Garden News November 2021

 

Well, the 2021 Open Garden is well and over and it was the hardest one we have put on.

Both Judy and I worked ourselves really hard both in getting ready and the after cleaning up.

Even two weeks after we are still feeling worn out.

WE had 520 visitors through the gate, yes, I know that sound good but it was a disappointment for us as we usually get around the 800 marks

We thought this year would be special as so many events had been cancelled and we had good publicity from our local paper and 4BC radio station, but it did not turn out that way and we are left wondering why.

2022 will be our 20^th opening and probably our last, it takes a toll out of both of us and we have to rely heavily on friends to help, so we will just see how it goes.

Judy will not stop her propagation of garden plants and people who wish to buy can make an appointment through my Facebook page ‘The Giving Garden’.

We had the most amazing rain last month (November) and everything is growing like crazy.

Open Garden Story 2021

 

The Giving Garden

Ian and Judy Wintle are going to open their beautiful one-acre Birkdale Garden on the weekend of 20 and 21 November 2021 for the 19^th time, it would have been twenty but Covid restrictions prevented that last year.

The garden is probably the only garden in Australia where the shade canopy is provided by more than 50 tropical fruit and nut trees, there are Sapotes, Lychees, Sapodillas, Mango’s, Custard Apples, Carambolas, just to name a few.

The garden has meandering pathways throughout and as you walk through you must look left, right and above to see and appreciate the vast array of plants growing.

There are shade houses full of Bromeliads, Orchids, Aroids and other rare and exotic plants, not forgetting a collection of over 60 different Amorphophallus.

Ian and Judy have been collecting for 30 years so you will get to see some very rare botanicals.

Their garden has been described as ‘Birkdale’s ‘Botanical Garden’.

A must see is the mass planting of Caladiums.

There will be a large range of plants for sale as well as ‘Chocolate Pudding’ fruit and a coffee van will be serving refreshments on the front lawn.

A toilet portable will be available.

Will be having a Covid check in app at the gate and numbers will be restricted to health regulation orders, which at the moment is 100.

All gate takings go to assist our son compete in the ‘World Disabled Water Ski Championships’ which are held every two years.

In 1996 our son has a motor bike accident and became a paraplegic, as well as him needing rehabilitation Mum and Dad also needed rehabilitation and gardening fitted the bill, we needed to keep active and not to dwell on what happened to our son.

Gardening has now become a passion and we have visited over 200 garden clubs to give presentations and hosted many bus tours in the garden, not to mention the friends we have made on our journey.

Ian and Judy were Redland City’s ‘Local Hero’s’ in 2017 having raised over $60,000 for the Lion’s Club.

We both work hard in the garden and our doctor’s say “keep on doing that” forget about the aches and pains.

Judy does all the potting and propagation and Ian the garden and maintenance, we jokingly say we have a happy marriage (53 years) as of a morning we each go our own way in the garden and see each other for morning tea and lunch.

Ian has a garden Blog which has had over 350,000 visits and has been archived by the state library also a web page ‘Garden Product Reviews’, a Facebook page ‘The Giving Garden’ with 3200 likes and another Facebook page ‘Open Gardens and Events Queensland’ with 3400 likes.

While gardening keeps my body healthy and fit, I also need to keep my mind active and doing the blog and Facebook pages does that.

So please come and visit even if you have been previously as there is always lots of new things to see in the garden as every year, we improve the garden, this year has been no exception.

 

2021 Open Garden

 

Garden News September 2021

 Another month without a drop of rain, the garden is really starting to dry out and very windy also.

No garden presentations this month, it's been quite barren this year of course due to Covid restrictions.

We did managed to fit one bus load of visitors in, 45 from a church group from Sunnybank. 

 We potted all our Caladium bulbs and should have a great show in November also lot's to sell.

We went back to Genny Catin's to help her repot and move her Caladiums.

My Amorphophallus were also potted, due to some rot last year I am trying a new mix with three buckets of potting mix, two of composted bark and one of perlite.

I lost my second Amorphophallus titanum through rot, almost cried when I removed the tuber from the pot.

Applied for a Covid app and will have that available for bus tours and Open Garden.

Open Garden, we are planning it and the only thing that will stop us is Covid, fingers crossed.

Some wildlife.

August Garden News 2021

A quiet month in the garden and very dry.

We had a little break and went up to Agnes Water to see our son and family, it was nice to relax and have time to read a book.

The Red Geranium is looking good.

Spring is about three weeks early this year as the Scadoxus are flowering mid August.

I bought a new 30 litre battery sprayer and am very happy with it.

A nice Cordyline 'Ruby'.

Sinningia we bought at the Nambour show. 

A trailer load of Platinum potting mix from Centenary Landscapes.

 

 

Best Potting Mix

 Trip to Centenary Landscapes at Darra today to collect one metre of potting mix and some composted bark.

This is for Judy to continue propagating and for me to start potting all my stored Amorphophallus tubers.

For the Amorphophallus the composted bark and perlite will be mixed in with the potting mix.

It's a fair trip one we only make of a Sunday to avoid the traffic but it is worth it as the potting mix is the best we have found so far.

Garden News July 2021

 

We had one garden presentation this month to Forest Lake Garden Group, a nice bunch of people who only recently visited our garden on a bus tour.

 Very little else in the way of presentations happening.

We went to the Nambour Garden Expo, it was a wet and miserable day and we did not buy much as the prices were through the roof.

 We took our two Grand-Daughters with us on the promise of food, they were great.

After the Expo we called in to see our friends at Natrakelp, always nice to see them.

In the garden I have been very busy laying more turf in the front garden and putting an extra layer of rocks in the garden at front of house on top of existing ones, ground was as hard as a rock so I had to put a few barrows loads of compost to break it up. Judy has replanted a selection of plants that will take full sun.

Judy requested more benches so she received them, I am getting really good and quick at making these now.

I have a new area to plant out after removing some rampant Justicica's.

Plants from July