Larry Smith and the Riverside Gardens team talk all things pots, plants and pruning in their weekly gardening column.
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I was strolling through the nursery wondering what to write about this week when I noticed how well some varieties of plants have been just lapping up the extreme hot weather of the past few weeks.
Not only are they looking good, but they are flushed with new growth or covered in flowers or both.
They have been just loving this hot dry heat, and it is not just the usual suspects such as crepe myrtles that I mentioned a few weeks ago, although they’re putting on an impressive show.
Rio Clara Hot Pink.
Evergreen hibiscus, which most people associate with the hot moist air of the tropics, are looking the best I have ever seen here.
They have continued to open up their large tropical flowers in a beautiful array of colours.
Some of the ones doing exceptionally well in the Garden Centre are Rio Clara Sunshine Yellow, a bright yellow flower with a small red centre; Rio Clara Hot Pink, a pink flower with a deeper pink throat; Rio Clara Tequila Sunrise, with yellow outer petals fading through to pink; Rio Clara Flaming Glory, which has extra-large blooms in a burnt orange tone; and Rio Clara Peach Melba, with yellow outer petals fading through orange to almost purple in the centre.
Ria Clara Peach Melba.
Staying with the tropical-looking trumpet-shaped flowers, mandevillas are not being left behind in the race to continuously push out new flowers as the temperature gets hotter.
Mandevillas are rambling climbing plants that are often used further north as a ground cover plant to cascade over embankments and walls.
Their glossy deep green foliage sets their smaller pink, white, burgundy, or red flowers off nicely.
Given a sunny position protected from frost, they will grow happily here and flower right through the summer months.
The roses around the valley are looking stunning this year, so much better than last summer when they suffered through an unusually humid season.
With the sunny dry heat this year, they have been continuously flushed with flowers.
Even just looking through the standard roses in the Garden Centre there is a colourful fragrant display, with some of the older varieties being the standout.
Mandevilla in bloom.
These include varieties such as Just Joey, a double apricot-coloured flower; Queen Elizabeth, a bright double pink; and Double Delight, a large two-tone red fading through to a creamy yellow centre.
Black Velvet, with its rich deep dark red blooms and a wonderful fragrance, and another two-tone, in Remember Me, with burnt orangey-red fading to yellow centred flowers.
Then there are also more recent varieties that are looking just as good, such as Dark Desire, a full deep red.
The Thank You rose, with smaller deep mauve flowers with ruffled wavey-edged petals.
The popular Mother’s Love, with its soft-shell pink blooms, and the bright and cheery Gold Bunny, with its golden yellow flowers.
They are all looking beautiful, as though they were made for the weather we have been having.
The dry heat means there has been little trouble with black spot or mildew, and the aphids have been non-existent.
Some of the callistemons in the nursery are doing extremely well, flushed with heaps of new growth.
Callistemon Red Rocket, Little Jet, Baby Glow and Great Balls of Fire are noticeable with their bright red new growth.
All these varieties make great, low maintenance hedges with their colourful foliage and are worth keeping in mind when looking for a dense screening plant.
Their flowers are insignificant and are mainly grown for their foliage colour.
Begonias are also loving this dry heat and are flowering their heads off.
This is across a lot of the varieties, from the bedding begonias and tuberous begonias to dragon wing begonias and tree begonias.
These will all need a shady or a filtered light position in the garden and some protection from the frost if you are growing them from one year to the next.
Once again, the dry heat has limited the common problem of mildew with begonias, allowing them to get on and do their thing with little care and maintenance.
Another one for a slightly shady spot is Hydrangea Candlelight. These plants are looking great despite the heat.
Candlelight is a hardy, somewhat sun-tolerant hydrangea paniculata with creamy-white conical flowers that turn shades of pink as they age. They will flower from summer into autumn.
If you think your garden has been suffering in the heat or is looking a bit drab, take a walk around the streets or a stroll through the Garden Centre to see what has been coping with this weather and what is putting on a good display to work into your garden.
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