Budburst - What's it all about?
Spring is just around the corner come August in SEQ. It’s the month when we hear talk of budburst. What the heck is it though? Take a close look at your deciduous trees like the white weeping King Shahtoot Mulberry, the tropical stone fruit or even your grapes. The bare stems and branches are starting to swell with the promise of new leaves or flowers. Joyous flowering will just be a short few days or weeks away.
A ginormous (is that a word?) burst of energy from the stone fruit tree will produce flowers from these swollen buds. These when pollinated, form your fruit. The leaves follow after the flowers.
Our beloved white mulberry is producing tiny swollen leaf buds now and the citrus including the finger limes, are developing flowers in profusion.
Do you have a man in your life?
Are you looking for the ideal gift for the special man in your life?
Why not buy him the gift of a Garden Workshop ? It’s unique, interesting and he’ll enjoy his Father’s Day again and again as he grows a beautiful garden.
If he’s a man who is into fine food, or a tinker in the kitchen, give him a Gourmet Gardening Workshop voucher.
He‘ll love you for it and you’ll love his new recipes.
I'll send you out a lovely gift certificate to give your man, for the workshop of your choice.
Coming up soon are the Spring Vegie Series at Mt Cootha starting Sunday 29 August
The Composting and Worms Workshop on Thursday 26 August in Wishart at the Ecobotanica garden
Companion Plants and Crop Rotation at Mt Coot-tha on Thursday 9 September
And the immensely popular Gourmet Gardening at Mt Gravatt in the chefs kitchen and garden on Thursday 2 September.
Recently one happy family gave their mum a Mother’s Day workshop as a gift. Mum June’s feedback? “This was the very best Mother’s Day present I have ever received”.
I also now have a selection of great Felco tools for sale. These top of the range, lifetime garden tools, are the Rolls Royce of the garden world. Perfect for a special gift, any recipient would be delighted to receive a Felco.
I still have my own first Felco pruners. They are now 15 years old and still perfect! I'll be uploading pictures and prices onto the website Garden Boutique pages in the next days for the range available www.ecobotanica.com.au
Gourmet gardener workshops
Hot off the press is the announcement of the second Gourmet Gardeners Workshop. The first, held at the amazing Chef Brent Southcombe’s kitchen and garden were a resounding success. An elite group of budding gardeners and chefs attended and learnt how to establish a vegie patch then harvested and prepared a range of exotically exuberant dishes from Brent’s and my own garden harvests. YUM!!!
I know how many would love to attend these intimate workshops with 11 others. I have 60 people who have already registered their interest. So, if you’d like to be a part of this gardening and cooking workshop that will give you inspiration to grow the freshest food you possibly can for your health and enjoyment, call me straight away to book in. It’s just $130 for a truly Gourmet experience on Thursday 2 September 10-1pm. (Great for a Father’s Day or birthday gift too!)
Asparagus for free (well almost)
As a child, I helped my father set up the asparagus bed at the back of the garage. We dug a deep trench and filled it with manure and compost then set it aside with a covering mulch to ‘cook’ til it was time to plant the asparagus crowns.
Actually, I recall dad could only get seed at the time, so we sprinkled on the seed and remember being amazed that this would grow into the asparagus we crave. Anyway, up it came and even the first year we had meals of pencil thin asparagus. Thereafter, each spring our family would tuck into massive plates piled high with thick asparagus spears cut from the permanent bed. It was a case of the quick and the hungry.
If you’d like to learn how to grow asparagus and so many of our other favourite vegies, come along to the Spring Vegies Workshops starting at Brisbane Botanic Garden Mt Cooth-tha on Sunday 29 August. You’ll be tucking into your own fresh veg. in just a few months. Call or click here to email me to book in or find out more. 3349 2962
Did you know?
- Worms are mesophilic and enjoy a warm bed and food, just like us.
- If you cut a worm in half it will die, not grow 2 worms as we were told as kids.
- Compost can be cooked?
- How to turn a compost heap without a spade or fork?
- Crop rotation to ensure healthy plants is very different in the subtropics than in colder climates
- Comfrey is a great companion for passionfruit – do you know why?
To learn more about these interesting subjects in an interactive workshop, enrol for the Garden Know How workshops starting Thursday 26 August. Call on 3349 2962
Recipes from the Herb Gardens Galore workshops now on the website include Lavender and Almond Biscuits and Cucumber and Warm Coriander soup. How delicious. Both take just a few minutes to prepare and can be whipped up for dinner or afternoon tea in a flash. Both Lavender and coriander are at their peak at the moment so take the chance to use your fresh harvest. Click here to be taken to the recipes pages under Snippets on the Ecobotanica website
Have you grown some excellent vegies? Email me a picture so I can share it with others in the next newsletter.
WHY NOT book into a Garden Harvest Workshop today? Do it before you forget! 3349 2962 or Email me for a brochure linda@ecobotanica.com.au
Would you like you like to book some garden inspiration and advice?
Sometimes it's just what you need.
Your own garden advisor who can sort out a few tricky issues.
Image: Newspix Chris Mccormack
