It grows to approximately five metres tall, and its spreading evergreen crown of glossy leaves can be up to five metres wide.

Importantly, the roots are non-invasive.

Indigenous to the east coast, it was originally described in 1834 when found in the Moreton Bay region, where it was growing

in poor sandy soil, exposed to wind and salt. Tuckeroos provided a valuable food source to the local people, who had their own methods of preparing the rich antioxidant flesh of the berries to negate their toxic properties (the berries are not toxic to foraging dogs).

It is slow to establish but then quick-growing, producing masses of greenish-white flowers in panicles that are separately male and female in June and July. Our very strange weather conditions recently have totally confused many of our plants, and I have noticed several trees covered in buds and about to open early. The flowers are replaced by golden yellow capsules that make very attractive vase arrangements and, with the glossy foliage, last for ages in water.

The capsules are full of reddish berries that are easy to propagate, although slow. I have never managed to grow Tuckeroo from any cuttings – young or older wood – so luckily this method is simple, and if the berries are soaked in water for a week or so, they quickly reward with a green shoot.

The flowers attract bees and moths; the capsules are food for currawongs and figbirds, and the flesh is food for butterflies in their larval stage – caterpillars!

The trunk wood is close-grained and tough, with a slightly pinkish tinge, but because the trees are not tall, this prized timber is only useful to woodworkers making small items. It looks a little like sheoak and has the same slightly shiny grain.

Certainly, this is a native tree that deserves to be grown more widely in our Shire, on all the roads that don’t already have shady trees to beautify and help reduce our emissions.

Carole Gamble

I learnt that it is a hardy, old-fashioned plant, much planted in the early 1900s. It is sometimes known as a sky flower or even leadwort and it comes from South Africa but doesn’t thrive in Melbourne’s climate. Incidentally, I also found that ‘leadwort’ referred to the perceived usefulness of plumbago as a cure for lead poisoning, which was all too common in the past. Auriculata, as you may guess, refers to the leaf shape, which was compared to the human external ear!

Part of the family Plumbaginaceae, a genus of twenty-three known species, it is usually sky blue with a small variation in depth of colour and sometimes white (P. auriculata). P. auriculata originates in South Africa, although there is another very similar plant called Ceratostigma plumbaginoides from Western China with a totally different taxonomy!

Plumbago can be encouraged over fences and solid structures, trained into a standard specimen, or trimmed and pegged down to cover rock gardens and slopes. Left unchecked, it can become up to three metres tall and wide. Regular pruning will keep it compact, but some people develop skin reactions to the sap, so take care.

In full sun, it flowers profusely on and off during warm months, is drought-hardy, and has no pests or diseases unless it is stressed, and then sometimes will have a little mealy bug. It is susceptible to root rot, so it needs good drainage. Butterflies love it, especially as it flowers so profusely, and in the Butterfly House on Bribie Island (well worth a visit!), it is one of the main plantings.

Propagation is by seed or cuttings; the latter produces true-to-form colour best and, of course, is much quicker. Some good nurseries stock it, but it is easy to propagate, and I think that it deserves a spot in more new gardens.

Mussaenda can have large pink, white, or red bracts (these look like petals but are not) and the actual small flower is usually yellow. Butterflies love them! M. erythrophylla is originally from West Africa and the white varieties are mostly thought to be northern Indian in origin, but because there are so many hybrids and cultivars, opinions vary on this.

Mussaenda is a member of the Rubiaceae family, which includes gardenias, ixoras, pentas, and coffee, which is a bit surprising. Another instance of botanical groupings of plants that don’t appear to be similar.

The Mussaenda pictured above is a hybrid, and it might be worth saying a little about hybrids because we can all get a bit confused about what is meant by ‘hybrid’ and ‘cultivar’.

In brief, a cultivar is deliberately created through controlled breeding. This may be to improve or combine features such as longer flowering, disease resistance, or size alteration, or to diminish those features and improve adaptability. They retain the desired characteristics when propagated by division, cuttings, grafting, offsets, tissue culture, or careful seed selection, although this last method has a higher degree of variation than others.

Hybrids, by comparison, are accidental or wild changes in the parent plants that may be a result of climatic conditions or a reaction to environmental changes. Sometimes these hybrids are dramatically different and can be much sought after, leading of course to horticultural enthusiasts cultivating them for commercial rewards! These ‘wild’ hybrids are often more vigorous because of greater genetic variability; have more flowers, grow faster and larger, and demonstrate again the desirability of mongrel breeds.

Suited to our subtropical area, they tolerate a large range of soils and thrive in full sun or part shade and, like most plants, require good drainage, appreciate mulching and soil improvement, but don’t need fertilisers. They respond well to pruning so that their natural dimensions of two metres high and two metres wide can be reduced to suit your garden.

