Nurseries: Parkers of Turramurra

With the increasing trend towards large chain nurseries its great to see that there are some plant retailers that continue to thrive despite the general decline in interest in gardening. One such business is Parkers of Turramurra, a long established retail nursery serving Sydney's leafy north shore.

Parkers of Turramurra

The nursery was established by Kevin Parker on the site of an old bus depot  in 1978. Despite competition from long established rivals the nursery flourished and became one of the best known nurseries in Sydney. For many years the retailer has been owned and operated by Helen Knight and during her reign she has managed to make Parkers the nursery of choice for the north shores taste conscious gardeners.

Plants are well displayed at the nursery

Parker's palette of plants reflect the gardening taste of the area. The nursery is not only popular with garden owners but attracts many horticulturists and landscape designers looking for rare and unusual plants. Whenever I go to the nursery I seek out their range of perennials. The nursery also has a fine selection of roses including 19th century favourites as well as Alister Claark and David Austin varieties. The staff are knowledgeable and, mostly, friendly.

The plants are beautifully displayed and there is also a large shade section. You won't find wind chimes, Buddha heads and gnomes here but you will be able to find some lovely pieces of (pricey) garden sculpture and metal arches.  As well as plants the nursery includes an excellent hardware department that sells good quality tools (and spares), fertilizers and manures. There is also a cafe.

Parkers of Turramurra
45-47 Tennyson Avenue
Turramurra
New South Wales 2074

PS: I first published this review of Parkers in 2013. Sadly, I recently heard that this nursery will soon close and an Aldi supermarket will be built on the site. This is tragic news for the gardeners of Sydney.

Beautiful Weeds: Periwinkle

The first time I took any notice of this attractive plant was when I saw it growing in a Canberra garden where it was used as a ground cover beneath a deciduous tree in an island bed. This courtyard bed was surrounded by paving and the periwinkle was the only ground cover used there.  The plant was the lesser periwinkle - Vinca minor and it made an attractive low growing, yet dense, planting.

The distinctive windmill sail petals of the periwinkle

A year or two later I saw blue periwinkle - Vinca major, the larger ornamental species, growing in a large country garden. What appealed were the beautiful bluish single flowers along with the glossy dark green oval leaves. Now smitten by the plant I took a few rooted shoots home to my own garden and with a little care they soon thrived. That relocation was a bad mistake because within a couple of years the periwinkle soon spread throughout the shadier parts of my garden.  Instead of making a dense ground cover the plants habit was wiry and allowed other plants to grow through it. Soon realising that the plant was weedy I decided to rip the plant out of my garden. I now appreciate this beautiful plant in other peoples gardens rather than my own.

Periwinkle is often found growing 
in old cemeteries

The Vinca genus is a member of the Apocynaceae family, a poisonous tribe that includes the oleander and mandevilla.  The larger species is native to the Mediterranean area and prefers moist, shady sites.  Due to its popularity with home gardeners (sorry) the plant has become a garden escape in many areas.

Vinca major 'Variegata' 
growing among Asparagus

Vinca major flowers from late winter to spring. While most colours are bluish purple there is also a white cultivar. Another popular choice is the variegated form. The smaller sized species Vinca minor is native to south-west and central Europe and the Caucasus and grows in similar conditions to its larger cousin. The flowering period also lasts longer, from late winter to early summer. Roger Phillips and Martin Rix in their classic 1991 book Perennials (volume 1) list several cultivars: 'Albo-variegata' has white flowers and gold variegated leaves; 'Argenteo-variegata' has silver edged leaves; 'Atropurpurea' has deep-purplish-red flowers; and 'Flore Pleno' has double purplish-blue flowers, both with green leaves.

© Silas Clifford-Smith 2014

Beautiful Weeds: mother of millions

It may seem a tad provocative to write about the aesthetic merits of weeds, but why not? There are so many weedy plants out there, and many are also - dare I say - attractive. Their visual charms may explain their spread and persistence as gardeners get tempted to take a piece home. In the first in what I hope to be a regular series I will  write about some of my "favourite" weedy plants. This month I take a look at the striking succulent herb Bryophyllum delagoense.

