Congratulations Dennis Wallace & John Fuller Congratulations to Wally Wallace and John Fuller (pictured L to R) on being awarded a NSW Seniors Week 2010 Award for their wonderful gardening work with Easy Care Gardening. Wally and John have volunteered with ECG for ten years each. They were presented their awards by renowned performer Toni Lamond in the category of Environment and Science at the City Recital Hall on the 21st March.

A WORD FROM PARKERS NURSERY With the arrival of winter, it’s very tempting to remain indoors and ignore the garden until spring. However, there are many plants that will greatly benefit from your attention now as well as plenty of varieties that look their best in the coldest months of the year. In late July, prune your roses hard to encourage vigorous new growth. As many roses don’t like Sydney’s humidity, it’s important to then spray them with Lime Sulphur. Not only will this help prevent fungal diseases but it’ll also prevent scale. Finally, feed them with either Sudden Impact for Roses or Organic Advance Plus and mulch with a layer of Lucerne. July is the best time of year to plant new rose varieties and deciduous trees. Often you’ll be able to order these in advance, so ask your local nursery for an order form to ensure you don’t miss out. When planting deciduous trees, condition the soil well with plenty of cow manure and compost. There’s plenty of colour available in the winter garden, from bedding plants such as Pansies and Violas to shade-loving Primulas and Cinerarias. Feed them regularly to encourage more blooms right through to spring. Japonica Camellias also come into bloom and the flowers look fantastic floating in water bowls or birdbaths. To brighten up your indoors, bring Cymbidium Orchids that are flowering inside the house. They’ll only need a good watering once a week. Cyclamens also look amazing inside, but to keep them looking their best, leave them outside undercover at night. The cold night air will encourage more buds to form. One of the most popular late winter-flowering perennials is the Hellebore or Winter Rose. These plants produce stunning nodding flowers in many different colours. The best time to view them and pick up a rare gem is at Parkers’ annual Hellebore Day, which will be held this year on Sunday August 8. By Peter Benning Greenlife Manager:Parkers Of Turramurra.

Invitation to Volunteers All our Volunteers are welcome to visit the Propagating team at their shade house at Pennant Hills on the second Thursday morning of each month. The added attraction is that Propagating cur-rently have a surplus of plants and Volunteers are very welcome to assist in culling the stock’s for free!! (Address is Hornsby Shire Council Nursery, 28 Brittania Street, Pennant Hills.)

Peter Whitehead Appreciation Award Easy Care Gardening sends our warmest wishes and congratulations to:

FRAN APPLETON This award is for outstanding service to volunteering from Easy Care Gardening.

AROUND THE PATHWAYS

Plant of the Season - Grevilleas Grevilleas are the third largest group of Australian natives with up to 500 species in the genus and are part of the Protea family. Grevilleas were named after Charles Francis Greville who was one of the founders of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1804. Many of these plants flower in winter providing nectar for birds and bees when little else is available. There is a huge range of hybrids and cultivars available and these have become increasingly popular in many gardens. Grevilleas benefit from regular pruning by about one third in early spring. Older plants that have become scruffy can be rejuvenated in this way. Most grevilleas are small to medium shrubs but some are prostrate and a few can become large trees.

Tim Entwisle Talk Dr Tim Entwisle (pictured right), the executive Director of the Botanic Gardens Trust in Sydney spoke to some lucky volunteers and members of the public at historic Brush Farm House in Eastwood on 21 April. He has been a wonderful supporter of Easy Care Gardening, having also spoken at our Garden & Market Day in August 2009. Tim is an entertaining speaker and we thoroughly enjoyed his talk about “Seasons for Sydney”. The following is copied from his blog (http://talkingplants.blogspot.com):

“As you know, personally I think we need to better understand our current seasons and seasonal changes before we can detect the climate change affects. I’m tired of hearing about ‘early springs’! At the moment we just aren’t ‘in tune’ with our environment. Look up http://www.climatewatch.org.au/ for more information on a community monitoring program. The idea is that you become a ‘ClimateWatcher’, seeking out and recording changes in the world around you. When do autumn leaves start to fall, when do flowers bud, and when do migratory birds appear in your garden? By accumulating information on regular seasonal events like flowering times, we can start to track and understand the effects of accelerated climate change on our plants and animals.”

AWARDED BY January 2010 February 2010 March 2010

Eden Gardens 301 Lane Cove Road, Ryde Ph: 9491 9900

Mike Willis Wendy Scotland Sue Curry

Hargraves Nurseryland 630 Old Northern Road, Dural Ph: 9651 1833

Trevor Brown Lesley Lowe Jacqueline Hudecek

Parkers Nursery 45 Tennyson Avenue, Turramurra. Ph: 9487 3888

Rosemary Keogh Fiona McPetrie Brian Knox

A Few Words From Our Clients JM - Hornsby Hts: “The work done has been greatly appreciated. A little kindness goes a long way”. NB - St.Ives: “Without the wonderful workers I could not stay here. Thank you for helping keep me in my own home”. PW - St.Ives: “Thank you to everyone who worked on my garden and congratulations to Phil from Lawn Mowing for 20 years with ECG”. AV - WRyde: “To one and all, what else can I say but thank you, on doing such a lovely job”. PB - Brooklyn: “Thank you once again to the team who did a wonderful job in my garden whilst I was in hospital. The garden looked beautiful”. PM - Macquarie Park: “I would like to express my appreciation to the team who toiled valiantly in the steady rain, accompanied by much laughter, to make my garden orderly and attractive”. JW - Hornsby: “Thank you to the wonderful workers who recently made my garden look wonderful again”. RO - Epping: “Thank you to all those lovely people who have made my garden look spick and span again”.

