Gardens – Page 5 – Paluma – our village in the mist

Paluma Food Gardens

Throughout the year, Paluma is blessed with colourful plants, photos of which are regularly posted on the website. Such is the focus on gorgeous blooms that the humble food gardens tend to be overlooked. They are due for some well-deserved attention, particularly as growing fruit and vegetables in Paluma is a real challenge.

The climate can be unkind at times but the wild-life presents the major obstacle to successful food gardening. Bush rats and White-tailed rats eat stone fruits, such as plums and peaches long before the fruit is ripe. Cockatoos savage citrus crops and at night, wallabies emerge from the forest and feast on any new green leaf within reach; citrus, gardenia, rose and hibiscus are favourites along with potted herbs. Bandicoots burrow deep beneath plants, birds steal the chillies but the worst predator within the village is the Brush Turkey. Two or three of these can, in only a few minutes, lay waste to an entire bed of vegetables: nothing is spared; pots are up-ended and their contents eaten and they rival rats in their plunder of pumpkin and choko vines. Out on the rural blocks, feral pigs make unwelcome forays, at times pushing through flimsy fences and devouring everything from bananas to sweet potatoes.

So, it is with awe and admiration that I see several Paluma residents refuse to be defeated and have productive gardens that would make a professional market gardener or orchardist envious. What are some of the secrets of their success? Location, (a position with enough sunlight throughout the day) and pest-proofing are vital.

On the rural blocks most gardens are securely fenced, some are also roofed with wire mesh.

In the village various strategies are employed. Some gardens are in raised beds with a bird-mesh structure above, which can be opened to give access for weeding and harvesting. Other kitchen gardens are in purpose-built boxes suspended from veranda rails – excellent for restricted spaces.

Jennie Robinson’s herb box garden contains basil, parsley, oregano And several other herbs.

Jan and Peter have given their ‘caged’ plants extra protection by planting insect repelling flowers nearby.

Lynda Radbone’s hanging garden, ideal for restricted space, contains dill, basil, silver beet, onion chives, thyme and oregano

Steve and Michele Lando have thwarted turkeys and bandicoots by planting a variety of herbs ans some young fruit trees in a rock garden.

Barry and Chris at the Paluma Environmental Education Centre, have established hydroponic gardens with healthy crops of lettuce varieties, tomatoes, beans, radish and a range of herbs. The tubs containing the plants are set on a vertical framework, making them fairly inaccessible to turkeys. A conventional vegetable garden has also been established at the school with the plots protected by bird-mesh covered arches.

So far turkeys have not discovered the hydroponic plants but the other garden has not escaped attention; a net inadvertently left open gave a young male turkey his chance to explore.

So, with location and protection taken care of, the secret of success in producing strong, healthy food plants, apart from having green thumbs, and a passion for gardening, is ascribed to the fertiliser used. Fertilising with liquid and casts from a worm farm seems to be a winner. The popularity of worm farms is growing with several gardeners now raising these helpful little pets.

While commercial products work well, traditional natural fertilisers such as goat and cow manure are highly regarded.

Hats off to all these determined gardeners. You are inspirational! This article will be followed up with regular updates of what fruit has ripened and what vegetables are being harvested.

Colwyn Campbell

What’s (Still) Blooming at Paluma: More Tropical Rhododendrons

Back in late June I posted photos of the numerous beautiful flowering Vireya’s or Tropical Rhododendrons amongst the village gardens. About 6 weeks on (in early August) and these beautiful plants are as showy as ever. Several gardens have spectacular flowering specimens just now, producing a blaze of brilliant winter colour. I spotted the following beautiful blooms last weekend in gardens at the Rainforest Inn, Gumburu and at the Venn’s on Mt Spec Road.

Unfortunately, I don’t know which Vireya varieties or cultivars these are. But what’s in a name? To quote my beloved Shakespeare, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet”. I think the same applies to these Vireya’s. It doesn’t really matter what each is called, they are still spectacular!

Text & Photos by Michele Bird

What’s been Blooming in July?

