How to Improve the Local Area: Re-vamping the Nameless Park

On the way to Safeway, sometimes I de-tour to the Nameless Park. It’s a pleasant and relaxing open space, but it wouldn’t kill the local council to improve the quality…

Things which need to be changed would include the rotting benches- which shake like a leaf from a light tap. The rust on the metal parts makes it clear that stainless steel wasn’t used…

They’re also stunningly covered in a combination of lichens, mould and algae.

The park is so serene to the point that humans are rarely seen in it. Part of this may be due to the under maintained playground (which is fun until you hit the age of six); and the lack of other facilities. 

Map courtesy of Google Maps.

If I worked for the Kingston council and had my way with the budget (most likely from blackmailing other authorities) I would improve the Nameless Park by:

-giving it a name.

-replacing the park benches and adding more.

-planting a shrub layer.

-expanding the playground to cater for a broader age group.

-implementing taps. 

 A Simple concept plan, see legend below.

Grey- Trees already there

Dark green- New trees

Light green- shrub layer

brown- benches

blue- drinking taps

purple- bins

Rectangle- soccer field

Red- multiple playgrounds for ages 2-5, 6-12, 12-16.
Yellow-barbeque facilities with benches and tables.

How to Improve the Local Area: Weed Control and the #1 Over-Used Plant

In the Clarinda area, the biggest weed problem would be the Kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum), front yards have the grass invading garden beds and their removal is proven difficult when they’ve sprung up against Rose Bushes, almost knowingly growing amongst Rose thorns for protection...

In order to prevent/solve this problem neighbours should probably cooperatively weed to stop the Kikuyu creeping back and forth under the fence line. Following their removal, heavy mulching would help greatly and make Kikuyu seedlings relatively easy to pluck, (because it’s fixed itself poorly to the ground if it's even managed to germinate).

I’ll probably be hated by the Baby Boomer generation for saying this but, Roses are overdone. And ugly.  Almost every garden has Roses in it, and most of them can be considered ‘weeds’ because they look so horrible. The growth is scraggily and twiggy looking due to lack of intervention and they seem ‘out of place’ considering the plants they’ve been placed next to. Possible plants which can replace roses, which have similar blooms, include:

-Lisianthus (left), a blue rose looking perrenial.

-Camellias, although they are on the brink of being overused themselves...

-And best of all Ranunculus, a herbaceous perennial which is an excellent cut flower minus the thorns.

Neighbours’ Plants (The horticultural version of Neighbours)

In the Clarinda Community, bordering Clayton and Oakleigh, the suburb is filled generally with street trees of native origin. A stroll around the neighbourhood, starting from home, takes me past the court which is filled with Purple Leaf Plum (Prunus cerasifera). Dark leaved blossom trees with grey bark and a haunting appearance when leaves are completely shed.

 

  

As I head to the nameless park, I notice that almost everyone has a Bottlebrush (Callistemon) as a street tree. Fruiting capsules are visible as the flowers have long passed. I once saw a Callistemon with orange ‘flowers’ and purple anthers. After a re-visit a fortnight later, it morphed into the usual red colour which was slightly disappointing…

 

 There are a few Wattles (Acacia), and Gum Trees (Eucalyptus) every now and then, but Callistemon is always the dominant street tree with its ‘fuzzy’ looking leaflets from afar and papery bark which peels itself away.

Finally arriving at the nameless park, here Eucalypts are favoured with the company of Drooping She-oaks (Allocasuarina verticillata); the great trees have flowing branchlets which reflect the appearance of thousands of hanging green caterpillars which sway with the wind. Surprisingly, She-oaks are used to stabilize poor soils because they have nitrogen fixing bacteria on their root nodules quiet similar to those of legumes.    

According To the final version of the Kingston city’s significant tree register; commonly used trees in the Clarinda/ Clayton South area include:

-Genus/ species: Calodendron capense

Common Name: Cape Chestnut

-Genus/ species: Eucalyptus muelleriana

Common Name: Yellow Stringybark

and

-Genus/ species: Banksia marginata

Common Name: Silver Banksia

Feature Plant: Cornflower

Today I went to the Temple of Bunning’s. Just discovered that Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus); can be sown in winter! According to the Jekka Mcvicar New Book of Herbs, it has edible flowers which are used as a tonic and a ‘stimulant’. Giggity, giggity, giggity.

