This weekend past has seen the last of the Open Garden plant fairs to be held at Lanyon Homestead. Sadly the Open Garden Scheme will cease operating at the end of June this year.
We took the opportunity to make a foray into the world of specialist bulb suppliers, succulent growers, iris, perennials, obscure bulb and rose specialists to name but a few of the offerings. We also went to hear Owen Pidgeon of Loriendale Orchards (and contributor to the food section of the Canberra Times), speaking about his life as a farmer and his special interests in growing both heritage and modern apple and pear varieties.
Not only did Owen talk about his fruit he also provided samples of the same for the visitors to taste. We selected several Early Gold apples and some Beurre Bosc pears to try. If you’d like to try some of Owen’s apples and pears you can visit the orchard next Saturday for their annual Apple Day:
Saturday 28th March 2015
1.30 – 5.00 pm
At “Loriendale Orchard”
Travel along the Barton Highway, north of Canberra
Turn right at Spring Range Road
(2km north of border between ACT/NSW)
While I wasn’t able to find the specific plants I was after at the Fair, you won’t be surprised to hear that I did manage to buy ‘a few’ plants. The Plant People had just what I was after, Australian plants and those rarest of beasts, small grassland plants! I know it doesn’t sound very exciting but finding small plants to fill in the garden understorey is quite difficult. I bought, Pterostylis curta (Blunt Greenhood Orchid), Microseris lanceolata (Yam Daisy) and Libertia paniculata (Branching grass flag).
At the back is a ring-in, my Alpine strawberry (Fragaria ‘Golden Alexandria’). I’ve transplanted the orchids into the terracotta pot where, hopefully, they will grow happily out of the reach of marauding snails. On the right front are the Yam Daisies whose flower resembles a dandelion, but are much larger and flower on a tall stem. Yam daisies are one of the highlights of the summer season in the Australian Alps where they form swathes of yellow across the landscape. I understand that their tubers are edible, not that I’m planning on eating mine anytime soon. Just behind them are the Libertias which are members of the Iris family. These white flowering plants have been in cultivation outside of Australia since the early 1800’s.
Anyway as Autumn is now officially upon us we are starting to make inroads into our major garden task of the year, redeveloping the front garden. After the delays caused by the termite infestation we can now re-start filling in the large void where our (formerly termite infested) hardwood plank path used to be. Hopefully all these plants and more will be finding their way into the ground very soon.
Voted With Our Forks 