Paluma gardens are in a continuous state of change with a regular cycle of blooming and fruiting that makes each visit up to a the village a new experience. A walk along the village road can be a process of discovery of new blooms never before seen, or the emergence en masse of old favourites, or a re-aquaintance with an uncommon plant not seen for some time.

Although we continue to publish individual posts on interesting plants that are blooming in Paluma gardens, we have not, generally, created new posts for flowers that we have highlighted in previous months or years even, if they are currently in full bloom. Over time this is leading to there being fewer new things to write about in our “What’s Blooming?” section.

It seems a shame not to share our delight in seeing old favourites come into bloom during certain months, or to share a quickly taken picture of a particularly striking plant or flower that we don’t have the time or enough supplementary information to create a dedicated post. Consequently, we have started a new series which is a simple collection of photos from Paluma gardens highlighting what is in bloom during each month, and what interesting plants we have discovered.

We also invite residents with an interest in photography to send us their best photos from their gardens or from around the village for inclusion in the monthly collection.

Below is a slide show for June 202o. You can access slideshows for previous months on the Paluma through the seasons page on our website.

Enjoy the show…..

Jamie and Michele

Paluma in July 2020

Click on the image below to start the slide show… it will start automatically after a few seconds

It’s cold enough for snowflakes in Paluma! …and Peaches

Its been a pretty cold winter so far in Paluma and the flowers in our gardens are showing it. The weather app on my phone indicates that temperatures have been well below 10°C with a few nights below 5°C. Jonquils and Tulips are two of the cold loving flowers that can be seen growing and occasionally flowering in Paluma, but Len Cook has made me aware that we can grow another bulb normally found in southern climes –Leucojum sp or “Snowflakes”.

Len has had a steadily growing clump of these for several years that he recently replanted them as a row along his fence and they have produced sprays of gorgeous white flowers. They are often misnamed “Snow Drops”, which are nearly identical, but Snowflakes can easily be distinguised by the small green dots near the end of each of the 6 petals. They are more tolerant of warm conditions compared to Snow Drops (Galanthus sp), but both are sufficiently cold tolerant to be seen poking out of the spring snow in full flower in temperate regions.

Snowflakes are native to central and southern Europe but have become naturalised in North America and Australia)

Len’s snowflakes appear to be the Spring Snowflake (Leucojum vernum). The other species found in southern gardens is the larger Summer Snowflake (Leucojum aestivum).

In addition to temperate bulbs, Paluma is also able to grow stone fruit in the form of “tropical” peaches which, despite their name, require at least a short period of cold weather to flower and bear fruit. There at least 3 residences which have flowering peach trees in Paluma at present. While the beautiful pink flowers are a delightful addition to any garden I am told that birds and native rats benefit the most from any fruit that are produced. However I gather one resident has been able to harvest enough to make peach jam one year.

Jennie’s Got Jonquils!

Our unique mountain climate at Paluma has inspired many of us keen gardeners to experiment with growing plants from the more temperate climes. Many local gardeners have had great success with a range of ‘cool climate’ plants.

There’s Len Cook’s superb collection of camellias and magnolias (recently featured in a post on this website). Colwyn grows some spectacular blue hydrangeas, with large flower heads every bit as good as those grown in the south. Lynda has had great success with her potted Asiatic liliums and she currently has colourful pots of blooming pansies and violas. The Bligh’s have a Japanese inspired garden and water feature with some cool-climate conifers. The Cooke’s flowering peach tree is a sight to behold just now in full blossom. Then there’s the Van Rynswoud’s with their array of temperate plants – let’s face it, those two can grow just about anything!

But, in my books the ‘garden gong’ for Winter 2020 has to go to Jennie for her potted jonquils and daffodils. A few months ago, Jennie planted several jonquil and daffodil bulbs in large tubs. The jonquils have prospered producing several heads of creamy and highly fragment blooms. Likewise, her daffodils bulbs have sprouted lush foliage. So far, there is one large perfect flower, hopefully with many more blooms to come.