Welcome-New Volunteers Gardening Susan Leow Rachael Lind Kenny Thai Jaehyeok Rhee Geoffrey Davis Andy Huang Wimonsiri Saeqvanich Lauren Farinelli Ianina Rubinsztein Hou Luk Shi Lu Brenda Dilven Lillian Morrison Asha Unhelkar

Jongyun Gim In Hyeock Seo Julisar Avila Chander Shekhar Steven Weiss Dewanto Dhanu Junee Seo Nicholas Ma Nicholas Vindin Sally Rie Eva Suryaprantata Wendell White Trevor Carr Carol Sheldrake Sui Dong

Jane Hughes Lie-Sing Ho Wemai Zhang Erika Laverick Lin Miner Aiden Allen George Xiao Mui Fung Chin Simon Corcoran Robert Robinson Lynne Leys Jatinder Grewal Karamjit Grewal Lucas Healy Cesar Canizale

Sue Cramp Lily Jian Giosela Tjakra Hanieh Hashemi Colleen Tucker Kevin Badin Lawn Mowing Thomas Blaxland Ashby Andrew Page Corporate Optus United Way National Australia Bank School MLC School

Weed of the Season Ginger Lily, also known as Wild Ginger, is flowering now and has up to 50 spectacular flowers in each head. Each

flower can develop three seeds equaling 150 seeds per head. Ginger Lily grows to at least two metres high, and spreads widely. In order to avoid spreading you can cut off flower heads. Ginger lily can be spread by birds such as Currawongs and Bowerbirds. Infestations can clog creeks and exclude native vegetation. Ginger Lily can be removed by exposing the thick rhizome and carefully removing. Even a small amount left in the ground can re-shoot. For chemical control contact your local Council.

Free Service Ryde Council is launching a new eco service called Future Focus Home and Garden Advisory Service—and it’s free. A consultant is available to come to your home and advise on a range of issues such as water sensitive gardening, organic gardening, creating native gardens, weed eradication etc. plus information on rebates for water tanks and so-lar energy systems. There will also be giveaways and everyone will go into a draw for bigger eco prizes. For more information please contact Ryde Council Customer Service on 9952 8222 or www.ryde.nsw.au/futurefocus.

What are you doing this National Tree Day? From caring for our coasts and beaches to building a home for native animals, to growing a garden in the grounds of a school, there are endless opportunities and experiences that volunteers can enjoy this National Tree Day. Celebrating its 15th year in 2010, Planet Ark is calling on keen gardeners to coordinate tree-planting sites or provide ongoing care to the many thousands of existing native trees and shrubs which have been planted as part of National Tree Day. This year’s National Tree Day will take place around the country on Sunday 1 August. Planet Ark is asking active gardeners who are looking for a way to make a positive environmental difference, to register as Site Coordinators. Get your local school, sporting or church group together and ask your local council if they can provide you with some land to care for and seedlings to plant. For an information kit visit http://treeday.planetark.org or call the National Tree Day Hotline on 1300 88 5000.

PHOTO GALLERY

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Friends annual subscriptions are now due and can be made by direct deposit or cheque. Option for Electronic Payment: Log into your bank account online and select the option “Pay Anyone”. A/c Name: Easy Care Gardening Inc. Bank: Westpac BSB: 032089 A/c No: 158897 Also enter your name & suburb. It is extremely important for ECG to know who makes electronic payments to record payment of subscriptions and send out receipts for donations. To notify ECG of your payment: Please send an email with your name, address, payment amount and date to: ecg2074@easycaregardening.org.au

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Email:ecg2074@easycaregardening.org.au Past Newsletters are available on the ECG website: www.easycaregardening.org.au

L to R: Peter Stanmore, Mike Bull, Wendy Ralph, David Duval and David Ralph.

Winter Pruning...Hydrangeas and Roses ……… Jo McGahey April 2010 Hydrangeas can be pruned any time now. Actually I like to tidy up the plants in late summer and strike some cuttings at that time. I then prune seriously in early winter. But, don’t worry, if you’ve still not pruned earlier, just cut back by at least one third to two plump buds now. Clean up under the plant and dispose of all material. If you want pink hydrangeas try adding some dolomite (lime) in solution, a few times a year. This will raise the ph of the soil. If you want blue, apply a solution of a tablespoon of aluminium sulphate per 4.5 litres of water throughout the growing season. White hydrangeas cannot be made to change, though they may develop a pink blush in Autumn. Roses should be kept in shape all year, by light pruning whenever flowers are cut or deadheaded. Winter pruning should con-centrate on keeping the centre of the plant open to allow for good air flow and removing any old, straggly or diseased wood or leaves. Prune on a slant about 5mm above a node or outward facing bud. Spray with lime sulphur if there is any evidence of black spot, which is almost endemic in Sydney. It is important to spray the soil around the bush also. Of course it is essential to wear gloves and disinfect all pruning implements. Any infected material should not be placed in green waste bins.

L to R: Wendy Scotland, Mike Willis & Rosie Keogh.

Michael Bull Brian Knox