Cotelydon orbiculata

Cotelydon orbiculata

Native to Africa, this genus of succulents, comprising mostly shrublets, form clumps with age. The leaves are arranged in pairs, and the flowers are mostly bell-shaped yellowish, orange or red in colour.
Cotelydon orbiculata grows to 60cm and has leaves that are thickly coated with a white waxy bloom.
They prefer a well drained, reasonably rich soil. They are frost sensitive.
I have serveral clumps of theses wonderful succulents planted on the west side of my house where they receive some shade in the morning and all the hot afternoon sun. They suffer minor damage from the quite servere frost we experience.
Easy to propogate from cuttings in spring or summer.

* I will post a picture of them when they begin to flower in the new few weeks.

Get set for Summer!

With summer fast approaching now is the time to be getting your garden ready before the dry, hot weather arrives.
Currently the water restrictions have been eased to Stage 1 which is some what of a suprise but never the less a welcome bit of relief.
Now is the ideal time to be getting a spot of planting underway. The ablity to be able to give them a good establishment time with the available water will make a huge difference to their ability to survive the fast approaching summer.
Time also to get onto mulching the garden with a good 75mm of mulch to help retain moisture.
I find that now is a great time to apply a general feed to the garden. A healthy happy plant can withstand the harsh elements far better than a plant under stress.
I like to use a liquid product that can be applied and accessable to the plants straight away. Products such as Charlie Carp, act as a root stimulant which will keep the plants healthier and happier as it will improve their ability to search for water, air and nutrients deeper in the soil. The fish oil also coats the leaves of plants smothering any fungus which might have decided to live on your plants and the those lovely little bugs tend to be very unimpressed with fishy tasting leaves!
Daylight savings is a great opportunity for those who work long hours to be able to get some great garden therapy. An hour in the garden each day will make a huge difference to both you and your garden.
So go on and get your garden 'Flourishing' today.

Michelle x

Arthropodium cirratum - Renga Renga Lily

Arthropodium cirratum - Renga Renga Lily

An attractive, hardy perennial from New Zealand, which bears graceful sprays of starry white flowers on stems up to 60cm high in late spring. The broad, handsome strap-like foliage has a distinct bluish hue and clumping to 1 metre.
Will grow in most soil types and has a very low water requirement once established. It is drought tolerant, but frost tender. Ideal for coastal conditions. Spent flowers can be trimmed away from the base of the stem. Feed with a long term, slow release fertiliser in spring.
Also recommended is the use of a slug/snail repellant. They thrive in our warmer climate in a dry shade position under the canopy of taller trees.
They make a wonderful display mass planted and are looking a picture in my garden at the moment!