What to Plant in April

Fantastic subtropical autumn weather in our region through April is the perfect time to really get your herb and veggie gardens going. April is the perfect time to plant so many vegetables and herbs, the list is almost endless.

Don’t forget to top up garden beds with compost and manure and mulch well.

It’s the perfect time to get special winter crops in now, Cabbage, Brocolli, Cauliflower and Brussel Sprouts. Although much maligned, Brussel Sprouts are a truly unique vegetable, flowering and fruiting on the stems, and well worth considering just for the adventure of learning how different vegetables grow.

Kale, the new superfood, needs to be planted now as well, needing the cooler months to perform well. We have a limited window of time in this region to get winter crops into the ground and thriving, and that time is now!

April is also go time for herbs, especially the favourite coriander. Autumn through winter and early spring is the best time to get great results with coriander.

 If planting in April, consider the following:

• Lettuce
• Beetroot
• Silverbeet
• Beans
• Baby Spinach
• Spinach
• Asian Greens
• Onions
• Kale
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Brussel Sprouts

Our own local plant hero: Pultenaea maritima 'Flat As'

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Pultenaea 'Flat As' 

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Norries Headland, Cabarita Beach

Pultenaea marítima in its natural habitat on Norries Headland

Why is Pultenaea ‘Flat As’ such a special little plant? Well, theres more than meets the eye with this great native ground cover and it’s a story that Grounded is proud to tell.

Cabarita Beach is situated on the Tweed Coast and is blessed with a magnificent natural environment. One of the highlights is Norrie’s Headland, an iconic piece of our local landscape, 400 million years in the making. Norrie’s is home to a serious diversity of native plants that survive and flourish amongst the harshest of conditions. One of these is Pultenaea maritima, officially listed as a vulnerable species and restricted to the grassland communities found on headlands along the coast of New South Wales, north of Newcastle.

In 2013, the owners and staff at the east coast's leading native wholesale nursery, Gondwana Nursery and Gardening Australia's Angus Stewart, came to Cabarita and were taken on a walking tour of some of our native bushland with Grounded's owner Christian Ellis. One visit was Norries Headland, where samples of Pultenea maritima were taken by the staff at Gondwana in the hope of ongoing propagation. The results were brilliant and Gondwana officially released Pultenea ‘Flat As’ in 2014 to the wider plant market, helping increase the species chances of survival. A fantastic result and a credit to Joy, Gahan and crew at Gondwana Nursery.

Pultenea ‘Flat As’ is your very own piece of Norries Headland that you can have in your home garden... which is pretty special!

For more information on Pultenaea maritime, go here: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspeciesapp/profile.aspx?id=10939 

You can also visit the Gondwana Nursery on Facebook and Angus Stewart's fantastic native plant website.

Some Like It Hot! Disphyllum Sunburn.

There's no doubt across the Tweed Coast its been hot lately, even considering we are heading into April. The heat and the humidity not only knocks us around, but plants can find things a bit difficult as well. However, there are some plants that just love it hot! 

Just arrived this morning is a fantastic new native succulent called Sunburn. Sunburn loves it hot. Sunburn is a brilliant addition to any local garden and a must have for native plant enthusiasts.

A compact groundcover with bright yellow flowers throughout much of the year, Sunburn represents the green and the gold of Australia. While we usually associate plants in the succulent group as being from outside Australia, we do have a number of succulent species spread across the country, all humble and tough but most flower magnificently.

Locally, just think about Pigface (Carprobrotus spp), common along our coastal dunes as the best example we have of a native succulent. Sunburn makes a welcome addition to any garden, growing on sand or clay, flowering year round and tolerant of just about any conditions you could throw it at, including humidity plus Sunburn has no weed potential.

Imagine the possibilities Sunburn and a combination of white and pink native Pigface, could offer in your garden ! 

Many thanks to Gondwana Nursery and for more information on Sunburn please go here:  http://australiansucculents.com/articles-news/xdisphyllum-sunburn-new-hybrid