Melia azedarach

Known by heaps of shitty common names. Chinaberry tree, Pride of India, Bead-tree, Cape Lilac, Syringa Berry Tree, Persian Lilac, and Indian Lilac. You'd have to agree that these are indeed truly shitty names, albeit imaginative but still shitty.

In Australia we tended to give trees names by what they resembled after they were felled and ran through a mill - so we called this one White Cedar, even though it is most definitely not a cedar. It's one of Australia's only deciduous trees and for the taxonomic-types out there, it's in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. You would find them at home in beautiful Queensland. I saw this one (a magnificent variegated form) in the St. Jean-de-Fos in Herault region in France's south, growing amongst some creative carparking.

It is indeed a righteous lookin' specimen and very fine street tree.

September 26 2018

Much Ado About Mulch

What with drought, cold and frost, mulching

is mandatory.

Mulching is a selfless expression of love for your garden. 

Many gardeners mulch for many different reasons. Aside from creating an aesthetic uniformity, mulching has a wide variety of benefits to the overall health and vigour of your land. With winter approaching, a layer of mulch will help retain heat in the soil, protecting it from frosts and cold winds. By the time you're ready for spring planting the mulched bed will be warmer earlier in the season, so it can be planted out sooner.

Mulching creates an amazing ecosystem of earthworms, insects and micro-organisms which enrich and condition the soil. The by-products of these critters consuming, cop- ulating and crapping their way through life in the mulch and top layer of soil are the life-blood of a healthy garden. 

With that in mind, it's good to know a little of the chemistry of mulching and plant nutrient requirements. Materials such as leaves, most straws, sawmill waste (chips and sawdust), plants, lawn clippings and bark all decay relatively slowly because they don't contain enough nitrogen to sustain huge populations of the beneficial organisms.

Nitrogen is an element crucial to vegetative growth, so when using these materials it advisable to mix a slow release high nitrogen organic fertiliser, such as pelletised fowl manure or blood-and-bone, so that our microbial friends don't starve and any available nitrogen in the soil is not leached away from your plants.

Materials such as cow, sheep or stable waste do contain enough nitrogen. On the other hand, levels may be so high in the case of chook poo that it may in fact be toxic to some plants and seedlings. Cow, sheep or stable manure is generally safe to apply directly to the garden. However, if it's mixed with straw or hay it may contain any number of seeds that will germinate into unwanted weeds, thus defeating one of the main reasons for mulching. It's a good idea to compost the combination first, thus destroying any viable seed and kick-starting the microbial process, before using them as a mulch.

There are almost as many types of mulching materials as there a stars in the sky, ranging from black polythene in large commercial applications, such as strawberry farming, to the ancient technique of spreading and digging in seaweed. For the sake of commercial availability and ease of application we'll restrict our list to some of the more common mulches used.

Timber industry by-products, such as sawdust and woodchips, provide excellent cover, maintaining a fairly constant temperature in that critical top layer of soil. They're excellent too from an aesthetic perspective. They look neat; they don't blow away as easily as straws and hay; and they're easy to handle. Most landscape suppliers carry and deliver a range of these mulches, so the choice is down to you.

Expect to pay anywhere between $20 to $50 per cubic metre, and remember the rudimentary chemistry explained above.

Straw and hay are good options, but be wary of the weed factor and, like timber industry by-products, many will leach nitrogen from the soil. The exception to this is any legume straw, the most common and readily available of which is pea straw. Legumes are plants that fix nitrogen to their tissues. As leguminous plants decompose this nitrogen is released. Pea straw is generally a few dollars more than straw from cereal crops or grass hays – expect to pay about $7 per standard bale - but at the end of the day it is the monarch of mulches, performing all the requirements of a good mulch, as well as acting as a nitrogenous fertiliser during decomposition.

Animal manures are available from roadside stalls, nurseries and some of the larger landscape suppliers. Prices will vary according to bag size and arse of origin. Horse, sheep and cow manure can usually be applied direct to the garden. However, poultry and pig manure should be composted first. Generally speaking, your nose will determine whether you can apply directly or pre-compost.

Newspapers and shredded paper also make adequate mulches. However, some of the inks and solvents used in the printing process can be detrimental to some plants and our microbial mates, so it's probably advisable not to use too much of it. On windy days your garden could take on the appearance of a city street following a ticker-tape parade. Decomposing paper will also leach nitrogen from the soil. Any professional gardener or nurseryman will tell you that the benefits of mulching far outweigh any shortcomings. It is probably one of the more labour-intensive aspects of gardening but the rewards of a thriving garden and healthy soil will make the effort well worthwhile.

