A Rogue White

Lavender is a tricksy little thing. Ive known this since I studied at tafe over 10 years ago, but I have a bad habit of forgetting that not everyone knows this. Lavender is available in 3 different colours. Everyone knows about the purple, as this is the most common colour, however you can also find it in shades of mauve and white. The one in this picture self seeded in one of the parks that had been left to grow. If you are ever trying to propogate lavender, it is possible to do so by softwood cuttings. I have had very little success with this and find it easier to hunt around where a large bush is growing and you will usually find seedlings popping up their little heads this time of year.

Wont Grow A Shell

I have had this discussion more times then I thought I ever would. This is a slug. This is not a snail. This has never been, nor will it ever be a snail. Its not a bad thing not knowing this, I firmly believed this as a kid. My mum was an avid gardener so she taught me otherwise as I got older. So in all honesty it just amuses me explaining to people that slugs are not snails that have lost their shell, nor are they snails that havent yet grown their shell. They a different species to snail, but still belong to the mollusc family, hence the reason they look similar. Like a snail, they can retract their feelers or regrow them if they are cut off. The feelers are the stalks at the front of the head. The top two sense light, the bottom two sense smell. When disturbed a slug will contract its self, making it smaller, denser and much harder to pick up.

If you have slugs in the garden, the removal methods are much the same as snails. You can walk round picking them off and stomping on them. After rainfall is best for this as they are more active. You can set beer traps (old beer in containers which the slugs fall into and drown, make sure you cover over the top of the container as slugs and snails dont like to be exposed to predators). Yes, I have heard that this is a waste of perfectly good beer. Slugs and snails like the stuff, you can substitute vegemite dissolved in water, but its not as effective. Get a duck! If you can. Ducks love slugs and snails, so if you have one as a pet, let it loose every so often. Finally if you really have to put snail pellets about, buy a brand called Multiguard. Its the only one Ive found to be fairly pet friendly. Its based on an Iron compound to kill the slugs/snails, so it breaks down into fertilizer. Its not detrimental to pets, but as always sprinkle the pellets, DO NOT HEAP THEM. I know theyre pet friendly, but Im sure eating a box of the stuff cant be good for them.

Pygmy Dinos

The things you find while wandering round work can be quite rewarding. For instance while spraying the other week I came across this Pygmy Dinosaur. A rare species this, most people believe Dinosaurs to be extinct! I was stoked to finally see one in the flesh! He followed me round for a bit, but I encouraged him to stay in his natural habitat in the leaf litter. Hopefully he will find a mate, then have little pygmy dinos of his own.

Pimple Bumps

This is a common problem, particularly at this time of year. This is Lilly Pilly Gall, it is caused by a little sap sucking insect called a Psyllid. The pimple like growth is the plants reaction to the insects feeding. It is not usually detrimental to the plant and will usually just make it look really unsightly for a while. Although I have seen some pretty severe infestations where the new stem growth was becomming distorted due to the large number of psyllids. The biggest recommendation on controlling lilly pilly gall, is to plant resistant varieties. Unfortunately this can be rather impractical if you already have an established plant. White Oil and soap sprays are a way of controlling this pets but you really do have to stay on top of treatments. These are both contact treatments, meaning that if the spray doesnt make contact with the pest, it wont work. A systemic pesticide is more effective, though not as eco friendly as I would like it to be. I would recommend Confidor, as it is the less toxic of the pesticides on the market. A word of caution, DO NOT EAT THE FRUIT if you choose any chemical treatment. Please. If you are planning to eat the fruit from your lilly pilly, then use soap sprays or Beta Bug or anything like that, or you can simply not spray and put up with the bumpy leaves.

Its a Hover Fly

I spent years calling this insect a Hover Fly, as I had no idea what it was and I would commonly see it hovering around plants and flowers. I got bored one day and wanted to learn about this insect, so I typed Hover Fly into google, in hopes I might find something similar or a clue as to what its name might be. Turns out I had been calling it the correct name the whole time. It is actually called a Hover Fly. I was quite stoked by this. The adults of this species feed on pollen and nectar, so they play an important part in pollination. So although they dont transfer as much pollen as a bee would, they tend to visit more flowers then a bee therefore spreading pollen further and encouraging a more diverse gene pool. Also interesting to note, the larvae of some species of hover flies have quite a voracious appetite for aphids. Definitely keep these guys around in your garden.

Worth The Wait

It has been so hard trying to get a nice photo of the Ranunculus at work. They look quite lovely when the sun is out and the petals arent drowned in rain drops. These plants are a type of bulb, when they came in I was quite surprised as the bulbs for them kind of remind me of crows feet. Small, spikey and in little clumps. Its very different to the smooth round bulbs of tulips, daffodils and jonquils that Im used to. We planted these back in May. It seemed to take ages for them to flower and the ones that grew the best are the ones in full sun with rich soil. We planted some around the old library, unfortunately they are rather insipid looking due to the rather bland soil and dappled light from the sheoaks and eucalypts. They are a fairly thirsty plant, their name gives clues for this as Ranunculus translates to "Little Frog". They were most likely given this name for their habitat, as in the wild they grow in swamps and wetlands around the Mediterranean. As a result they love damp soil, so with all this rain no wonder theyre looking lovely.

Parentals

These little guys are Mountain Ducks, they are the largest of Australia's native duck species. These birds mate for life and return to the same nesting grounds year after year, which explains why I see them every year about this time with a brood of ducklings.  They are excellent parents, in the 2 years I have worked at the counsel I dont think Ive ever seen them lose a duckling. The way to distinguish between males and females are males have a white neck ring and a solid black head, while the females have a white ring around their eyes and bill. The male (on the rock) is rather aggressive towards other birds, and will chase away most of the other ducks from the lake while the ducklings are young. The female typically stays close to the ducklings. It is interesting to see that the ducklings arent afraid to stray a little from their parent while in the lake. Most ducklings we come across will follow their mother and never go more than 1m from her. These ducklings will quite happily swim several meters away from their parents, but will quickly group together when called. They tend to make more of a honking noise, rather then a quack like the ducks on the lake. Generally though they are pretty quiet.