hot dry summer. It has large bright golden Crocus like flowers on 20cm stems. The Nerines are all in flower throughout the garden. First to open was N. fothergilla with bright sparkling scarlet blooms. This species is smaller growing than N. fothergilla "Major" but has the same colour which grows on a taller flowering stem.

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