Using Salad Burnet

SALAD BURNET

(Sanguisorba minor)

Salad Burnet is a lovely perennial green with the dual purpose of looking pretty and tasting great.

Having a mild cucumber flavour, use the most tender new foliage in any salad recipe.

How to grow Salad Burnet here. 

Rice Paper Rolls

use salad burnet instead of pea shoots

pick when needed, and won't be slimy from cool storage

Tea Sandwiches

Sliced Bread

Cream Cheese or Quark

Thinly sliced cucumber

salad burnet leaves

salt/pepper to taste (or diced dill, or dried sumac)

Spread a thin layer of cream cheese or quark onto bread slices

layer thinly sliced cucumber

top with salad burnet 

(which will help reduce contact of cucumber on bread making it soggy)

salt and pepper last

(salt draws moisture from cucumber so best to add it last!)

PIMMS and SODA/DRY/LEMONADE

use leaflets to add colour to your Pimms & Dry

(along with orange, lemon and cucmbers)

Pimms Original

E-STORE FEATURE PLANT "Dropmore" Catmint

 "Dropmore" Catmint 

(Nepeta × faassenii syn. mussinii)

A slightly larger version of Faassens Catmint, with bluer flowers. 

Mid sized at 70cm in flower, with a similar spread by Summer end. 

Not as lanky as "Six Hills Giant" !

Full sun in a drier part of the garden. 

Herbaceous perennial will die down to a leaf crown in Winter briefly. 

Prune back in Late Autumn.

Flowering in Mid Spring, but if spent flowers are pruned will flower

again in Autumn before dormancy. 

Available at our new e-store nursery

Scarlet Bee Balm

 

Scarlet Bee Balm (Monarda didyma "Mahogony") 

is one of those versatile perennials 

we really seek out at the Nursery.

Frosted seed heads in Winter

• Flaming blossoms atop tall strong stems
• scented foliage
• seemingly rabbit and wallaby proof once established
• Winter prune with a brushcutter
• Full sun and moist to well drained soil
• edible flowers
• edible foliage
• bee attractant

It does have a bad reputation for being prolific in its growth

so we treat it mean at the Farm growing it in poor soil

to contain its enthusiastic growth

Perfect for the new gardener as it is very forgiving of mis-adventures

Scarlet Bee Balm in Summer

Dusty Miller

 

Senecio "Vira Vira" in flower

A glorious day at the Farm today

Sunshine and the crisp breeze that tells of highland snowfalls

My poly tunnel is warm and the plants are jumping at the bright daylight

Cuttings are being run over the work bench today

silvery and feathered is the theme

Senecio "Vira Vira"

Last Summer I trialled a few new Senecio's

chosen of course for silver foliage to be a beautiful back drop to pretty much any colour

They have survived -7oC, flooding, water logging and the heat of last years Indian Summer

So that ticks all the boxes for us to propagate them

They will be nicely ready about late November at the Nursery

fully hardened and garden ready

 

Senecio "Cirrus"

Common Name: Dusty Miller's

Botanical Names: Senecio "Vira Vira": Senecio viravira syn Senecio leuchostachys

                                      Senecio "Cirrus" :  Senecio cineraria 'Cirrus'

Height: 65cm (85cm in flower)

Spread: 50 - 75cm

Flower: white / pale lemon in Summer, repeat flower in late Autumn

Uses: ornamental

Aspect (Tasmania): North, North West, East, North East

Sun: Full Sun only Soil: tolerant of poorer soils, free draining Water: not much water need after establishment, may need a splash in high Summer if soil moisture is not retained through mulching or extreme heat is expected
Maintenance: prune spent flowers back, light prune to encourage regrowth in late Summer
Problems: occasional Cineraria Leaf Miners, and grub borers in stem, but can be easily controlled through a bit a pruning for the borer and healthy growth.

Black Cahosh - Actaea racemosa

One of our new trial plants - Black Cahosh or Cimicifuga (Actaea racemosa).

Its certainly not one of our regular uber hardy plants, but it does like a damp shady spot in the garden, puts up with extreme cold and seasonal waterlogging - pretty tough after all !
Certainly sounds like it will suite a few places in our neck of the woods. 

Think Southern aspect, shady - hydrangea territory.


Common Names: Black Cahosh, Cimicifuga, Branched Bugbane, Black Snakeroot
Botanical Name: Actaea racemosa syn. Cimicifuga racemosa

Height: 75cm plant, 120cm flowering
Spread: 50cm
Flower: white / blush pink
Uses: ornamental, bee & butterfly attractant, herbal (medicinal)

Aspect (Tasmania): South, South East
Sun: Dappled Shade, Semi Shade
Soil: retained moisture, free draining, enriched organics
Water: regular, do not allow to dry out , mulch well


Image from here: http://www.studiogblog.com/grow/plants/summer-in-new-england/

Sweet Violets

"Rosina" Sweet Violet

Having grown up with traditional Sweet Violets

I'm a bit in love with the splendid cultivars which are appearing again

after another "un-fashionable" hiatus

Delightfully perfumed, perfect in shady damp gardens

working well in pots on an Eastern or Southern side of the home

"Lady Hume Campbell" Parma Violet

"Sweet Violets - Viola odorata"

English origin, very hardy hedgerow variety generally, except where cultivars incorporate white flowers which have a tendency to be more sensitive to dry weather.

(We stock "Charlotte", "Rosina" , Sulphurea and traditional purple violets 
in small quantities. )

"Parma Violets - Viola x alba cv."
Appeared in Italy in the 16th Century, and believed to be a hybridization of sports of 
White Violet (Viola alba). Parma Violets true botanical original are still unknown.

Less tolerant of dry soils, and need regular fertilizing with a rich organic e.g. manure based to thrive. Shady location only, dappled sunlight prefered.

