By Beatrice Hawkins
Last week the Horticultural Society held an extremely successful Garden Extravaganza in St Mary’s Hall.
The number of stalls was exceptional with everything from beautiful pottery to an orchid display to rival many orchid shows.
There were wonderful displays of plants from various nurseries, a range of geraniums from a specialist grower, beautiful Clivias, water wise garden beds and gadgets to help support plants and make gardening easier and fertilisers to make the plants flourish.
There was the Fairy Garden fairy from Highfields with all her delightful miniature garden ornaments to set up a tiny garden in a very small place or to organise a “fairy party” for a special occasion.
The local native plant people were there with all their varieties on display.
Annette Russell from Killarney displayed beautiful photos of her spectacular roses and reminded everyone that her garden will be open to the public for all of the month of October.
If you haven’t seen Annette’s garden, be sure to put it on the calendar as it is a delight not to be missed.
Local laser-cut metal signs were also there to decorate the garden or put a personalised touch to your house.
One of my neighbours has a great truck on his front wall indicating to all the industry in which he is involved. It looks fantastic!
The other interesting display was the rusty barbed wire garden ornaments and recycled timber bird houses from our friends in Allora.
Shade Plus also had an interesting array of household and garden paraphernalia.
Thank you to everyone who came and exhibited, to those who assisted with the catering and to all those who spent some time with a cuppa or soup for lunch.
I am glad you enjoyed something different and relaxing during Jumpers and Jazz.
If you missed us, add it to your calendar for the last Wednesday and Thursday of Jumpers and Jazz week next year.
The native plant people gave me some seeds for the native “Garland Lily” that will go into my garden along with all the other easy care lily-type plants I have there and add to the colour and allow me to have a display without too much work or worry.
The botanical name is “Calostemma purpureum” and is a long-lived perennial flowering plant native to South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.
This lily is part of the daffodil, belladonna and nerine family, but is the only recognised Australian native member.
It is well known in the Riverina area growing both on rocky ridges and flood plains.
Like nerines, it often sends up its flower stem before the strappy leaves. It is an ideal rockery plant as it adds height to many low growing, rambling rockery favourites but takes up little space.
There can be as many as six to 18 flowers on each spike – each being about 2cm long on stems 25cm to 50cm high. I can’t wait for mine to grow and flower although I realise it may take a few years for them to acclimatise and do so.
There is also a yellow form that is now recognised as a different plant. It looks very much like a small daffodil or a jonquil in the photographs I have seen.
It tolerates clay, loam or sandy soils and acidic, alkaline and neutral pH. It will tolerate light frost, is clump forming and is very tolerant of long dry periods, sounds very much like the ideal flower for a Warwick garden to me!
In October the Horticultural Society will again be very busy with the 2017 Garden Competition with entries closing on Friday 6 October and judging commencing on Monday 9 October. Entry is free and open to all gardens in the Southern Downs Region.
On Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 October, the Annual Spring Flower Show will be open in St Mary’s Hall. Entries will be taken from 8am to 10am on the Wednesday and judging will commence then. The doors will open to the public from noon.
Our Show last year was the largest flower show in Queensland and I hope we will be able to make the same claim this year. So keep working on those gardens and be ready to enter either or both of these fixtures in the 109th year of the Society. Without you we will have no Show.
Following these events we will have the floral window displays during Rodeo Week with judging taking place on Friday 27 October. If any school wishes to be involved but obviously does not have a window in the business area to decorate, please contact me on 0488 470 706 and we will do our best to find a business to let you decorate their window.
In years past, schools were big participants in this event. Entry forms for these events will be available from Brysons Place at their new location at 66 Palmerin Street, Warwick.
*This is an old article that has been digitised so our readers have access to our full catalogue.
