December 11th, 2022Glen, about the house

Before you go away…
If you have thoughts of taking advantage of this, our first post-Covid summer
break and are not certain who could take care of your garden while you are away, here
are a few precautions to take before you leave to keep it in good shape for your return.
For the shrub and seedling beds, a good thick layer of mulch is the answer. There
are a good many materials that can be used successfully for this purpose – washed and
dried seaweed, tan bark, almond shells, straw, pebbles, even coarse sand. Anything
porous that will allow moisture in and keep the roots cool and moist will do.
Lawn clippings make excellent mulch, that is after they have been let stand
but regularly turned over to dry, as they can become clogged and greasy during the
rotting-down process.
A word to the wise, don’t use clippings from a couch-blend lawn as couch will
shoot, grow and take over your garden beds.
Flood your garden and shrub beds for several days before you leave, for this, with
the help of the mulch, should keep them moist for at least two or three weeks.
Your lawns, if any, will need to be soaked in the same manner to ensure their
survival until you come back.
Fern house and porch plants will dry out quickly and should be well watered
before you leave.
If possible, stand the pots or hanging baskets in a trough or sink and fill them
with water to within several centimetres of the top of the pots. Leave them in the
water to soak up all the water they can safely hold.
Keep the hose running on tubbed plants until the water runs out of the bottom
hole and once the water has completely soaked in, repeat the performance several
times until you are satisfied the water has reached all of the roots in the pot.
Indoor plants will keep longer if they are well watered and stood in a trough with
about 2cm of water in the bottom.

A rose by any other name – cistus, the true Gallipoli Rose…

Although most of us have at least heard of the beautiful red rose that was
designated Gallipoli Centenary Rose on Anzac Day 2015, few would know that our
Diggers fought amidst another, less glamorous, little white “rose” – cistus salviifolius,
which flourished and bloomed prolifically atop the cliffs.
Cistus salviifolius or sage rock-rose is but one of many variations, natural and/
or hybrid, to be found in the dry and temperate regions extending from Turkey right
through to Central Europe.
Growing mostly to around 1 to 2 metres high, or prostrate as ground covers, they
thrive in our dry, sun-filled climate and make their presence felt with their profusion
of multicoloured flowers.
I have four of my favourites growing throughout my garden. These include the
white Gallipoli rose. It isn’t hard to see why they were likened to the old English
bramble roses.
The main image, above left, is of cistus ladanifera – 1.5-2 metres and also known
as the gum cistus due to its long narrow ‘clammy’ leaves. It is widely thought to be
the original source of the historic fragrant resin labdanum.
The image on the top right is pink rock-rose, C. creticus which growns to 1-1.5m
with soft velvety foliage and large deep pink flowers.
The image centre right is one of the C. skanbergii hybrid group. It has a soft semiweeping habit and is great for draping over steps or low garden walls with bountiful
flowers.
The final image bottom right, is the hero of this story – C.salviifolius. It grows 60-
90cm tall with smallish (3cm) white flowers, borne singly or in threes with five sepals
on the buds and small woolly, sage-like foliage.
Got a gardening question? Email glenzgarden@gmail.com