 It is considered to be ‘hardy’, and grows to ~50cm x 15cm. The flowers are classically blue, though there are hybrids which may be pink, white, or purple- if you’re too snobby for the good old blue.  

Fun Facts

-It’s used in French eyewash because it has eye brightening chemicals.

-Juice from flower petals make a blue ink for fabric dye and watercolour paint.

-It’s good at attracting bee pollinators.

-It is one of Germany’s national flowers.

-It’s known as “Bachelor’s Buttons” because young men in love wore them in folklore.

Autumn and Winter Veggies:

“In many ways, autumn and winter are the better times to grow veggies here in Australia. There are fewer pests and diseases now, plants need less water, and with everything growing that little bit slower the annoying weeds are easier to keep on top of too.”

– Burkes Backyard magazine, March 2011

The catch 22, would be you freezing your socks off in the winter, but none the less there are plenty of advantages to planting veggies in the cold seasons that should be taken.

At first thought, autumn and winter may be regarded as the 'plant death and dormancy' season. This may be partly true as things such as Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus), and Mint seeds will refuse to germinate due to the child abuse known as cold weather and lack of sunshine.

However, this simply means that there is a different selection of veggies that can be grown (and sometimes can only be grown) in the cool autumn and harsh winter.  

Autumn

March: This month is best buddies with February so it’s still quiet warm, as a general tip, whatever wasn’t planted for summer should (and can) be planted now!

Plant: Pumpkin, Broccoli, Lettuce, Cabbage and Coriander. (Pumpkin and Coriander in my garden have self sown at this time of year).

April: Now the leaves have started to change colour, with most of the flowers gone by now, it’s time to admire the sunset coloured foliage of deciduous trees.  

Plant: Broccoli, Chives, Cauliflower, Parsley, Parsnip and enjoy the beautiful foliage of the trees or you have no soul.

May: Under the affects of the La Nina, expect colder and wetter Mays. Wear more clothes. Put your nudist hobby on hold until spring arrives. 

Plant: Garlic bubs. Mine have the urge to be planted and have spawned to life without the help of moisture, or light, or soil…

(Whatever happened to WOLT???)

Winter

June: Winter has officially started, even though May practically felt like winter.

Plant: All Peas and Beans will do fabulously; they can both be started in late autumn (ideally) right through to the end of winter.  

July: It’s very, very cold now and you can definitely notice how short the days have gotten.

Plant: Gai choy, Onion, Shallots, Peas, Beans and Parsnip.

August: It’s almost spring! Get ready for the warmer weather and the dreaded hay fever.

Plant: Peas and Beans still, Potato, Spinach and Sunflower (because there’s actually sun). 

For what you can’t sow from seed, you can always purchase seedlings from the Temple of Bunning’s or simply propagate from what you have. 

Dress warm!

Smart Garden Watering!

 Smart Garden Watering 

 

Our university developed a public website for water saving and garden efficiency. I decided to try it out- let’s see how many mean things I can say about it. 

I’ve clicked the ‘launch site’ button which is humongous (thus easy to find), and I’ve named the garden a ‘Mon-den’- out of pure vanity. And hello! After inputting my suburb, the pop up screen has told me that my area has sandy soil and a rainfall of 567mm per year. Not bad website, not bad, I can confirm that we have crap soil in this region. 

Now I’ve entered the name of a planting area and the size in square metres. My ‘Carnival bed’ which is 5 metres squared. The next step is for me to input the plants in that bed, I’ve entered Box Shrub, Ranunculi, and Carnations; strangely enough though, the website does not acknowledge the existence of Hollyhocks/Alcea… oh well, nothing’s perfect.

Another annoying thing is the input options of how you water the garden. The website refuses to believe that gardens can be watered with a watering can. Well sorry I don’t use drip lines or sprinklers, you rich bastards.

Now I’ve entered my mulch type, which is coarse. My soil is sandy and flatly sloped. My plants are spaced ‘mainly covered’ and they are in a sunny position.  And….Voila! Here are my results.

The website's other functions include: education of how water can be saved inside the house, school and work place as well. Numerous fact sheets recommend methods of drought readiness, from switching to drought tolerant plants; to grey water and storm water collection.

A particular section of the site which interests me would be the Plant Library, It’s not sorted alphabetically (which is terribly mainstream), and rather it’s sorted into themes. This could not only give you ideas for garden design, but also acquaint the reader to new genus, without starting at ‘A’ all the time. 

