Plant or chocolate? Have both!

Let's face it chocolate and Christmas go so well together and what an inovative way to get your chocolate fix with a Chocolate Cosmos plant. The chocolate flowers are heavenly perfumed of sweet chocolate and this plant will grow in a pot or out in the garden.

Chocolate Cosmos are in the garden centre now so be quick.

Not so mellow yellow...

Need to cover an area in the garden fast? Grow one of these! It's an osteospermum called "Voltage".

It features large daisy-like flowers in vivid yellow. "Voltage" has a spreading/ mounding habit so it can act like a ground cover in your garden. Check them out available in "Copper Apricot" and purple.

Glam Gardening...

Bring out your feminine side with PGA's new plant release "The Princess Lavender".

It is so pretty you have to visit us a Serenity Nursery to see it!!

The Princess lavender features large, vibrant pink flowers and a long flowering time. The main flower flourish will be in Spring and will continue to flower through out the year. This is a compact lavender growing approx 70cm x 70cm. The foliage is aromatic and the cut flowers are ideal to use in arrangements.

Princess Lavender is easy to grow and requires little water once established.

Try Growing your Princess Lavender:

In your favourite container

As a small growing border

En Masse for great effect

Image via Plant Growers Australia

Wake up Maggie

White Magnolias

Hi there, I have had a wee time away from the computer over the last couple of months, so I haven't been posting as much as I would like to. During my time away I managed to travel to Victoria twice, mainly for business but also to have a break from the garden centre and do some sight seeing. I always love exploring Melbourne and I had a chance to visit many remarkable garden centers and I have come back with loads of inspiration. I particulary liked Botanical Creations Plants Plus. The crew there gave us some great ideas for Serenity.

The one thing that always stays in my mind about visiting Melbourne in winter is the magnolia plants I see growing everywhere. I mean it seems every second suburban house has a magnificent flowering magnolia teetering over the front fence. Bright pink, maroon red, white I don't care what colour I love them all. The way the flowers form on bare branches before foliage just adds to the visual drama.

It's just that you rarely see magnolias here in Murray Bridge, mainly for the fact they they thrive in acid soils and our soil is quite alkaline. Of course there are ways to make alkaline soils more acid, mixing in peat and organic matter will help sweeten the soil. A more dramatic way to make alkaline soil more acidic is to add aluminium sulphate or Yates Acetone to your soil. If you want to see the awesome magnoliage blooms for yourself pop into the nursery over the next week or so we have some coming in including one of my favorites called Black Tulip. Oh and how can I forget magnolias have the most divine fragrance..

Hope I can keep my posts more regular and happy gardening!!

Bye for now
Krystal

Picture: White Magnolias at Bay Road Nursery By Krystal James.

Sprinkle your garden with colour.

From this...

 To This!

Winter is a great time to plant flower seeds. Try sprinkling a packet of Yates Cottage Garden Mix through your garden. Some of the mixed varieties are self seeding so you will have a bursting flowering garden with little effort.

Image 1 via Yates. Image 2 via ghostmyst.blogspot.com.au

Deluxe Nectar

 ...Our new terracotta birds and pink lanterns are the perfect garden accessory.

Mother's Day is the prettiest time of year in our garden centre. Pink lilliums, orchids, hyacinth, gerberas, cyclamens and camellias are in bloom. We go mad with our deluxe plant gift wrapping using the prettiest printed papers.

ChrysantheMUMs

Double dusty pink.

 Mauve pink

Double fluffy white

Our Chrysanthemum plants are so pretty. I photographed these ones in the nursery today. The mauve pink has an amazing form and the ones with

 double petals are just so voluptuous.

I think the traditional chrysanthemum plant is a must gift every Mother's Day.

Potted flowers last longer than a bunch of flowers because once mum has enjoyed them indoors for a while she can then plant them out in the garden.

Plant Now- Plum Gorgeous

Plum Gorgeous spilling over a blue pot.

I am always on the look out for plants with interesting foliage and I think this new release plant will be a hit this year.

Loropetalum is commonly known as Chinese fringe flower and this particular one is called "Plum Gorgeous". It has deep purple foliage and it will hold this brilliant colour all year round.

Raspberry coloured tasseled flowers will appear in Spring and Autumn. It is an easy to grow plant and will take full sun or part shade. It  will grow to a height of 1m by 2m spread. Perfect for pots or retainer wall planting. In the nursery now.

