Pittwater Life December 2020 Issue

Garden Life
Garden Life
‘The great indoors’: ways to
brighten your home interior
With the lockdown and
home ‘detention’ of the
past few months, there
has been a renewed interest in
indoor houseplants. Growers
are selling potted plants for
desks, coffee tables, windowsills
and hanging pots in every
imaginable glass container and
terrarium.
Terrariums sometimes work
well but they tend to fog up
inside. Glass jars, bottles, fish
bowls and pots, all without correct
drainage, are hard to keep
alive with soil either too wet or
too dry! Now that the rules are
slackening you should be aware
it’s not advisable to leave these
plants while you are away, as
small pots dry out quickly now
that the warm weather is here.
There is a solution that is
decorative, practical and easy
to maintain: grow your plants in
water and they will take care of
themselves, while you are away.
Indoor water bowls are easy
to make. A perfect project for
kids – and great for giving as
presents to all your friends,
whether their thumbs are
green or black!
There are many plants that
will thrive for years in water:
colourful dracaenas, trailing
philodendrons, brightly coloured
dieffenbachias, whiteflowering
peace lilies, green
Swedish Ivy, cordylines of every
size, variegated syngonium,
striped spider grass, golden
or purple ornamental sweet
potatoes and English Ivy, to
name a few. And for the chefs
of the household, there’s basil,
with Gabrielle Bryant
oregano, mint, sage, rosemary
and thyme.
No matter what your choice
the process is the same. Charity
shops are a goldmine for finding
glass jars, bottles, bowls and
containers of every shape and
size.
To commence, choose small
gravel, river stones, coloured
pebbles or even glass marbles
to suit your plants, and wash
them thoroughly to remove any
dirt, dust, salt or soil. Fill the
selected jar with a small layer of
your chosen pebbles.
If you are going to plant a
plant that has been soil-grown,
make sure to wash and clean the
roots. The easiest plants to grow
are cuttings that will quickly
grow roots once planted into
water.
Roots will form from a point
on the stem that had previously
been a leaf joint, so take the cutting
and remove the bottom two
sets of leaves, before planting.
Hold the cutting carefully and
fill in around it with additional
stones until about two-thirds
full. If it seems unsteady you
can hold it firm by adding a few
larger stones on the surface.
The top of the cutting or
plant should stand above the
top container. Next, fill the
container with water to the top
of the pebbles. Keep your water
garden in a light spot and
watch it grow.
Ideally you should change
the water every couple of
weeks but as long as it doesn’t
become murky it will be OK
for longer. You will never again
have to worry about watering
your indoor plants! (I have a
small thriving cordyline cutting
in a vase that I haven’t touched
for three months…)
Forget plastic – opt for fabric
Maybe plastic pots will
soon be a thing of the
past. The recent move is
towards fabric bags that
have been made from
recycled plastic PET drink
bottles, helping to reduce
the never-ending problem of
plastic landfill.
Fabric bags come in
all sizes, from small low
planters to veggie gardens,
they fold neatly away when
not in use, they are light,
they never crack or break,
their handles make them
easy to carry, they are
decoratively coloured… what
more could be asked for?
The plants love them
and grow well for several
beneficial reasons: the
fabric provides insulation
from the heat; it keeps the
roots cool; and because it
allows oxygen, air and light
to flow through, the roots
are naturally air-pruned.
Air pruning prevents the
roots circling round and
around the perimeter of
a plastic or ceramic pot,
eventually making the
potted plant root-bound.
Root-bound plants fail
to take in the available
nutrients and fertiliser in
the soil. The roots suffer
from heat stress as the pot
surface heats up.
As the roots in fabric
pots reach the edge of the
pot, they recognise the
light and air. They stop
growing forward and regrow
new roots that branch out
sideways, utilising the
nutrients in the soil around.
Some garden centres
carry fabric pots in stock,
but if you can’t find them,
Google ‘root pouch grow
bags’. They would be a very
welcome Christmas present
for any gardener.
Garden Life
Easy way to get a fruitful result
Blueberries are one of the easiest fruits to
grow – don’t listen to stories that they are
difficult! Originally from the Great Lakes in
North America where they grow in the forests
losing their leaves in winter to survive the
icy cold, they were unsuitable for the warmer
climates, but breeders have grown new evergreen
varieties for our milder climate.
Check before you buy that the plant you
choose is for the Sydney region. Some do
better in the Blue Mountains, Victoria or
Tasmania.
‘Blueberry Burst’ is amazing. Just one bush
will give you a bowl-full every morning for
your breakfast, if you follow a few simple
rules.
Blueberries love full sun, free-draining soil
with plenty of organic compost and regular
water.
These wonderful berry bushes are acidloving,
so check the PH level of your soil
before planting. It should be between 4 and
6. It is worth buying a PH tester for complete
success. If the level is too high you can lower
it by adding peatmoss, organic compost or
watering in some sulphate of aluminium.
Although they will grow happily in the
ground, for greater success plant the bush
into a large pot; buy a potting mix for acidloving
plants, such as azaleas, camellias,
gardenias and fuchsias, and you won’t have a
problem. Once established, blueberries need
little attention.
There is no need to prune them unless to
maintain shape. Fertilise your blueberry bush
with Kahoona just once in early spring, to encourage
the new growth that will produce the
flowers and fruit. Mulch well around the roots
with sugar cane then watch your blueberry
bush grow.
88 DECEMBER 2020
The Local Voice Since 1991
The Local Voice Since 1991
DECEMBER 2020 89