Category: shopping for plants

Nothing quite says Summer for me than Gardenias. Have you always loved their heady fragrance? Feeling the urge to stick your nose against the screen right now??? I adore that divinely, and deliciously beautiful scent from the luscious white blooms and the emerald-colored glossy green leaves that can unmistakenly only be from the Gardenia.

I adore this fragrance and so of course despite the naysayers telling me that these can’t be grown very well in Perth, I set about to prove them wrong. These lovely plants with their glossy, tough, deep green leaves, do well in tropical settings as well as more formal gardens and of course a cottagey collectors style garden like mine.

Pots work well for me

I have always grown Gardenias well in pots or large planter boxes where I can control the soil composition and water. I use Baileys premium Potting Mix which has a neutral PH of about 7 pretty much every time you test it. It also has a good moisture-holding capacity and slow-release fertilizer. The pots are hand-watered when they need it so, I check the moisture of the soil-by sticking my finger in the pot and if it still feels moist then they are not ready for a drink-even if it is a hot day. Overwatering Gardenias, as with many other plants, will cause the roots to rot, particularly if the plant is potted. I regularly add Nutrarich Mature Compost and slow-release rose fertilizer to the potting mix so that these plants are always enjoying a mix filled with soil microbes and nutrients.

As a new gardener or even a keen experienced gardener, one of the most exciting things that you can do in life is to go plant shopping.

There are a couple of things that you can do to prepare yourself before you jump in the car and head out that door with your credit card at the ready and a big sense of joy in your heart.

Here are 5 tips to successfully purchasing plants for your garden.