Speed Dating With Plants! - Andrea Whitely Garden Consultant

Perth Garden Festival has just finished up and it was a great success this year. So many willing-to-learn-more-gardeners and lots of interest in what’s new and exciting in the gardening world.

The ladies in the background could see the funny side in me wanting a crown of Leschenaultia

I entered the Professional section of The Hanging Basket competition-Here’s my entry overlooking the beautiful Swan River

Hanging Basket 2018
I used purple Lantana, Ajuga, Anigozanthus in the centre, Gardenia, Scaevola ‘Purple Fanfare’, Eremophila Nivea and Echivera succulents all around the centre section.

I’m a member of the Horticulture Media Association and I spoke on the BUPA main stage last Friday. I love sharing my knowledge with such engaged audiences.

This year, I decided to do something a little different and I called it “Speed Dating with Plants”.my talk was scheduled for 20 minutes and so my aim was to create four container plantings in under twenty minutes and amazingly I completed them all and still had time for lots of questions.

I wanted to demonstrate that gardening need not take up very much time, should be fun and also that anyone can create a garden in a container, regardless of age or physical ability.

Another tip that I was keen to share with West Australian gardeners is the current trend in the US and elsewhere in the world to plant many things in the one basket rather than just one single plant as tends to be the case here. The opportunity to create a mini garden in a container and tell a whole story is something quite new to people here. This is great for folk who might be living in a small space, people renting or those not inclined to garden other than by using containers. It is appealing to so many gardeners. During my talk, I stressed that plants selected should have the same watering requirements and all require the same amount of sun or shade.

Each year, I travel to the USA in my quest for great gardening ideas and this year I wanted to share some of the things I learned about container gardener in particular during my time in Pennsylvania and especially at an amazing garden called Chanticleer in the Delaware Valley. If you ever get the chance you MUST put this garden on your bucket list of gardens to visit. It will blow your mind!

Here are the containers I created at this years’ Perth Garden Festival. I tried to create something for everyone and just like a real date, I gave them all an amusing name-just for a bit of fun.

Container 1 Aphrodisiac