Images via Plant Growers Australia

Pretty Much Picasso

Paint a pretty garden with this new flowering plant " Pretty Much Picasso". The lime green edge and dark purple center of these flowers will definitely turn heads.

Pretty Much Picasso is a vigorous petunia hybrid ideal for pots and hanging baskets. Available at Serenity Nursery now.

Happy Gardening.

The Pothole Gardener

 Pot hole before

Pot hole after.

Holes of happiness.

I stumbled across this quirky idea today. When you have no garden why not hit the streets with your green thumb. That's what Australian born Londoner and gardening guru Steeve wheen did with his 'The pot hole gardener' project. The left of field project is described by Wheen as an urban experiment and creative pursuit to bring a little greenery to the city streets one pot hole at a time.

Wheen fills East London’s problem potholes in roads and footpaths with soil and living plants, decorating them with miniature props to create gorgeous tiny worlds.

What do you think?

New Zealands Earthly Delights

 A sculpture made from rustic barbed wire.

 In the shape of a sheep, of course!

 A place for the birds.

A Simple yet elegant cast iron urn draws in the eye.

I love the rustic vegy patch to the right and the stark white gazebo in the background looks divine.

 The contrast of neatly pruned box hedge and romantic cottage plants is perfection.

 Old fashion dahlias and sedems in the forefront add colour to the greenery.

 An espaliered beurre bosc pear tree is a great use of space. Dwarf Tahitian lime trees are planted below making it a mini garden of Eden.

 Standard Olive trees with silvery grey foliage compliment the green box topiary.

 Another espaliered tree. This one is an apple tree. Not only does it look good its produces lots of yummy fruit. Dad brought this idea
 back home with him.

 An espaliered Fig tree is a magnificent idea.

I love the use of this gorgeous teak garden bench. It becomes a practical focal point in the garden.

I was amazed by Marian and Rodney's ( Mum and Dad's) photographs that they took on a recent holiday to New Zealand. A few of you have asked me to post some of their garden tour snaps on our blog.. so here they are. I hope you get inspired and excited as much as I did when I saw these lovely  garden pics. Enjoy...

The height of Blue and White

 A snippet of blue and white lace cap hydrangeas, a dreamy blue gate way and blue gorgeous house that Marian and Rod visited this week.

 The blue milk can, cane chairs and bird cages were nostalgic elements found around the house and garden.

 Marian Loved the use of this blue glazed pot and said the hydrangeas and fuchsias were stunning.

 Love this look.

People from all over came to visit this pretty place.

Mum and Dads New Zealand adventures continued as they explored another beautiful house and garden. Laden with pretty cottage plants and magnificent established trees this place put a twinge in their heart.

Images by Serenity Nursery

Marian's Marvel

 Marian ( Mum) sits along side the beautiful blue and cream house admirering the creek and garden views.

 Try Growing: Dahlias, Agapanthus, Guara, Zantedeschia and acanthus mollis which line the creek bed of this New Zealand garden. These varieties will grow in most Australian areas too.

How would you like snow top mountains in your back yard?

The gardens of New Zealand continue to amaze. This one was designed by a French couple who moved to New Zealand and fell in love with a vacant block with a creek running through it. They planted a vineyard and adorned the creek side with the most beautiful lush plants. Marian and Rod said it looked so effortlessly elegant and the bridge over the creek looked like Monet's Garden.

 

Images by Serenity Nursery

Yucca Flowers & Gargoyles

I am in awe

 of the wonderful yucca flowers

 that I have seen popping up

 all over town this Autumn.

I discovered these ones today while wandering

 around the garden centre.

 Our hand-made

 lantern is spot on

 next to the

 giant

 architectural

yucca

 plant.

I pieced together this little display

 for the garden centre today.

I've used Dad's hand-made

 old finish gargoyles.

 A suar stool made from teak,

 stone steppers

 &

 striking canna plants for a rustic/gothic look.

Photos by Krystal

Autumn Ideas.

Plant annuals now for winter colour. It's the perfect time as the soil is still warm. Try pansies, violas and snap dragons.

Go for warm colours in the garden this autumn to create a sense of warmth

Autumn is the perfect time to rejuvenate your garden to prepare it for Spring. Prune hedges now to keep them compact before new growth. Pick up fallen leaves and compost regulary. Mulch well to encourage healthy soil and to keep your plant roots warm through the cooler months.

 

I't's a great time to grow stone fruit, citrus and lots of edible varieties.

Spend these lovely days outdoors admiring the warm autumn tones.

 

wheelbarrow image by Andrew Lehmann