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JULY 2016 | Nell Carr

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PLANTS WHICH flower in June and July are doubly welcome to brighten up the garden on dull days. Narcissus are the most prolific in Meander Valley at this time of year .

Those with the orange or yellow calyx and the corolla, (the outer petals) white or yellow, began flowering in early June, the daffodils in July.

These are so ubiquitous in our district, around deserted houses, in long neglected gardens, it is hardly necessary to mention them.

Some less common plants which flower bravely in frost or rain are -

The red flowered Cestrum (pictured), attracts honey eaters, and flowers throughout winter.

It is reputed to be a little frost tender, so should be grown where it doesn’t get the early morning winter sunshine.

Chimonanthus praecox is the scented Winter sweet, which is apt to be overlooked as its small flowers are in muted colours, but its strong spicy scent helps to locate the shrub in the garden.

Chaenomoles japonica is the Japanese quince, and the red and double white varieties help to brighten the winter garden.

Vegetables

It might be difficult to find a dry enough spot to sow some vegie seeds.

At the Western end of the Valley, the historical June record of 217mm has by 24th June been topped by 8mm, but if a dry enough patch can be found the seeds of onions and spinach may be sown, and also 2-year asparagus crowns can be planted in enriched and limed soil.

[udesign_icon_font name="fa fa-camera" color="#000000"] Mike Moores