Keith Mundy
As a nurseryman, and one who is addicted to plants, I thought I’d share with you some of the plants I consider to be an absolute necessity in any garden – whether a garden of natives or introduced plants.
One of my all-time favourites is the genus of Cotinus (smoke bush). These beautiful deciduous plants come in a range of foliage colours from lime green through to reddish purple and all with an amazing plume-like panicle of flowers in … Read more »
Keith Mundy
With the cooler months of the year here again, our gardens can become somewhat drab and uninteresting after a long summer so consideration should be given to adding some colour to the garden. Autumn is the ideal time to do this as transpiration rates are lower and, with the recent good rain, there is less stress on the plants through the planting process.
Colour can be added with the use of flowering plants or by … Read more »
This is a story about the birds and the bees. No, not that one, but one about our fine feathered friends and those helpful little pollinators and collectors of nectar that we often forget about in our gardens.
We, as gardeners, tend to overlook one of the most crucial elements of gardening when designing a space, and that is to provide food and habitat for birds and bees. In attracting bees to your garden, we must understand they … Read more »
Customers regularly ask me to suggest a groundcover for a particular situation in a garden and with so many different forms, both Australian and introduced, the decision usually comes down to what you actually what the plant to do.
Ground cover plants vary from conifers through Australian natives to perennials and introduced plants from outside Australia. Many are absolute ground huggers and others can reach 50-70cm high but can be as wide as 3-4m.
There are categories … Read more »
Keith Mundy
Spring has arrived and with it the start of the gardening year. New growth appears on deciduous plants, perennials wake after their enforced winter hibernation and bulbs pop up everywhere as new life begins.
This month commences with many tasks in the garden including the preparation and planting of the spring vegetable garden, planting of flowering annuals and the completion of late winter and early spring chores before too much new growth … Read more »
Keith Mundy
Citrus in all its varieties is presently one of the most popular categories of fruit trees available in nurseries. This is mainly due to the work that has been done in recent times to provide dwarf growing forms that are more suitable to pot culture or for our ever-decreasing house block sizes.
In growing citrus a great deal of importance is placed on the location where you live as many are not suited, for instance, to heavy frosts or cold southerly winds.
Optimal temperatures for growing citrus are between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius. When temperatures get above … Read more »
