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Flowers and cabbages featuring at our roundabouts

The first blooms from Latrobe City’s Autumn parks and gardens plantings are adding a touch of colour to streetscapes

By Latrobe City Council - 16th May 2001 - Back to News

The first blooms from Latrobe City’s Autumn parks and gardens plantings are adding a touch of colour to streetscapes throughout the municipality, and among the colourful floral displays, are some surprises.

Latrobe City’s Gardening Team Leader, Kathy Stolk, said that more than twenty-eight thousand annuals were planted in the forty-seven beds scattered throughout Moe, Morwell, Traralgon and Churchill.

"Plantings this season consist of poppies, pansies, panolas (a hardy cross between a pansy and viola), nemesias and linarias. There are also plantings of kale - an ornamental cabbage, and some real cabbages," Ms Stolk said.

"A couple of seasons ago we planted several roundabouts with ornamental varieties of lettuce and strawberries. People were stunned at the fantastic colourful displays that resulted. They’d never thought of lettuces and strawberries as very visually attractive plants. I guess one big advantage for the gardeners, was the possibility of a ripe strawberry to have with their lunch," Ms Stolk said.

"Several months before the beds are planted we discuss plant selection and design work, deciding whether particular beds will be formal, or a carpet/tapestry design. Consideration is also given to special events taking place such as the Spring Racing Carnival, Sun Tour, or the Olympic Torch Relay; and some beds are designed with that particular theme in mind," Ms Stolk explained.

"With all the proposed design work, we need to bear in mind at the planning stage the soil conditions, water availability, and site limitations such as a restricted height at roundabouts. The seedlings are then planted so that all the plants in the bed will peak at the same time so that the desired effect of the design can be achieved. This may mean that part of the bed will need to be planted earlier than the rest," Ms Stolk said.

"Of course, the plantings will only look their best if there is constant maintenance throughout the season, and any surrounding grass verges are properly maintained to create an attractive border, Ms Stolk added.

Carla Sell, who has worked with the municipality as a gardener for fourteen years, is a familiar figure to Latrobe’s home gardeners, frequently fielding the answers to questions asked by citizens about the annual plantings. Mrs Sell is one of the team of four gardeners, one assistant gardener, two mower operators and the team leader, who make up Latrobe’s gardening team.

"Dozens of people stop to ask questions about what we have planted and pass compliments on the way the garden beds look, and that is a very rewarding aspect of our work," Mrs Sell said.

"I think people understand and appreciate the enormous amount of work that needs to be done to have these displays looking their best. Each bed has to be stripped of the previous season’s annuals and then sprayed for weed growth. Some will be composted at this stage, and any repairs to the irrigation system undertaken. They are then rotary hoed, fertilized and planted.

"Throughout the season there needs to be constant maintenance. Weeds need to be removed fortnightly, and occasionally some vandalism to the beds occurs, which needs to be rectified. Once we get to the flowering stage, all the hard work seems worth it though, and it is then that the community really starts to take note. It seems to really raise people’s spirits," Ms Sell concluded.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: latrobecity@gippslander.com

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