Mitchelton & Districts Garden Club

The next meeting of the Mitchelton and Districts Garden Club is on Thursday, 6th April, the day before Good Friday. The guest speaker is Leonie Kearney from Rosevale Homestead at Samsonvale, and she will talk about old fashioned roses and cottage gardens. These items are growing at the Rosevale Homestead gardens which are open to visitors on Saturday afternoons - it would be wise to make prior arrangements with Leonie. Not only are the gardens an absolute delight, the scenery is outstanding. You can even see the ocean from one spot.

The February meeting was very enjoyable. The guest speaker was so thorough with his talk about foliage plants, he ran out of time so what he had to say about carnations has to wait until a future date. There was a good display on the show bench. The chief steward remarked that all the exhibits came from only five members. Vacancies exist for new members if you are interested. Meetings are held on the first Thursday of the calendar month except January, at the Enoggera Memorial Hall. Entrance to the hall is at 36 Trundle Street and the hall is accessible by wheelchair. Morning tea is served at 9.45am. The meeting commences about 10am and closes about 11.45am. Visitors and new members are most welcome.

March is the month to plant strawberry ‘runners’, website: http://www.westernecho.com.au ie: new plants created at the end of a long, thick, stemlike growth from the original plant. Choose a sunny welldrained spot that is enriched with organic soil. Make little hills about 15 cm apart with the soil and plant each new plant on top of a ‘hill’. Cover the surrounding soil with mulch which will keep the fruit from touching the earth. It’s been said that strawberries are one of the dirtiest fruits, so always wash them well before eating them. If you are raising spring annual seedlings, give them some liquid fertilizer to make them strong and ready to transplant next month. Spring flowering bulbs need attention. Place them in a paper bag and then in the crisper or vegetable drawer of the fridge for a few weeks to acclimatise them for planting by the end of April.

Should more information be required, please phone Trish, the president, on 0438 268 212.