Trees — the life of your garden
Aus May 2013
with DERYN THORPE
Now that autumn has arrived it is the perfect time to help the environment and add beauty to your life by planting a tree.
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BULBS
Aus April 2013
with DERYN THORPE
Fields of nodding yellow daffodils and pots brimming with elegant tulips are picture perfect images that gardeners associate with the start of spring.
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Make your garden waterwise
Aus December 2012
with Lee Mullen
Christmas holidays are a good time to do some basic maintenance around your garden to make life a little easier throughout the year. With a little work most gardens, especially natives, will only need to be watered twice a week.
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Carob Tree (St. John’s Bread or Locust)
Aus November 2012
with Lee Mullen
The Carob tree (from Hebrew: Charuv), Ceratonia siliqua, is an evergreen shrub or tree native to the Mediterranean region, cultivated for its edible seed pods.
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Flowering spiny beauties
Aus October 2012
with Lee Mullen
Cacti are usually thought of as spiny horrid things that never need watering and can be a nasty piece of work to handle! But these imaginations are so far from the truth!
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Trumpet Vine - Campsis radicans
Aus September 2012
with Lee Mullen
Have you ever seen enormous, intensely coloured trumpet flowers before? Well now you can, as this amazing flamboyant plant known as Campsis radicans is ideal for Australian gardens!
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Hybrid magnolias
Aus August 2012
with Hank Reeve
There has been a surge in interest in deciduous magnolias again, which is not surprising given the sheer size and majesty of these winter and spring flowering beauties, especially the newer hybrid forms.
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Beautiful colour in the doldrums
Aus July 2012
with Carl Carmody
Azaleas are one of the best shrubs to help brighten your garden with a wide range of colourful flowers over winter and early spring. They are great in new landscapes and can be used to wonderfully and naturally decorate your verandah or patios that otherwise can look somewhat bland.
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JUNE: Rose planting month
Aus June 2012
with Graham King
JUNE is regarded as rose planting month.
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Garden compost
Aus May 2012
It is appropriate at this time of the year to think about developing your compost heap.
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Autumn glory
Aus April 2012
By Carl Carmody
The purple flowering Brazilian Glory Bush (Tibouchina) are amongst the most spectacular flowering shrubs, especially valued for their showy display at this time of the year when colour is often scarce in the garden.
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Lillies
USA March 2012
By Lee Mullen
A family of around 90 species, lilies are mainly upright plants, usually with one leafy stem per bulb. Generally the leaves are narrow and usually slim and can be long. Between spring through to autumn, large, sometimes fragrant, trumpet or bell shaped flowers with wide and curvy petals form at the top of the stems. The flowers occur in all colors except blue and are often beautifully marked with flecks or zones of contrasting shades.
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Tulip lovers, start planning
Aus March 2012
by Guest Writer Colin Blanch
Tulips are often described as the most stately and majestic of all the spring flowering bulbs available.
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Tomato culture
Aus February 2012
with Hank Reeve
One of the real pleasures of summer is to enjoy juicy, homegrown tomatoes with your salads, rather than the red “golf balls” on offer by your local supermarket.
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Succulents: Super dry-tolerant
Aus December 2011
By Hank REEVE
Succulents grow in almost all parts of the world, apart from the Arctic and the Antarctic regions. However some of the richest areas for Succulents are South Africa and Madagascar.
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Summer Gardening: Gardenias
Aus November 2011
By Hank Reeve
Smothered with delightfully fragrant milky white flowers set off by the lustrous dark foliage, gardenias are one of the great treats of summer gardening.
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Soft Options Part 2
Aus October 2011
By Hank REEVE
Homemade Pest Control Solutions
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Soft Options:
Aus September 2011
By Hank Reeve
Homemade Disease Control Solutions
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Pot luck
Aus August 2011
By Faye Michelson
A little garden can bring a lot of pleasure
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Flowering shrubs for winter cheer
Aus July 2011
By Hank Reeve
Here are a few of winter’s best to bring the cheer to your garden. Many of these are ideal for use as cut flowers too.
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Eremophilas Emu Bush, Desert Fuchsia
Aus June 2011
By Lee Mullen
PLANT OF THE MONTH
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Swamp or spider lily
Aus May 2011
By Lee Mullen
Some people ask me: “What is that giant leafy hyacinth I see around in peoples garden but the flower is white and resembles an octopus?!”
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Autumn Activities
Aus March 2011
By Hank REEVE
March is the month that we think autumn, and with that we can think about planting again. Autumn is an excellent time to plant as it is cooler and it gives the plant 4-5 months to develop good root growth, before the scorching heat of summer hits.
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Preparing your garden for holidays
Aus December 2010
By Hank REEVE
With Christmas and holidays all but upon us it is very important that your garden is prepared for coping with your absence.
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RHUBARB
Aus November 2010
By Hank Reeve
Few vegetables can match rhubarb
for its ease of culture, persistence and ornamental value in the home garden
and, of course, to the rhubarb lover nothing can come close to its delicious
taste in home-made pies and other deserts.
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Spring scent-sations
Aus October 2010
By Hank Reeve
Choose plants that saturate the eyes and nose
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How to create a topiary sculpture
Aus September 2010
By Hank Reeve
Commonly sighted at manicured public gardens and the grounds of wealthy estates, topiary looks attractive in any garden and will never go out of vogue. Though many nurseries now carry finished specimens (at a price), growing topiary can be a source of great satisfaction and challenge to the home gardener.
