Cape Jervis has many colourful plants worthy of a place in a coastal garden but unfortunately they can be hard to find at nurseries. Check out the new red plant signs along Flinders Drive (near the big ugly MAC sign) to find plants you like and ask for them at good native nurseries. Like many exotic plants, natives benefit from pruning after flowering. If you don’t they can become really straggly. Check out the difference between an unpruned plant (left) and one photographed about 4 weeks after pruning in my “city” garden. If you are not sure how much to prune, try removing 20-50%, just make sure there are leaves left behind on all the branches. Some long flowering local native options that benefit from pruning include Vittadinia sp, Senecio lautus, minnie daisy (Minuria leptophylla) and coastal tobacco (Nicotiana maritima).

Yellow buttons (Chrysocephalum apiculatum) before (left) and after (right) pruning

Next get together, Sat Oct 10 (Spring wildflower walk) & Sun 11 (TBA)

We welcome new volunteers.  Contact Carolyn Schultz 0423 213 481.