The blooms are lovely in mixed flower arrangements and add that touch of colour when not much else is enlivening our gardens. Mussaenda has just joined my list of plants to fit into my garden – somewhere.

Carole Gamble

One of my annoying mantras oft repeated: “weeds are just plants growing where you don’t want them to grow!” but this does not apply to Solanum viarum aka Soda Apple.

As you might notice from the botanical name, it is another one of the huge group of flowering plants that includes tomatoes and much more.

It originates in Central and South America and needs to be eradicated in our area before it becomes the biggest problem that farmers and landholders could face in the next few years.

It is a Notifiable Weed in NSW and potentially, if a farmer has it on his or her property and bales grass and hay and transports it, they can face a fine of $10,000. Disastrous consequences for our farming communities after a series of difficult seasons.

During the drought of 2019 we were buying round bales for our own little herd ($285 each!). Feed was so scarce, we bought it wherever it could be sourced, and most small holdings were doing the same. The consequence was the introduction of new invasive weeds including this one.

We avoided herbicide and manically worked cutting and painting the stumps with half strength Roundup. Pruning before flower and berry set helped but the seeds remain viable for many years, so it becomes a never ending job. Cuttings on the ground easily develop roots so they need to be bagged and disposed of (not into green bins please) or burnt.

If not removed it spreads rapidly, and those seedlings grow into very prickly trees. Then it’s a huge problem, reducing access, limiting biodiversity, and disrupting other biological processes.

Cattle eating the fruit and the berries which float on water are the source of most infestations but our recent floods have helped exacerbate the spread. I often notice large specimens along roadsides and highways and hope that the Councils are paying attention to the eradication. Landcare groups should be aware of this weed.

The plant is distinctive, openly branching with large, serrated leaves. The trunk, branches, leaves and even the tiniest twigs are covered in huge prickles. The creamy flowers are profuse, and the berries are pale green, becoming mottled as they mature.

Even the immature berries are packed with viable seeds. Perhaps like me, you will now notice them and please, eradicate on sight. Become an Activist Weed Warrior, it WILL help.

There are other unwanted invasive plants in our region; some are very familiar but these are relatively recent, spreading rapidly. As every gardener knows, those plants growing where we don’t want them are robust survivors and need to be dealt with when young. Please wear thick gloves when doing so.

Carole Gamble

Byron Writers Festival went ahead in August at the wonderful Elements’ site in near perfect weather. It was a joyous occasion with much brain food and hilarity too.

Fellow Herald team member Judy Baker and I found ourselves near the front of a session with Costa Georgiadis and Matthew Evans talking about their new books on soil health and their lives as gardeners and food producers.

Hilariously, at one point Costa leapt from the stage on to Judy’s lap!

Afterwards I asked him if he would repeat the feat and for permission to feature the photo and talk generally about soils for The Bangalow Herald and he graciously gave it his blessing.

So, those of you who attend the Bangalow Garden Club will be familiar with my mantra: “feed the soil, not the plant” and of course it isn’t only mine.

The European settlers noticed the shortage of topsoil in comparison to where they had come from, and this precious and necessary asset has been much compromised. Now we must protect, preserve and enhance if we are to feed ourselves. Costa and Matthew, who has come to food production relatively recently, have had different backgrounds but both are passionate about producing good, nutritious, real food, year in year out.

Costa’s Greek family grew food as they always had and when I lived in inner city Melbourne, I was a bit bemused and very impressed by our Greek neighbours and their vegetable gardens IN THE FRONT where surely there should only have been roses! With help and advice and seedlings all generously given, I started growing vegetables but they were in the back. (Now they would be proudly in the front but this was the 70s!)

I know that many of us know already that we must put back. Every plant removed from the soil takes the ‘energy’ it has absorbed in growing and others are slowly realising that our soils are depleted. Many of you have fantastic gardens and all will have sometimes struggled with our difficult conditions but like our own health, good food makes us stronger.

My own very large garden is mostly heavy clay and for the past sixteen years I have put tons of cow poo from the paddocks, rotted down straw impregnated with my chickens’ contribution from their pen, compost and mulch onto all garden beds.

Having over three metres of rain in six months not only caused a massive amount of plant loss from root rot but pushed the available nutrient layer deep down where most of the roots couldn’t access it. So, apart from replanting on a large scale, before I am doing this I am preparing the garden from scratch.

It’s somewhat ironic that during our drought of 2019 I didn’t water and hardly lost anything although others were using precious and scarce water supplies trying to sustain sometimes, inappropriate plantings. Our plants went into a hibernation of sorts (lockdown!) and recovered rapidly and vigorously as soon as the rains came. Of course, they were healthy and very well mulched!

Celebrate Spring and feed those soils! The rewards are immense.

Incidentally, Costa and Matthew were both at the Festival promoting their new and excellent books which will be available at good book shops.