 

Here are some from the ‘Subtropical’ section.

When you’re all done with the Plant Library, there’s a section called the Plant Selector which is even more fun. Here you can look for plants based on criteria you select; you can select a tree, bush, climber, grass or groundcover. Whether the plant you want is deciduous or evergreen; perennial or annual- even the flowering season of the plant is up to you. You can be as nit picky as you like.    

Squeeze those lemons.

  

The website links the community together by promoting social gatherings/events, such as the: 2011 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (I didn’t go this year T_T), competitions, workshops and conferences.   

Graphics: Easy to navigate site reinforced by photographs and illustration.

* * * * *

Interactivity: Calculations completed for you after simple inputs.

* * * *

Information: Plenty of fact sheets on a range of related material.

* * * * *

Range of Media: Plenty of buttons to click, videos to watch, and even games for the kiddies.

* * * * *

Seed Recommendations!

The first seeds I planted were carrot seeds. They all died.

I tried again with carnations 5 years later. Turns out the only trick to it was to keep the bedding soil moist, who da funk it?

Based off personal experience, I think growing your own plants from seed or cuttings is  a interesting way to fill up boring spaces: such as spots which can't be mowed on a lawn, or cracks in the floor (outside!), or just bold patches in the garden bed. Seeing the seedlings pop up is something to look forward to.  

Benefits of growing seeds:

-teaches children responsibility towards living things

-teaches adults responsibility towards living things

-cheaper than buying mature plants/ seedlings

-unpredictability to an extent

-profligacy… Some are bound to survive

-extras can be given to friends, trade seeds and cuttings for fun! (Then experience the nostalgia of trading lunch at play time from primary school.)

-Increasing garden *biodiversity: with new plants and their *pollinators.

*Biodiversity: This benefits you as plants which attract predators like wasps, will result in less caterpillar hunting for you

*Butterfly enthusiasts purposely grow excessive amounts of a certain plant to attract the little bastards creatures.

  

If you are new to raising from seed, or want your child to, fail- proof seeds include: 

Pot Marigold (Calendula officinalis): Generally they are either yellow or orange but this species has plenty of interesting cultivars with a mix of both colours and shades. The petals of this plant are edible, it is generally used in salads. 

Position: full sun

Plant: Spring, Summer, Autumn

Height: 25cm

French Marigold (Tagetes patula): My grandma gave me this plant. It can be tall or bushy depending on whether you decide to pinch off the top shoots or not. ! Poisonous if ingested! Self seeds very easily (it’s a survivor). Useful as a decoy plot in the veggie patch.

Position: full sun/part shade

Plant: Spring, Summer, Autumn

Height: <60cm

Cosmos (Cosmos bippinatus): This plant self seeds fairly easily, the blooms are interesting to watch as they change from a deep purple to a fairy floss pink within a few days. 

Position: full sun

Plant: Spring, Summer, Autumn

Height: 110cm

Pumpkin: Practically grows itself, the compost I used had Pumpkin seeds in it and now they are everywhere. You should plant this at a large space.

Position: full sun

Plant: Spring, Summer

Height: 40cm

Ranunculi: this technically isn't a seed, but its a very easy bulb to grow. The plant is rose-like minus the thorns. Colours include: pinks, red, orange, yellow, white and burgundy. It can grow up to a metre in height, but dwarf varieties are available If height is a problem.

Position: Full sun 

Plant: Late summer- early Winter

Height: 40-60cm 

Where can I get seeds?

-Bunning’s Warehouse, 3-4 brands

-Sam’s warehouse near Moorabbin airport, only has the DT. Brown brand (also has good pots and gardening tools specifically for children)

-Big W or K-mart (Chadstone’s Big W and K-mart don’t have gardening sections, I’ve checked already D=) 2-3 brands  

-The Reject shop (also handy if you’ve gone all the way to Chadstone to discover the lack of seeds sold.) Only has the DT. Brown brand

Brands aren't too important, but the more brands there are, the higher amount of different cultivars and genus.

If you want seeds for a particular plant that you cannot find at the usual stores, you will probably find them at a nursery like Garden World, but be prepared to cough up a bit more……

Just water enough to keep the seed bedding moist and be patient, happy planting- off you go now.