Originally appeared in Lost Property June/July 2003

Parentucellia viscosa 

One of my most favourite common names - only because it makes me laugh, there are many very humorous common names which is a good reason to avoid using them... I will stop now.
This native to Europe is commonly known as Gland Weed and I’ve been told that sheep love it. This photo was taken in very hungry (nutrient poor) ground in a decommissioned sandstone quarry in the Otway Ranges and the name does indeed make me laugh.

January 2, 2021

Pterostylis spp.

There are many highlights working in television and film productions on location. This has been the highlight of my day working with the good folks at NBC Universal on location in the You Yang Ranges, just a short drive west of Melbourne. 

Terrestrial orchids are so very cool and my job isn't bad either.

July 27, 2021

rau răm, giá sống

Picture of Persicaria odorata (Vietnamese "Mint" cuttings striking (forming roots) in some of my fine glassware on the kitchen bench. This riparian herb is said to have interesting physiological properties. 

Although there are no scientific researches to prove the "libido effects", in Vietnam Persicaria odorata is believed to repress sexual urges. There is a saying in Vietnamese, "rau răm, giá sống" ("Vietnamese coriander, raw bean sprouts") meaning that Vietnamese coriander has the ability to reduce sexual desires, while bean sprouts have the opposite effect. 

Some things are lost in translation… it could be said.

August 28, 2015

Spathoglottis

Sometimes called Philippine ground orchid, or large purple orchid. This picture was not taken in the Philippines, it was taken in the Mackay Botanical Gardens.

Spathoglottis is a wonderful word to say. It feels good in the mouth.

April 7 2021

COLD WAR CACTUS

Apart from its difficult to handle delicious fruits...

In 1961, Comrade Fidel and his campañeros de armas planted a 13 km long hedge of opuntia cactus along the north-eastern section of the fence surrounding the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Apparently to stop folks from escaping the Worker's Utopia for the Decadent USA or vice versa.

Europe had an Iron one and South East Asia, bamboo. This planting of a No-Man’s land became known as the Cactus Curtain and is not the picture above. 

The real Cactus Curtain in Cuba is difficult to photograph.

September 30 2015

Chrysanthemum

Glebionis coronaria, once called Chrysanthemum coronarium, is in the daisy family, which we should probably call the Asteraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is cultivated and naturalised in East Asia These are the tough antecedents of that colourful and oft’ maligned Mother’s Day gift, but let’s get real… it’s really easy to grow and you can eat it. In Crete, a variety of the species called mantilida has its tender shoots eaten raw or steamed by the locals. 

The plant's leaves and tips are used in heaps of Asian cuisines. It’s widely available in China where you might call it tong ho (choy) or tónghāo (cài) and appears in many delicious dishes.  In Japanese cooking it’s called shungiku "spring chrysanthemum” and is used in nabemono, awesome winter stews and soups containing many types of ingredients that are served while still boiling. Shungiku is also mixed into rice, or drizzled with soy sauce and sesame seeds as a side dish. Korean cuisine uses the greens in soups, stews, and alone as a side dish banchan. 

When you add this one to hotpots and soups, it is added at the end to avoid overcooking. 

January 19, 2021

The jester stole his thorny crown

Euphorbia milii, commonly Crown of Thorns, Christ Plant, Christ Thorn etc, this is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family (Euphorbiaciae), native to Madagascar. The species name honours Pierre Bernard Milius, once Governor of Réunion and Baron Milius to you. Pierre introduced the species to France in 1821. There is a highly apocryphal (probably bullshit) tale that the species was introduced to the Middle East in ancient times, and legend associates it with the crown of thorns worn by the Jesus (the magical one).

December 29, 2015

EUCALYPTUS DEGLUPTA

This righteous lookin' specimen is oft' referred to as the Rainbow Gum - though its binomial means "eucalyptus peeling skin". It has very groovy bark. It's part of an elite club of about a dozen eucalypts that are not exclusive to The Australia and one of two (I think) that are not found naturally in The Australia. In addition to these cool distribution facts, it has an absence of aromatic oils, truly unremarkable timber and it's the only eucalypt native to the northern hemisphere. It ranges from the southern parts of the Philippines through New Britain, New Guinea and surrounding islands.

