Bloomin’ wonderful: Floriade is Canberra’s time to shine

Commonwealth Park is crammed with half a million bulbs, including 100+ varieties of tulips, as well as hyacinths, daffodils, iris and ranunculus, interplanted with annuals of every colour.

Floriade returns in Canberra for another colourful year.

“Over one million blooms” is the boast from Floriade, Canberra’s celebration of spring that runs from September 16 to October 15. Commonwealth Park is crammed with half a million bulbs such as tulips (more than 100 varieties), hyacinths, daffodils, iris and ranunculus, interplanted with annuals of every colour – pansies, primulas, poppies and daisies.

Planting takes place from March to July, after which the young plants are protected against rabbits and possums with chicken wire around the beds, and from marauding cockatoos with bird netting. Gardeners will sympathise.

The theme for 2023 is Floral Wonderland, so expect creative designs and riotous colour. It’s a free, non-ticketed event, open 9.30am-5.30pm daily.

More festivals coming up this spring: Tulip Time Festival, Bowral, NSW, September 19 to October 2; Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers, Queensland, throughout September; Tesselaar Tulip Festival, Silvan, Victoria, September 16 to October 15; Table Cape Tulip Farm in Tasmania, open September 23 to October 22; Springtime Tulip Festival at Araluen Botanic Park in Perth until September 30.

Hardy Souls

Clivias are the ideal plants for dry shade wherever nothing else thrives – around the base of trees or down the side of the house. They’re undemanding and happily multiply, then burst into colourful bloom in spring.

Clivia miniata.

Belgium hybrids.

The classic colour is orange, but there are red and yellow varieties readily available, as well as collectors’ colours such as bronze, green, peach and pink, plus bicolours and multi-petalled forms. Look for local shows such as the Clivia Society of NSW show at Thornleigh Community Centre, September 23-24.

Yellow clivias.

Peach pink clivias.

Q&A

Will the edelweiss seeds I bought from the Diggers Club grow in a pot in Adelaide’s climate?

Fred Buttignol, Adelaide

This wildflower from the Swiss Alps loves a cold climate and poor, rocky soil. To mimic the natural cold stratification, place the seeds in the fridge – some say freezer – for a month before sowing. Grow them in pots, not the ground, as plants must stay very dry and don’t need fertiliser. They don’t like hot summers and will be short-lived.

Here in the subtropics I’ve had no success growing rosemary from cuttings. Can you offer any advice?

Kathy Nix, Russell Island, Queensland

As a Mediterranean plant, rosemary likes it hot and dry; it’s prone to rot in humid, wet conditions. You can take softwood cuttings in mid-late spring but semi-hardwood cuttings in late autumn might be more robust. Remove the lower leaves and dip ends in honey or rooting gel. Insert into small pots of sandy propagating mix, and keep lightly moist in a warm, bright spot. When rooted, grow plants in a sandy potting mix in terracotta pots, in a breezy, full sun position.

My anthurium flowers have developed lumpy sections on the long, thin protrusions in the centre of the red “petals”. Is it a disease?

Gail Parson, Salamander Bay, NSW

Anthurium, also known as flamingo flowers, are popular houseplants whose flamboyant blooms consist of a fleshy spike (spadix) that holds dozens of tiny, insignificant flowers, surrounded by a coloured spathe (a modified leaf). Other aroids with similar flower structures include peace lilies and monsteras. When occasionally pollinated, the flowers develop into fleshy berries that look like lumps around the spadix. These contain seeds that you can germinate.

Send your questions to [e-mail]. The best question for September wins two copies of Lonely Planet’s The Joy of Exploring Gardens plus a pair of Sprout gloves and scissors from Annabel Trends, total value $125