Garden Centre

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Flowers from the garden

Okay, this week’s flowers are not scented, so I’m falling down on my claim that most of the year I can fill a vase from the garden with things that look good, and smell good. But be honest – do they have to smell nice when they look this fantastic?

Arum Lily - Zantedeschia aethiopica

Arum Lilies are one of the most dramatic garden flowers and they are astonishingly easy to grow. They enjoy moist to wet conditions, and shaded areas. If you grow them in pots, don’t ever let them dry out, and plant them in something like manure or compost, or even good old garden clay (like mine) but never peat, because if it dries out it's a bugger to get it wet again! They can get nipped by late frosts, or even chill winds, but if that happens, just cut of the browned flowers and the plant will throw up loads more very swiftly. They are great in water, but if you grow them in or near a pond, as I do, make sure their roots are deep in soil or well underwater to save them from frosts. And buy some of these - really special gloves - to help you pick your blooms!

Believe it or not, this beauty is considered dangerous in other parts of the world

“Sales and trades of the popular arum lily are to be banned throughout Western Australia from September 2006 under changes to the State's Declared Plants list. The ban extends an existing ban on the invasive and poisonous plant already in place in parts of the South West including Albany, Bunbury, Busselton and Jarrahdale. The ban includes the trading or selling of arum lilies at weekend markets and other casual outlets such as fetes and means movement of the plants or their seeds are prohibited throughout Western Australia. The declaration will not require home gardeners to remove their arum lilies, but they will no longer be allowed to plant more.”

Why? Because in this part of Australia, the arum lily has invaded thousands of hectares of pasture paddocks, forest and wetlands, requiring massive efforts by property owners and communities to clear it.

Labels: garden flowers, garden ponds, weeds

The All Seasons Gardener at 3:07 AM

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