(We stock "Lady Hume Campbell" only)

From little things . . . .

from little things . . . . big things grow

 that is a note to self about doing better poly tunnel maintenance

all those days I've been in the poly tunnel of late

and noticed a small tear or fatigue spot on the poly

I really should have just fixed it then and there !

An emergency trip to the hardware for some duck tape

only a temporary fix until the proper polythene based tape arrives

what a challenge in the gale force winds we are having today to keep two strips of plastic close together to tape

it ain't pretty but it will have to do

Strangely enough the severe gale warnings aren't for our region

yet gusts are up around the 50km/hr mark today

just goes without saying for Tassie weather

 "Look out the door" not at the BOM for what the weather is doing! 

Sure miss that mainland mass for more predictable weather patterns

now to move all of the seedlings into the new tunnel, luckily its finished,

 but it looks like the old tunnel won't make the season like we had hoped

and another job to recover it goes onto the "TO DO LIST"

and the added consequence of loosing 20sq m of undercover growing space

makes you appreciate all those non Nancy-pants plants that we grow

which don't need the cover why they are just so great !

Pruning Perennial Vegies

Globe Artichoke "Green Globe"

There is no hard and fast rules for maintenance on perennial vegetables

Especially in Autumns such as this one we are having in Tasmania

Low rainfalls, warm temperature spikes and severe frosts

All weather patterns confusing to a garden heading into Winter

At this time of the year you may be surprised at what is actively growing

I work on the theory "If it has turned yellow or lost its leaves" its right to renovate

If your plants are green and putting on shoots,

leave it alone , its not ready for renovations.

 

Globe Artichokes (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus) are especially active at 

this time of year, putting on foliage bulk in the cooler months, 

disappearing from the garden in Summer

the opposite behaviour expected of perennials 

"Purple de Jesi" Globe Artichokes

Diligent gardening should have you pruning spent Globe Artichoke flowers out

in Late Spring  preventing seed spread

Mid - Late Summer when seeds are plump and set, collect and store

Pruning of Globe Artichokes is generally done in Mid - Late Summer also

Disposing of old foliage as the plant goes dormant

This is also a good time to split plants if you are able to keep the replanted crowns watered in hotter Late Summer months 

Now as we head into Winter, Globe Artichokes are getting bulky

and preparing to be the first to provide you with a Spring Veg harvest

If you renovate or prune now, be prepared to sacrifice you next seasons crop

Heritage varieties (which not surprisingly most Globe Artichokes are)

will be blossoming come September, especially smaller bud forms such

as "Violetta de Chioggia" and "Purple de Jesi"

Larger blooms e.g. "Green Globe" will be harvesting in October and November 

Globe Artichokes loan stature and grandess to the garden

The luxury of having different varieties is only limited by your garden size

and willingness to take on steady bloom picking for the pot or vase

Just remember Globe Artichokes wait for no person if the weather warms suddenly,

and the flowers ripen early in the Season making them leathery and spiky

for culinary purposes

Mature Globe Artichoke Foliage (Summer)

New Season Foliage on Globe Artichoke (Winter)

Entally House GardenFest

GardenFest at Historic Entally House was on again this weekend.

Not well publicised, but attracting a great number of people just the same.

The Nursery took to the road again, and attended GardenFest for the first time.

With very fine weather, and beautiful garden surrounds.

Killiecrankie Farm Nursery Stall

 We had a brilliant weekend, indulging in Freerange Pork sausages from Langdale Farm, some very nice berries and icecream from Moss Side Berries, Custard Tarts from The Red Feather Inn, loads of plants to see and garden features to plan for.

Killiecrankie Farm Christmas Trees

Inspirations Garden Centre

Peter Maxwell Wright

Peter Maxwell Wright

Peter Maxwell Wright

Greenhand Enterprises

Squirrel & Dove

In between all that I did manage to do some work and sell enough plants to over the indulgence !

My thanks as always to our wonderful clients, and to my stall helpers (who made it possible to go berry hunting) Mandy & Julie

Nursery Open Days

www.killiecrankie-farm.com

for open day details

Gaillardia Wynter Geld

Back in Winter I was lamenting the lack of colour our garden has. 

I do expect a lot, I suppose as a Horticulturist I'm allowed !

Yet one of those gems which shine through the Winter bleakness

has been this Gaillardia, which we have now started to propagate as

a colour specific cultivar after it merged from a hybrid in the stock beds two years ago.

We are calling it "Wynter Geld" for obvious reasons

 It is such a hardy specimen through sodden Winter and into the hot dry Summer

Sturdy and abundant flowers on nicely hoary leaves.

It takes a good pruning back of its evergreen form well,

replenishing any lanky growth with a thicket of foliage and flower buds.

Our plants are happily growing under the clothesline in an un-watered, and only slightly improved garden bed, with a good thick layer of bark mulch.

Blogging in the Nursery . . .

"Cooky" Avens

Blogging from the nursery today getting ready for 

Harvest Launceston

Ragged Robins

Lychnis flos-cuculi "White Robin"

Winter doesn't offer to much colour in our garden yet

It is such a new garden the Winter flowering plants and Autumn colours

are too small to make in imprint on the landscape at the farm

A little surprise popped up in one of the stock beds.

Planted to harvest seed from we weren't expecting flowers until Spring

but this little white version of the English wildflower species

 of Ragged Robin (Cuckoo Flower)

sent forth a froth of white shaggy blossoms

A -4oC Frost did not damage the blossoms or foliage !

So I'm not sure if our strange warm weather patches through Autumn 

triggered the flowering

or this is just a feature of this plant

either way I'm happy for any flowers in Winter, even white ones !

The advantage now is that these blossoms will produce seed that

will have been through a severe frost

making the next generation of plants assuredly tough !