IT’S spring and gardening swings into top gear this month with events galore.

The Floriade Spring Festival, with the theme “Beautiful Innovation”, blossoms forth for a month, from September 14, encouraging even the most reluctant gardener into the wonderful world of gardening.

IT still rankles that there is not a permanent Floriade site, such as the world-famous Keukenhof Gardens in Holland. The idea ping pongs back and forth between it staying as a temporary site in Commonwealth Park or moving to the Arboretum.

It seems ridiculous starting in March to rip up the turf to install the garden beds for just one month of Floriade. Then only to clear the area and re-lay 20,000 square metres of turf to return Commonwealth Park to its regular state in October. The turf has hardly had time to grow before the whole process starts all over again!

Also, why did we have to copy the name Floriade from the Dutch flower festival of the same name? Too late now, but surely we could have come up with an original Australian name.

MANY readers have raised with me the question of why the Floriade theme is showcasing a hybrid, non-existent flower.

The computer-generated flower is a combination of a lotus with the centre of a lily and an optic stamen.

Surely, when we are celebrating Canberra’s Centenary we should be promoting the native plant especially bred for this year, namely Correa “Canberra Bells”.

I hope to see massed displays of this in themed native gardens to celebrate our Australian heritage and promote plants indigenous to our local area rather than the computer-generated variety!

Email me your thoughts at cedricbryant@grapevine.com.au

FEED, feed, feed. That is the theme in coming weeks.

Surprisingly, Camellia sasanquas, which have only just finished flowering, need to be fed now. As soon as flowering has finished the new buds start to form for next year’s flowers. Late-flowering bulbs can be fed with a high-potassium liquid plant food until you see the flower buds appear.

Presented this year in conjunction with the Daffodil Association of NSW/ACT, it will include the Centenary of Canberra Daffodil Championships. Entry is free.

More information at hsoc.org.au

THE Kingston Organic Community Garden is holding its fifth anniversary garden party at 11 Currie Crescent, noon-3pm, on Sunday, October 20. There will be family activities and a birthday cake to cut at 2.30pm.

More information at 6295 9470 or email office@canbap.org.

Correa “Canberra Bells”… especially bred for this year.