16th July, Winter news.

• Last month the sculpture 'Perenti' was erected and is now standing up near the gazebo in the gardens of Zanthorrea. Gordon Mitchell with the help of Piet Baarspul and a few hours carved the bungarra out of the trunk of the 34 year old Eucalyptus citriodora that had to be removed for the new staff room to be built.

• Zanthorrea has found its way to Facebook! If you are interested in getting updates on when we have interesting plants ready for sale or some different giftware lines that have come in or even just for a better look at the pictures of the 'Perenti' being installed then search for zanthorrea on www.facebook.com.

29th Apr 2010: Zanthorrea Nursery: National winners again!

On 22nd April 2010 at the NGIA national conference in Darwin, Zanthorrea Nursery was announced as the national winner of the Best Medium Garden Centre in Australia! We are thrilled to win this accolade, this is the sixth time Zanthorrea has won. Congratulations also to our fantastic team who helped make the win possible. NGIA (Nursery and Garden Industry Australia) is the peak industry body for the Australian nursery and garden industry and is responsible for overseeing the national development of this fantastic, diverse industry.

5th Feb 2010: NGIA Awards.

Congratulations to the Zanthorrea team for winning NGIA's 'Best Medium Garden Centre in WA'. Congratulations too, to Dawson's Garden Centre in Forrestfield for winning 'Best Large Garden Centre in WA'. WA winners were announced at the Nursery Industry's Christmas function, by judge Sabrina Hahn. National winners will be announced at a Gala dinner in Darwin's NGIA conference in April. Wish us luck!

18th Jan 2010: Summer News

Grevillea 'Woolly Bear Mian': A new Aussie plant to help Free The Bears
Longtime FTB member Sue Forrester and her husband Bill Molyneux, owners of Austraflora, the leading Australian native plant development company, have released a brand new Grevillea this year to raise funds for Free The Bears.

Launched at the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show in April, Woolly Bear 'Mian' is now available at Zanthorrea. The nursery was selected to officially launch the new range of grevilleas in WA on December 2nd this year.

Hardy, adaptable, and well suited to a range of soils and climates, 'Mian' has beautiful woolly foliage and furry golden red bunches of flowers. Honeyeaters love it, and it makes a fabulous specimen or hedge plant, and for those who have small spaces, it thrives in containers and tubs.

Sue & Bill named this plant in honour of Cambodian Sun Bear Mian, whom they also help to sponsor. Further varieties in the Woolly Bear range will become available soon, and each will be named for a real bear. The next to follow will be Woolly Bear 'Hero', named for Hero the rescued 'dancing' bear in India.

Summer planting
Planting in Summer can be a challenge due to extreme temperatures and minimal rainfall. However, with some thoughtful plant selection and some extra TLC, great results can be achieved. The nursery is well stocked with plants that can be successfully planted in Summer and will enjoy the warm weather. Our favourite hardy summer gems:

• Eremophila 'Kalbarri Carpet' (spreading grey foliage plant with yellow bird attracting flowers)
• Hemiandra pungens (snakebush - prickly ground cover with purple or white flowers)
• Grevillea banksii (bushy medium shrub with vivid sun loving flowers)
• Anigozanthos 'Big Red' (hybrid kangaroo paw)
• Olearia axillaries (grey shrub to 1.2m)

Kanyana's Plant of the Month
This month's plant is the beautiful bird attracting Anigozanthos 'Big Red'. This hardy easy to grow kangaroo paw flowers through summer with blooms reaching as high as 2m. The birds love the dark red nectar rich flowers. With a little soil improver at planting, this strappy leaf plant will grow with only a little summer water. We have grown a special batch that are in bud for $10.95. $1 from each plant will go to Kanyana Wildlife Centre to help support the wonderful work of the volunteers. For more information about Kanyana, go to www.kanyanawildlife.org.au.

30th Jun 2009: Winter News

The recent Garden Week at Perry Lakes was a great success with perfect autumn weather and happy crowds visiting. Zanthorrea's display featured a contemporary design by Sue Torlach enhanced by stunning metal art pieces from 'Fifth Room'. Our display won first prize: Best Garden Centre Display 2009.

We welcome new team member Chris who will help in production and gardens while Ross is on a long overseas holiday. Gaby will be on long service leave until summer, so we wish both Gaby and Ross happy holidays.

To celebrate trees, we have our favourite speaker, Eric McCrum, who will present a talk featuring all the creatures dependent on trees for food and shelter. Saturday 8th August, 10am, RSVP 94546260. Not to be missed.

As winter is the best time to plant, the nursery is full of fresh plants including new varieties and your old favourites, so pop in soon and enjoy a browse in our peaceful surroundings.

Best wishes,
- Jackie and Alec and the team.

1st Apr 2009: Autumn News

What's new?
We have a new TOP TEN star plants for 2009. These are plants that are guaranteed to succeed in any garden. This is always a tough task as we have so many wonderful plants available. The top ten are especially suitable for the beginner gardener or those of us with little time to fuss over our garden. Check these out in the Autumn Bush Telegraph.

The triffid in the gardens:
Alec has carved a 5m monster for the display gardens. Don't be afraid as his stumpy legs are firmly staked into the ground. Check him out in the gardens, the triffid that is!

Garden Week
Don't miss Garden Week at Perry Lakes, held this year from 16th to 21st April. There's much to see and do for garden lovers. Say hi to the team from Zanthorrea at our display. Jackie presents a talk on Australian plants for cottage gardens in the morning of Tuesday 21th April, and call in to our stand at Garden Week to see the garden design by Sue Torlach from Wild about Gardens.

Compostable pots:
The production team have been busy all summer potting new varieties and old favourites. Look out for plants in compostable pots that are now being taken up into the growing area. You can spot them at the nursery in their muted coloured pots. Once you plant your new shrub, simply stamp on the pot and add it to your compost heap. With time it will break down into lovely organic material to improve your soil.

Pot Recyling:
As the price of recycled plastic has fallen sharply, the company collecting old pots has removed the collection bin, and we are no longer able to accept used pots. Fortunately there are several options available and we are currently in discussion with another company who collect plastic pots and use the material to form handsome new pots. Watch this space.

Autumn - time to plant
Check out our increased range of starter plants. Due to popular demand, we have added a whole new bench and Samara has filled it with lovely tubes ready for Easter planting. There are many varieties to choose from.

Congratulations to our new horticulturists Janine and Jolene, who have completed their Sustainable Gardening training and passed their assessments.