Several of us (myself included) have planted daffodils bulbs each year to have them produce lush foliage, but no blooms. Jennie’s theory is that this year the weather has been cold enough to encourage the bulbs to flower. She is currently the envy of many a gardener around the village. Jonquils and daffodils in the wet tropics – what an achievement!

The single, perfect golden daffodil bloom.

In conducting ‘research’ for this article (several cups of tea and a good gossip), I was informed that the late Kelly Davis planted jonquil bulbs every year. Marilyn said he was diligent in planting, raising, storing and then re-planting the bulbs each year in a small, dedicated garden bed at his Paluma residence. Together, Kelly and Marilyn planted their jonquil bulbs earlier this year. The jonquils have been blooming with an abundance of flowers for the past fortnight. While Kelly missed their flowering this year, bunches of the fragrant blooms have been shared amongst his Paluma friends and family. They are a warm reminder of his everlasting presence in the village and his legacy as one of our great gardeners.

Text & Photos by Michele Bird

Magnificent Magnolias

When Len Cook’s beautiful Magnolia was featured recently in ‘What’s Blooming in Paluma’, I felt that this plant deserves more than just a brief mention. So, having read a little about the Magnolia family, I would like to share with you, a little of what I have learnt.

The Magnolia is one of about 210 flowering plant species in the sub-family Magnolioidaceae of the family Magnoliaceae. It was named after the French botanist, Pierre Magnol.

The Magnolia is an ancient genus, one of the most primitive plants in evolutionary history. Fossil records suggest that the genus has existed from the Cretaceous Period (145-66 million years ago). The Magnolia was the first flowering plant, appearing around 95 million years ago. Before this were only ferns, horsetails, cycads and conifers. The connection with conifers can be seen in the protruding female organs which develop into a cone-like mass of seeds. The flower bud is enclosed in a bract rather than in sepals. The perianth parts are undifferentiated (similar in size and shape) and called tepals rather than distinct sepals and petals. The cone-like receptacle in the centre is composed of numerous spirally arranged carpels and numerous spirally arranged stamens.

The Magnolia evolved before bees and pollination is by beetles and beetle-type insects. To improve its means of successful pollination the inner tepals of the flower remain tightly closed, allowing visiting beetles to feed safely and become covered in pollen. Magnolias are monoecious, that is, bearing both male and female organs on the same specimen. To counteract the risk of self-pollination, individual plants will not mature their male and female organs at the same time. This enables pollen from one specimen’s male flower to reach the female organ of another.

Before the last Ice Age, distribution was across most of the Northern Hemisphere: mainland Europe, North America and Asia. Since the Ice Age, it has been restricted to southern USA, Central America and South-East Asia, however Magnolias have naturalised in many countries.

Apart from the large Magnolia genus, the family contains the fragrant Michelias and the tulip tree.

Although the flower colour may be only white, pink or purple, the flower shape has taken on a great variety with blooms being described as lily, goblet, cup or star shaped. One species, the rare giant Himalayan Magnolia (M. campbelli), may grow to 15 metres and has huge flowers, 25 centimetres across.

Many beautiful and varied plants have been hybridised. For example, from hybridising M. heptapeta and M.quinquipeta comes a host of M.soulangiana varieties from which in turn other cultivars have been developed.

Magnolias are fairly hardy but should be planted in a sheltered position, out of direct wind and rain. Ideally, they should be with other plants where they will get light, shade and shelter, but not too dense as they need sunlight to encourage flower formation. They are often difficult to transplant, especially when large. Layering is probably the best way of propagating or taking cuttings from a heel of older wood.

What a magnificent and venerable tree this is. And what a survivor!

Text & Photos by Colwyn Campbell

What’s Blooming at Paluma: Magnolia variety

Len Cook planted this magnificent Magnolia more than thirty years ago. Every winter since then, he has enjoyed the classical beauty and subtle, sweet perfume of the glorious, goblet-shaped flowers.

The Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the sub-family Magnolioidaceae of the family Magnoliaceae. It was named after the French botanist, Pierre Magnol. It is an ancient genus, appearing before bees did and it is believed the plants evolved to encourage pollination by beetles.

The Magnolia has such an interesting history that it deserves a more detailed article devoted to it. I shall endeavour to do this soon.

Text & Photos by Colwyn Campbell

Winter Bird Watching at Paluma

Whilst it might be winter and a little chilly at Paluma, it hasn’t deterred the local birdlife from getting out and about amongst the village gardens and adjacent rainforest. Paluma is always a great place to do a spot of bird watching. These fine, sunny winter days are ideal for a stroll in the village and the opportunities abound to catch a glimpse of some locally common species. Peter and Jan Cooke have done just that, recently sighting the following birds in their own garden and throughout the village.

Crimson Rosella tucking into the nectar-laden grevillea flower spikes at No. 56 Mt Spec Road. This stunning flower is Grevillea Moonlight, a hybrid of G. banksii and G. whiteana.

Another feasting Crimson Rosella, this time enjoying the powder-puff flowers of a red Calliandra.

This Eastern Spinebill was up at dawn to enjoy the flowers of Grevillea Firesprite.

Recently a pair of Grey Fantails have been cruising up and down Mt Spec Road….perching momentarily and then demonstrating great aerial acrobatics to take insects in flight.

Photos by Peter Cooke. Text by Peter Cooke and Michele Bird.

What’s Blooming at Paluma: Tropical Rhododendrons

Vireya or Tropical Rhododendrons are currently blooming amongst Paluma gardens, providing a blaze of brilliant winter colour. Vireya’s are evergreen shrubs producing clusters of trumpet-shaped blooms several times a year. There are many cultivars and they come in a superb range of bright tropical colours. Some varieties have sweetly fragrant flowers. They are native to southeastern Asia and range from Thailand to Australia. They thrive in the cool mountain climate at Paluma and they are relatively easy to grow provided they have good drainage. Some of the varieties in beautiful bloom during June are shown below.

Text & Photos by Michele Bird

What’s Blooming at Paluma: Camellia ‘Volunteer’

We have previously posted articles on the wide variety of Camellias growing in Paluma gardens and the fact that our cool mountain climate provides an ideal environment for these more temperate plants. If you peruse the gardening sections of the Paluma.org website you will find photographs of the many varieties and flower shapes, sizes and colours amongst the village gardens.

Coming from Central Victoria I have always loved Camellias and they hold special sentimental value for me. I grew up gardening with my grandparents amongst the Camellias. When I moved to Paluma four years ago and discovered they thrived in local gardens I set about planting several new Camellias at No. 13, adding to those already planted by Andy and Ann Bishop.

About 12 months ago whilst browsing the Bunnings garden shop (something I am known to do on the odd occasion!) I came across a new variety of Camellia – ‘Volunteer’. This new variety was named to commemorate the International Year of Volunteers in 2001 in New Zealand. Incidentally, the International Week of Volunteers has just passed and was celebrated in May.

Anyway, back to Bunnings…..After some deliberation (for about 5 seconds) I purchased a Camellia ‘Volunteer’ and I squeezed it in amongst the plethora of plants in what I call my ‘chaotic cottage garden’. Well, the ‘Volunteer’ has thrived and is just over a metre in height. Throughout the month of May it has produced numerous blooms and they are quite spectacular. The flowers are quite large, deeply ruffled and variegated – they begin as a deep rich pink with white edges and fade to lighter shades of pink as they age.

Camellia ‘Volunteer’ is said to grow some 2m in height and 1.5m in width. It is a medium to dense upright shrub which is low maintenance. It produces multiple blooms over a long flowering period from May to September.

I can thoroughly recommend this Camellia as a beautiful addition to your Paluma garden. I was also thinking that this is an appropriate plant to grow in our little village, since the spirit of community and volunteering thrives here! I wonder if I could find some room for another one…….?

Text & Photo by Michele Bird