I started to write this last Friday 13th, just as the river was reaching its peak in town. After having it so dry for so long we certainly don’t need rain again for a while. Having, in another life, been involved in a flood, I feel for all those affected. One thing the rain did help me with though, was removing some self-sown sorghum from my garden. It had been too hard to pull before, so I guess we can find a positive in most situations if we try! I’m thinking those affected by the flooding might be finding it fairly difficult to do that right now, however.
I saw a list the other day of “plants that keep bugs away”. Now anything that is going to prevent me from having to use sprays and particularly insect repellents, has me interested.
Companion planting is good and I try to do this with my vegetables. Tomatoes and basil are a well-known combination and basil also repel house flies and mosquitoes. So maybe a pot of one of the many basils near the door would be a good idea.
Many years ago I planted a diosma near my front door, only to find out later that it was greatly attractive to house flies!! Not one of my better ideas!
Marigolds planted around nearly anything, seem to be beneficial and will repel mosquitoes and aphids.
Apparently, rosemary will keep ticks and fleas away as well as being a very useful culinary herb. Mine is flourishing in a side garden near my clothesline and I love the smell when hanging washing out. I also frequently use stems in flower arrangements.
Peppermint is a deterrent to spiders, mosquitoes and ants and catnip also for mosquitoes. Lavender for moths, fleas, flies and again, mosquitoes. The added advantage of lavender is it is a great attractant for bees and butterflies. I love to sit on my front patio and watch at least 3 types of bees busy on the lavender: ordinary honey bees, blue-banded bees and tiny native bees.
Lemongrass in its many varieties is, of course, closely related to citronella, so is very useful against mosquitoes. Similarly lemon thyme and lemon balm.
So many of the lovely things we like to grow in our gardens for their beauty or because we like to use them in cooking, also have other uses to help keep us free from annoying pests.
With mother’s day just behind us and the beauty of Chrysanthemums at this time of year, it is good to know that they contain pyrethrum and this makes them very effective in keeping a wide range of bugs away. Just some that they are known to repel are ants, cockroaches, ticks, spider mites, silverfish, ticks and fleas.
Any of the many forms of alliums are also great to have as companion plants in your garden. So in your winter garden with broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower plant some onions, garlic or chives and this will help repel the many bugs that enjoy these as much as you do!
As you all know I love Australian native plants in all their variety. I well remember as a child being totally in awe of grevilleas and bottle brush as I walked in the bush. Tiny native orchids and the lovely blue and white native violets were favourites and brought home from my ramblings to my Mum. Mum loved nothing better than a bunch of fresh red gum tips.
Banksias grew on the roadside as I rode the bike to school. At the corner where I live now, there is a large banksia at present covered with lime green flowers. It seems to always have some brushes but has really outdone itself at the moment..very impressive. 70 years ago Mum was way ahead of her time in planting natives in our yard. As I drove past my childhood home a few years ago the banksia she planted was still flourishing.
May Gibbs’ “Snuggle Pot and Cuddle Pie” was a favourite childhood storybook and of course, the “Bad Banksia Men” were all part of the fascination with native flora and fauna. Without realising it I was being introduced and encouraged to a lifelong love of all things to do with the Australian bush.
Recently a friend sent me a lovely picture of a banksia and another friend told me it was called “Birthday Candles” and that’s just what it looks like. As it turns out that wasn’t quite right.. it is actually “Coastal Cushion”!! It is more of a ground cover with golden yellow flowers standing straight up where Birthday Candles is more of a small shrub.
Apparently, I should find it, and “Birthday Candles”, as tube stock as they will establish more easily. I should plant them in full sun in well-drained acidic to alkaline soil and keep phosphorous well away. I have read that you should treat them with iron chelate twice a year and once established they will require very little water. They are both also frost tolerant. Maybe I need to find a spot for them both. I can see more gardens and fewer lawns in the future!!