The flowers of most varieties certainly catch the eye

Also known as Kalanchoe tubiflora or Bryophyllum tubiflorum this plant is a native of the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar and is part of the large Crassulaceae family. The plant grows up to 1 metre and needs little help to make a dramatic display as long as it's growing in a sunny spot. In the southern hemisphere the plant flowers during the cooler months, mainly between May and October. But be warned, NEVER be tempted to take cuttings of this plant home as it soon lives up to its common name, mother of millions.

It may seem apt that mother of millions is growing on 
this woman's grave, perhaps she was as prolific a 
reproducer as the plant that shares her final resting place

In warm temperate areas this plant forms colonies on inaccessible edges of roadsides or in vacant land. There is quite a lot of variation in the flowers but the the pretty bright red form seems to be the most common in built up areas, suggesting that humans are the main vector. As well as humans this plant spreads during flooding and by seed. As well as being a noxious weed mother of millions is reported to be extremely poisonous, especially to cattle. Eradication is difficult once established. Bush regeneration and government weed management websites recommend a combination of physical removal, poison and even fire to control. For home gardeners it's best not to grow the plant in the first place.

Old sages

One group of plants which came into its own in the perennial revival boom of the late 20th century was the ornamental flowering sages of the Salvia genus. Today there are over 150 different salvias available in Australian plant nurseries. Most of these have been imported over the last 25 years, but there are some which have been grown in our gardens for nearly two centuries.

Salvia patens as illustrated in
Edwards' Ornamental Flower Garden (1854)

For many the best known salvias are the common culinary sage (Salvia officinalis) and the scarlet red bedding sage (Salvia splendens) both of which were growing in Australia by the middle of the nineteenth century. The culinary herb may have been the first sage imported into the colony while the red bedding sage probably came here in the 1840s, although it was not listed on plant catalogues until the early 1850s. 

Another early import was the red flowered tropical sage (Salvia cocinnea). This plant is much gentler on the eye than the red bedding sage and also comes in a white flowered form. Its self-seeding habit has made it a weed in tropical areas of the world so it is hard to find on local seed lists. Despite this it can be found in old gardens and grows easily from seed sown in spring or early summer.

The most popular blue flowered salvia was the gentian sage (Salvia patens). This beautiful plant appears in almost all nursery catalogues from the 1850s and seems to be one of the most popular perennials used in nineteenth century gardens. Being hardy to light frost it is an ideal plant for most temperate climates although it has a tendency to spread by vegetative growth.


Apart from Salvia splendens (which was used in mass plantings), most nineteenth century salvias were used simply as filler plants in large garden beds. Although they never enjoyed the popularity of fuchsias, carnations, or geraniums, the salvias’ long flowering habit and ease of propagation would have made them a hard plant to ignore in the nineteenth century Australian garden. Perhaps owners, gardeners and designers of heritage gardens will review their planting selections to include some of these much-loved early perennial favourites.

Salvias commonly found in nineteenth century Australia gardens

Salvia africana-lutea* (syn: Salvia aurea) available from 1850s

Salvia azurea - prairie sage – available from 1850s

Salvia coccinea – commonly available by 1850

Salvia farinacea - mealy sage – appears on nursery lists by late 1880s

Salvia microphylla ‘Kew Red’ – (syn: Salvia grahamii) – available from 1880s

Salvia officinalis* - common sage - probably the first imported sage

Salvia patens  - gentian sage – appears on many local nursery lists from 1850s

Salvia splendens – tall growing red cultivars available in Australia by 1850s 

* denotes a frost hardy species

While a limited range of salvias are available from most nurseries the best range is available from Sue Tempteton's Unlimited Perennials nursery at 369 Boomerang Drive, Lavington 2641, NSW. Tel 02 - 6025 4585. Sue has a mail order service and website http://www.salviaspecialist.com/

Salvia illustration courtesy of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, Library

Elizabeth Farm

Regarded by many as Australia's oldest surviving house, Elizabeth Farm, near Parramatta, was built by Elizabeth Macarthur in 1793 and is surrounded by a distinctive garden which will appeal to many.

