Here’s a cut or dried flower that can dress up the Christmas table, says gardening columnist JACKIE WARBURTON.

THE NSW Christmas bush (Ceratopetalum) flowers around Christmas time in eastern Australia. 

As a cut or dried flower, it can dress up and decorate the Christmas table. 

The NSW Christmas bush is a shapely native shrub with cream-white flowers that are borne in spring, followed by red or pink bracts that carry a brilliant colour right through to February. 

The most popular variety is the deciduous Alberys Red, which grows to four metres high in our climate. 

However, I’ve found it fickle to grow in Canberra. I’m on to my third one this time in a pot that will be brought into the glasshouse in winter to help it survive. I have seen two growing outdoors without a problem in Canberra. I find it frustrating, but a challenge to grow one nonetheless. 

It needs really good drainage and protection from the cold winds in winter. It would grow well down the coast or in slightly warmer winter conditions than Canberra. 

It can be pruned in autumn to keep the growth compact. Mulch will prevent it from drying out over the warmer months through summer. 

The NSW Christmas bush is popular in the dried flower and floristry industry and as a potted plant. 

There’s a dwarf variety, suitable for a pot, that’s a little harder to source and is called “Johanna’s Christmas”. It grows only to 1.5 metres. If you manage to get one successfully growing or have one successfully growing, please let me know! (jackwar@home.netspeed.com.au)

AS we reach the peak of summer, now’s a crucial time to consistently water all fruiting trees. 

Daily watering may be required in some cases, but if fruit trees lack water at this time, the fruit will become dry and probably won’t form well. The tree will go into stress and begin to drop fruit at harvest time. 

It’s important to water the dripline of the tree and not the trunk; soak with a sprinkler for a few hours to give the plant a deep soak down to its roots. 

Try not to water the foliage, keeping it dry as possible to prevent fungal diseases. 

Cherries are ripe now. Peaches and nectarines should be ready to pick early to mid-January and then it’s time for the apricots. 

To prevent a glut of fruit all at once, pick the ripest fruit first thing in the morning and immediately place it in the crisper of the fridge. That way it will keep for two or three months – the quicker picked fruit goes into cold storage, the longer it’ll keep. 

If there is a glut of fruit, here’s a recipe for a favourite of mine – fruit soup. 

Fruit soup 

1 kg stone fruit (peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, cherries)

Juice of ½ lemon

1 orange , juice and zest 

2 cinnamon quills 

½ cup of light red wine, if using red fruits 

1 cup white wine (riesling)

1 to 2 cups of water 

½ cup sugar, or more to taste

1 tbsp cornflour 

Greek yoghurt to serve 

Pit cherries and remove the stone from the large fruit. There’s no need to peel the fruit, just cut it roughly into pieces. 

Combine fruit, orange juice and zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, wine and sugar into a saucepan. 

Add 1 cup of water. Partly cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the fruit is cooked. Remove cinnamon and puree the soup.

Serve in cold in small bowls with a dollop of Greek yoghurt. 

Jottings 

• Keep netting secure around fruit trees. 
• Continue to pick zucchini when 10cm-15 cm long. 
• Plant annual seedlings for a colour display right through to autumn. 
• Start looking at catalogues and seed sowing for winter vegetables.

Merry Christmas and happy, safe gardening over the festive period. 

jackwar@home.netspeed.com.au