August 31 2014

EUCALYPTUS CAMALDULENSIS… 

is named after Camaldoli in Italy where a tree was grown in a private garden in the early 19th. century. Frederick Dehnhardt, Chief Gardener at the Botanic Gardens in Naples was the bloke who first described this species in 1832. Signor Dehnhardt used material from the tree at Camaldoli. The seed used to grow this tree could only have come from south-eastern Australia. Where it was collected is anyone's guess. I'm kinda fascinated by the fact this iconic Australian tree was classified using a presumably young specimen growing in some private garden in a one-horse town in Campania, Italy's not so Deep South.

There youse go.

April 22 2014

This is Acanthus mollis

Some folks would have you believe that it's called "Bear's Breeches", "Sea Dock", "Bears Foot" or the imaginatively named "Oyster Plant".

Lies and common sobriquet.

It's generally agreed that the leaves of this species are those represented classically in Corinthian motifs. Virgil describes the pattern on Helen of Troy's frock as being of said plant.

I photographed this fine specimen very close to the infamous Victoria Park, Abbotsford.

Classical indeed.

September 1, 2017

ANOTHER FAVOURITE COMMON PLANT NAME

(several for this species)

Ivy-leaved Toadflax, Kenilworth ivy, Coliseum ivy, Oxford ivy, Mother of Thousands and Wandering Sailor. I call it Vera's Curse, in honour of my grandmother.

Cymbalaria is the genus name, which strangely means 'like a cymbal' (flower shape). Its specific epithet, muralis is a Latin adjective meaning 'of walls' - oddly enough.

Originally native to the Mediterranean region, it's travelled extensively from the mid-17th century - most likely with fancy imported masonry and other stone, where it is, as its name suggests, at home.

November 2, 2017

Brassica juncea

The leaves, seeds, and stems of this plant are edible. The plant appears in some form in many African cuisines and in the kitchens of Bangladesh, China, The Philippines, Italy, India, Japan, Nepal, Pakistan, Korea and in the Soul Food of African America and extensively across the southern states of the US. 

The leaves are used in African cooking and all plant parts are used in Nepali cuisine, particularly in the mountains. A subspecies of B. juncea which the locals call tatsai has a particularly thick stem and is used to make the pickle called achar. The Chinese also make a pickle from the stem called zha cai.

The Gorkhas of the Indian states of Darjeeling, West Bengal and Sikkim as well as Nepal prepare pork with mustard greens. It is usually eaten with relish and steamed rice, but can also be eaten with roti bread. In Nepal it is also a common practice to cook these greens with meats of all sorts, especially goat; which is normally prepared in a pressure cooker with minimal use of spices to focus on the flavour of the greens.

B. juncea, especially its seeds, are way more pungent than greens from the closely related B. oleracea (kale, broccoli etc) and it is frequently mixed with these milder greens.

Chinese and Japanese cuisine also make use of B. juncea. In Japanese cuisine, it is known as takana and often pickled for use as filling in onigiri (rice balls) or as a condiment. 

In Asian cuisines the leaves and stems are most often Asian mustard greens are most often stir-fried or pickled. A Southeast Asian dish called asam gai choy or kiam chai boey is often made with leftovers from a large meal. It involves stewing the leaves and stems with tamarind, dried chillies and leftover meat on the bone. 

From a past life in hospitality, I think I’m a bit of a lazy cook and generally just blanch in salty water, plunge in icy water, strain and drain, into hot-pan, butter & bit o' salt - you know the drill.

This plant is obscenely easy to grow, leaves green tea way behind in the Great Antioxidant Race and is delicious.

Deliciousness is the main reason to eat anything.

November 26, 2017

Zygopetalum are awesome

Z. maculatum. The second part of this binomial basically means spotty.

This one’s generic name, derived from the Greek word zugón, which means "yoke". It refers to the yoke-like growth at the base of the lip. In the wild, as opposed to the black plastic pots in my Melbourne Garden, they occur in humid forests at low to mid elevation regions of South America, with most in Brazil. Most Zygopetalum are epiphytes but some are terrestrials. They have glossy, strap-like leaves, which are generally elliptic-lanceolate, acute or acuminate. They produce a huge flowering spike, up to 60cm long and are pretty easy to grow if you follow some very simple rules. 

This may sound a bit weird, but I love orchids with the same type of reasoning that I love some tv shows or movies. They're fantastical things that give you truth and vulnerability and ask the question, "why am I seeing this here and now?"

March 18, 2021