Front of the house

After nearly two centuries of private ownership the property was acquired by the New South Wales State Government in the 1970s and was later put into the care of the Historic Houses Trust (HHT). The HHT restored the house and deliberately decorated it with reproduction period furnishings so visitors could sit on the 'colonial' furniture as well as touch objects, something unheard of in most historic properties

Informal hedge of plumbago on the drive

While the original  estate had originally been 250 acres, when the Government acquired the property it was little more an an acre. Little has survived of the original garden plantings apart from several mature hoop pines, a Chinese elm and an ancient olive (believed to be the oldest surviving specimen in Australia). The HHT expertly restored the garden using evidence from many historical sources, including watercolours, photographs and diaries. All the added plants used in the garden were available in the area in the 19th century. The result today is a largely restored colonial period garden.

The vegetable garden is used as a teaching tool

Like the house, the garden is incorporated into teaching programmes organised by the HHT. During term time school groups learn about Australian history and how people lived in the past. Dressed as servants the children learn, through role-play, about the life of the Macarthurs and the day-to-day  toil of colonial life. For many children the recreated vegetable plot is an incite into where are food comes from.

There are many cacti and succulents in the garden

For many years the garden has been under the care of Ann who in the company of her giant poodle keeps the property in fine fettle. One of my favourite parts of the garden is the cactus garden at the end of the driveway, and here we find a mature collections of Aloes and Opuntia all of which date from the time of restoration.

Elizabeth Farm. 70 Alice Street, Rosehill, Sydney, NSW. Tel (02) 9635 9488
http://www.hht.net.au/museums/elizabeth_farm

Nurseries: Honeysuckle Cottage Nursery

In recent years the nursery trade has been in dire straights. Less and less people are gardening which means more and more nurseries are closing or are being swallowed-up by the large retail chains. Despite this there are some nurseries that valiantly trade on year-after-year despite the vicissitudes of taste, climate and economics. One such nursery is Honeysuckle Cottage located in the foothills of the Blue Mountains at Bowen Mountain, near Richmond.

This half-hidden sign on the road declares that
the nursery is 'the home of Old Fashioned Plants.'

Honeysuckle Cottage was established by Keith and Judyth Mcleod in 1977. At the time this nursery was one of many dedicated to selling perennials and roses as the cottage garden revival style was then popular, but since the late 1990s there has been a move away from this kind of gardening. Sadly, today Honeysuckle Cottage is the only nursery near Sydney that specialises in rare and unusual perennials and herbaceous plants.

First view of the nursery from the road

I remember visiting the nursery on one of my early visits with a climbing rose I couldn't identify. Without hesitation Keith - the resident rosearian - ID'd the flower as 'White Maman Cochet', a popular Tea Rose during the Edwardian period. Since then I have visited Honeysuckle Cottage several times a year looking for unusual plants and sage advice.

'White Maman Cochet' tea rose

Honeysuckle Cottage is a 'proper nursery' as they propagate and grow their own plants, unlike most modern nurseries who buy in stock from large wholesalers. While many nurseries have adopted the sales techniques of modern retailing (colour-themed display stands, piped music and pink uniforms) this nursery display their plants in the traditional way on the ground and in romantic disorder.

Many of the plants for sale are growing near their parent stock plants, such as the 3 metre tall Mexican Fuchsia Sage (Salvia iodantha) which on my last visit was in full bloom near the sales shed. Of course after seeing this plant I bought one after seeing its mother in her full glory. As well as Salvia the nursery has a wonderful selection of herbs, most notably lavender and thyme.

Salvia iodantha 

Co-owner Dr Judyth McLeod is a prolific author of garden and history books and many of her publications have a world wide market. I can certainly recomend her book Heritage Gardening (1994), and her more recent study of medieval gardening In a Unicorn's Garden (2008).

One of many books by Dr Judyth McLeod

All the staff working at the nursery are friendly and certainly know their plants well, and a keen gardener can easily spend an hour walking through the nursery in the company of the resident bell birds. Although not to every gardeners taste, Honeysuckle Nursery is one of the most idiosyncratic nurseries in Australia, and for those with an interest in perenials, herbs and roses it makes a must-see horticultural pilgrimage site. 

Honeysuckle Nursery is located at 30 Bowen Mountain Road, Grose Vale, NSW 2753 (tel 02-4572 1345). The nursery is open six days a week (closed Wednesday), but it's best to ring first during the week.http://www.honeysuckle-cottage.com.au/