ORCHIDS are looking splendorous at present. Here are a few brief notes on the care of two of the most popular varieties.

Phalaenopsis or Moth Orchids are one of the easiest to grow, with blooms lasting up to three months. They like only indirect light with some humidity. It is often said that a steamy bathroom is ideal, but the bathroom is steamy only for short periods and can be one of the coldest rooms in the house.

Usually they are grown in shredded pine bark and will need to be watered once a week. Alternatively, if in sphagnum moss they will not need watering so often. Do not place the pot in a saucer full of water, encouraging root rot. If you must have a saucer, fill it with pebbles and sit the pot on top of the pebbles for good drainage. Do not overfeed, however a weak solution of orchid fertiliser every few weeks in warm water will keep your orchid in peak condition.

Cymbidium orchids are the tough ones. They can be brought indoors when in flower into a well-lit, cool room. This will result in the flowers lasting longer. The same rules apply as above regarding watering, saucers and feeding.

During summer months they can be kept outside in a shady area, raising the pot off the ground for drainage. They are still one of the most popular flowers for a present due to their hardiness and long flowering period.

For more detailed information, you might like to learn from the experts at the Canberra Orchid Society’s spring show at St. John’s Church Hall, Constitution Avenue, Reid from 11am-5pm on Saturday, September 22 and noon-4.30pm on the Sunday.

THE garden city concept was the vision of Englishman Ebenezer Howard (1850-1928) who saw the miserable consequence of the Industrial Revolution, when rows of squalid houses were constructed in cities to house the workers pouring into the cities.

There were certainly no gardens or outdoor spaces. Howard’s vision came to fruition with his Letchworth Garden City, commenced in 1905, the first garden city in the world. Howard followed this in 1921 with Welwyn Garden City, with houses having gardens and adjoining parks with lawns and planted with shade trees and flower beds for community use.

Walter Burley Griffin was a keen supporter of the garden city concept with his vision for Canberra. The first suburbs of Forrest, Red Hill and Griffith were based on this concept. As the city rapidly expanded, this concept gradually disappeared and today we are better known as the City of Trees, but certainly not a garden city.

As a garden designer, I see huge blocks of units being built in Canberra, most with little or no grassy areas for children to play under shady trees or even room for an outdoor clothes line. Many resemble the dismal tower blocks constructed in Britain and Europe immediately after World War II. So it was encouraging for me to see the new Lend Lease development at Springbank Rise, Casey. I am sure Ebenezer Howard would have endorsed this development with its wide, open spaces and areas resembling the traditional village green.

To assist residents or potential residents with advice for their gardens, I will be conducting free workshops there at 11am and 1pm on Saturday, September 22. All are welcome to Springbank Rise, Yeend Avenue, Casey.

This week…

• I could not resist this photo looking inside the flower of Magnolia soulangiana, “Felix”. Now is the time to select magnolias while in flower.

  

• When picking lemons, cut them at the stalk, do not pull them off the tree. The opposite with rhubarb, pull stems away from the crown, do not cut them.

• Plant all berry plants and deciduous fruit trees now.

• With smaller blocks and gardens, I have prepared a new Cedfacts Sheet “Small Trees for Small Gardens”. Go to cedricbryant.com and scroll down to “Cedfacts”.