Good Organic Gardening Issue#8.5 - 2017

this issue

Back in my uni years when I was studying fine arts, I loved the early 20th-century impressionists, chief among them that French master of colour and light, Claude Monet. So when Jennifer Stackhouse suggested waterlilies as her ornamentals feature for this issue, I went trawling through Monet’s many waterlily paintings. How he must have loved his lily ponds in his Giverny gardens to have captured them in the changing light over and over. Waterlilies certainly are exquisite and their foliage is almost as graceful as the flowers themselves. Still around the pond, Claire Bickle continues her showcase of edible water plants and does a roundup of her perennial herb picks for the heat. Speaking of herbs, we have a great DIY project especially for those who have limited space for a…

the happy wanderer

Monarch butterflies appear in large numbers during summer in the urban areas of eastern Australia, South Australia and southwest Western Australia, but are not native to this country. Known to be very strong fliers, they migrated extensively from North America, where they range from Mexico, California and the Gulf states all the way to the Canadian border. The first Australian sighting was recorded in Sydney in 1871 and the species became established with the introduction of its food plants, including poisonous milkweed. In the cooler months, like their American counterparts, the butterflies overwinter in their thousands in vast clusters until September, when they begin to mate and disperse to occupy their full summer range once more. Besides Australia, the monarch has been found as far afield as Bermuda, Hawaii and the…

the grapevine

JO IMMIG Jo is an environmental scientist, photographer and writer. She has worked in the environment movement for decades and is coordinator of the National Toxics Network, an organisation dedicated to creating a toxicfree future. She has written many articles for magazines and is the author of two books: Toxic Playground and Safer Solutions. THE POISON PAPERS — CULTURE OF SECRECY REVEALED The Poison Papers is a recently published digital trove of information dating back to the 1920s. It reveals the secret concerns of the chemical industry and regulators about the hazards of pesticides and other chemicals, as well as their efforts to conceal those concerns over many years. The papers were largely collected by author and activist Carol Van Strum and have been collated and published by the Bioscience Resource Project and the…

what’s hot right now

MELISSA KING Melissa is a horticulturist, TV presenter and writer. She has been a regular on Gardening Australia, Melbourne Weekender, Garden Angels and The Circle. She currently appears on The Garden Gurus and has launched an online show, The Gardenettes. She has written for top magazines and newspapers and is author of the book, Garden Feast. ALLIUM ‘PINK PEPPER’ The plant: In flower, this is one show-stopping little plant. Unlike many of the taller-growing alliums, ‘Pink Pepper’ blooms for a long time, with masses of large globe-shaped, baby-pink flowers from spring to summer. Even out of flower it forms neat mounds of strappy foliage. Growing: To get the best result, grow ‘Pink Pepper’ in a sunny position in moist, welldrained soil. In colder areas foliage may disappear through winter but pop up again in…

soothing succulent

Aloe vera is a small succulent with spiky grey-green leaves. It originated in northern Africa and has naturalised through much of Africa and around the Mediterranean. It’s very easy to grow as it readily produces “pups”, or small off sets. Just one plant can quickly lead to having many plants to share. Individual plants grow to around 60cm tall and wide. The narrow, thick, serrated leaves are green to grey-green, often with white mottling. In summer, the plants have flower spikes of yellow bells. While it’s easy to grow, that’s not the reason aloe vera has been so successful at conquering the world. It’s the cooling gel inside the thick leaves that makes aloe vera appealing and has led to its spread around the globe. It’s used to treat burns, including sunburn.…

fragrant flowers

The bewitching scented oil we know as ylang ylang (pronounced ee-lang ee-lang) is derived from the very fragrant flowers of a tropical tree. The flowers have long, slender, streamer-like petals and smell like a cross between tropical fruit and jasmine. The curious flowers change colour as they age. The blooms start life coloured yellowy green but gradually darken to orange. In the tropics ylang ylang may be in flower all year, but in cooler zones the flowers are more likely seen in autumn. Ylang ylang is one of the floral scents used to create the famous Chanel No 5 perfume. It was combined with jasmine and rose. The flowers’ fragrance is intense and is carried by the wind, especially by a balmy, tropical evening breeze. The scent is at its most…