Up at Shoyoen, Dubbo Regional Botanic Garden, Elizabeth Park, Photinia glabra ‘Robusta’ put on a show of flowers this year to beat the records. Obviously the moisture levels in the soil are helping out.
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Indeed Photinia will give you everything you want in a tall shrub; flowers, vigour, red new growth and for the last two years, swarms of native bees which are non-aggressive.
Back in the swinging sixties era the book ‘The Secret Life of Plants’ by Lyle Watson and Hopkins hit the stands. Of course back then it was very trendy to bridge a connection with the local gardens, perhaps adding a tree hug or two before dinner.
These guys devised a machine which acted as a kind of botanical seismograph for measuring how kindly a plant reacted to anyone who walked in the room. If you talked to your Roses the electric powered needle was calm and horizontal.
If you spent four hours attacking trees with a chainsaw, the needle went berserk. The validity of the contraption was left to whoever was game enough to tackle the burgeoning green movement. No one ever brought them to task. It wasn’t necessary.
Most people accept that plants have their own agenda. It can be cute to imagine our Petunias flower better if we whisper sweet nothings in their ear. I certainly had kind thoughts for our Photinias. However if we don’t give them what they want, when they want it, it is goodbye Mr. Chips: they will die on you without a care in the world. Hey, it comes out of our pocket and the plant has plenty of seed up its sleeve.
Plants have one concern and that is survival. It doesn’t matter if they have to start again with a germinating seedling. Why, every spring they are busy with this propagation thing with only the occasional red Rose blushing as it cavorts with a swarm of bees. Not so our Photinia with ever so attractive,white flowers in massive clusters. But we know what they are up to.
In fact world domination is on their agenda. If we didn’t trim, shape and restrain their behaviour they would simply take over. Gardeners are the front-line defence against plant aggression. In spring staff often have watery eyes and runny noses from plant allergies. Please don’t sneeze at this.
Photinia will give you everything you want in a plant but watch out for the musky flower aromas. You could be overwhelmed. And yes, I do believe it is too late; we have become slaves to our gardens. They keep us on the hop. Right now the bees are buzzing, and do pass me my shears because Lord Fortenoy Photinia is demanding a short-back-and-sides for his visiting public. His mind you; I only work here