My Dirty Little Secret

Every year around this time my secret love affair starts. 

It starts off slow with only a hint of the love and pure joy that will come as the days turn into weeks and finally months. 

Then it’s gone. All the happiness and pleasure gone and I come crashing back down to earth.

Jasmine Polyanthum in full bloom. I love this scent.

I have to keep my love a secret as so many people disagree with me plus this love is just so, so, so common!

But I’ll let you in on my dirty little secret…. I love Jasmine polyanthum. They give my end of winter start of the westerly winds blues the TLC I need to continue.  I know spring will be here soon.  

I love nearly everything about this plant.

I love the soft feather like foliage, the deep green lushness of its leaves. 

I love the way it soft stems intertwine themselves and fall gracefully down. 

I love how the pink buds form at the end of winter, letting me know the end of this cold is close. 

I love watching the deep pink buds open to the purest white flower.

But most of all I love the scent.  

I love the scent wafting in the air, just a hint of spring.  I love getting up close and breathing deeply letting the fragrance fill me.  I love how it captures me and makes me want more. Oh how glorious it would be to be surrounded by Jasmine polyanthums.  

Every year I forget what their scent does to me. Then I start to notice them everywhere. This beautiful dense climber with pink buds and then they buds open and I’m in love all over again.

While Jasmine polyanthums are beautiful at this time of year reality hits around autumn and winter when they have a tendency to look a little shabby.  I have found that a good fertilise with Organic Link Fertiliser and trim after flowering (November) and just before flowering (June) helps keep them looking neat and beautiful.  

Jasmine polyanthums love the full sun but can grow in some shade.  They are a very vigorous climber and can cover an area quite quickly. 

If you don’t have anywhere for them to climb don’t worry they look glorious in hanging baskets or trailing over the edges of retaining walls. 

I have even seen some Jasmine polyanthums climbing on chain link fence and they were so highly trimmed it looked like a box hedge.  

These plants are hardy – they don’t mind a little bit of dry weather or a little bit of wet weather. They seem to handle the cold and the heat and once established can handle most soil types. 

Jasmine flowers are also commonly used as aphrodisiacs so make sure you like your neighbours before you use it on your fencing! 

Also for many people the scent can be very overpowering and even a bit sickly so do be mindful of where you plant it.  

This weekend give your love life some TLC and bring a Jasmine polyanthum home, it can even stay inside for a few days too, so you can enjoy the scent 24/7.

Spring is Here. What do I Plant?

Jasmine polyanthum

Few vines rival Jasmine polyanthum for beauty and fragrance. This easy-to-grow climber produces beautiful clusters of starry flowers you can smell from miles away. Most Jasmine polyanthums bloom in late winter or early spring. We have ours in hanging baskets so no need to worry about stakes for these vigorous climbers.

Waterhouse Unipunctata

You may think that a native tree that has small white flowers is a little unusual to be included in Plants that I love for Spring. Think again! Waterhousea Unipunctata or Roly Poly Satinash has been included because of its long lasting flushes of brilliant red new growth that cover the plant making it stand out amongst the green backdrop of any garden. Plus its flowers and fruit are a delight to the native fauna. It can handle dry conditions and light frosts once established and likes the full sun.

Osteospermum Copper Amethyst

Osteoperums always bring sunshine and brightness to any garden. There is a range of colours now available so you will find one to suit any garden palette.

They are perfect for gardens or pots and will flower continuously through the warmer months.

You can let it ramble through the garden or keep it neat and tidy by giving it a good trim inbetween flowering. Regular deadheading and fortnightly liquid fertilising will encourage new blooms. Flowers will close up every evening and open up again in early morning.

Lavender

How can one not want the beautiful fragrance of Lavender in their garden? Lavenders can be grown in pots or the garden and flower profusely. Plus they look really pretty as cut flowers.

Give the plants a full sun position in a well-drained soil. Do not overwater as lavender dislikes wet feet, prune after flowering to promote compact growth and mulch well. Drought tolerant once established.

There are so many varieties of Lavender available. I have found French to be the longest lasting in our climate but if you want to try something different you could try Lavender ‘Lavish’ the double flowering lavender or Lavender ‘Silver Lining’ which has an almost white foliage.

Petunia Midnight Gold

We are now stocking a great range of trailing perennials in seedlings and pots. Perfect as living mulches or to jazz up full sun hanging baskets. One of my favourites at the moment is the Petunia Midnight Gold. This petunia features huge double blooms that are a lemony yellow around the outside and deep purple black on the inside. It has exceptional branching habit with profuse flowering making this perfect for hanging baskets.