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Rose pruning step by step
Aus August 2010
By Graham King
Here is some step by step advice on rose pruning which should be carried out this month if you don’t have late frosts.
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Maintaining your lawn through winter
Aus July 2010
with Hank Reeve
How does your lawn look after all those hot humid summer days that we have all experienced?
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Plant names
Aus June 2010
with Hank Reeve
TO MANY gardeners, botanical plant names are little more than double dutch, cumbersome tongue twisters as opposed to the familiar common names of garden plants.
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Good time to prune roses
Aus May 2010
with Hank Reeve
I have to say winter is not one of my favourite times in the garden.
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Gardens that sell homes
Aus April 2010
with Hank Reeve
How much a garden adds to the value of a house when you come to sell a property is hard to quantify, but a well laid out attractive garden certainly increases its appeal to buyers — a point to keep in mind when planning a garden.
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A REVIEW: HOW DID THE GARDEN GROW?
Aus March 2010
As another summer of scorching hot days, bushfires, duststorms, water restrictions and maybe some plant losses draws to a close for another year, an assessment of your garden in a few key areas may be helpful.
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Fuchsia for shady areas
Aus February 2010
IN MANY GARDENS knowing what to do with your shady areas can be a problem.
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Grevillea
Aus November 2009
with Lee Mullen
What plants come in such a wonderful spectrum of colour, with striking leaf forms from delicate grey to lacy fern-like foliage? And with such diversity of sizes, shapes and formations and tremendous annual colour? — the grevillea!
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Spring scent-sations
Aus October 2009
By Graham King
Many professional designers consider a well designed garden to be one that is able to engage all the human senses of those who visit it. Whilst the main emphasis usually revolves around the visual impact of a garden, use of fragrant flowering plants is often overlooked. Springtime is a good time to see what’s available and how to use it to advantage in the garden.
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How to attract butterflies
Aus September 2009
A brightly coloured butterfly, flitting and dancing between flowers,
sipping on nectar, is a welcome sight during the warmer months. With a little effort and planning more of these attractive visitors can be lured into home gardens.
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Blooming bulbs
Aus August 2009
Growing conditions in most parts of Australia for bulbs are just about all you could ask. So, by selecting a number of different bulbs with different blooming times, you can have a long lasting array of colour in your garden with relatively little work involved.
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Work those mild days
Aus July 2009
JUNE AND JULY can be fairly bleak months for gardening. So much so, that you are tempted to put off some of your gardening tasks until finer weather comes. However, it is good if you can make the most of those milder days to do some of those jobs which make things easier when spring arrives.
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Poinsettias
Aus June 2009
By Hank Reeve
Winter time is peak flowering time for poinsettias — a great asset for any garden, bringing warmth and cheer during the often cold and dreary days of the season.
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Glorious roses – “Yes please!”
Aus May 2009
by Graham King
April/May is action time (no delay) if planning a rose garden for the first time or should you decide to open another bed in an existing garden.
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Ornamental vegetables
Aus April 2009
with Hank Reeve
The long-standing tradition of separating the home vegetable garden from the ornamental garden is under challenge as more gardeners become familiar with the ever increasing range of ornamental vegetables on offer by the seed companies. And why not have a garden that not only looks good but tastes good too.
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Tried growing figs?
Aus March 2009
with Hank Reeve
At this time of the year, with most of the stone fruits finished, it is a great pleasure to pick and eat soft, sweet, succulent figs from your own tree and also to enjoy fig delicacies from the kitchen. Figs are easy to grow, require little maintenance and can be highly productive.
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Use your own produce
Aus February 2009
with Hank Reeve
There’s nothing so welcome as a nice cool drink during the heat of summer. Here are a few sample drink recipes to try using some of your home grown produce...
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A Garden Quiz
Aus December 2008
by Hank Reeve
Need a break from garden chores? Here’s a potful of garden related questions to test you out.
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Taking the sneeze out of spring
Aus October 2008
by Hank Reeve
For those of us who are not affected, it is hard to imagine that the beauty and newness of springtime could be such a misery for hay-fever sufferers, but, thankfully, there are some things that can be done to lessen the distress.
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Spring-cleaning your garden
Aus September 2008
by Holly Reed
Spring is one of the best seasons for being outdoors. The air is warm, fresh and alive with the heady scent of pollen. Birds and insects are active, and somehow we all seem happier.
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Winter’s flowering shrubs
Aus August 2008
by Carl Carmody
Well for most of us we are probably thinking that August is the last month of winter and we are so looking forward to spring bursting on the horizon. But winter can be a really wonderful time for some flowering shrubs.
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Take advantage of wetter months
Aus July 2008
by Carl Carmody
In the depths of winter, I, for one, enjoy gardening from my lounge room, but diligent gardeners know that it is important to take advantage of the wetter winter months.
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Happy winter gardens
Aus June 2008
by Carl Carmody
June is a relatively quiet month in the garden as winter takes hold, but it can also be a very productive time in terms of garden maintenance!
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Keeping flowers fresh
Aus May 2008
Why do cut flowers die so quickly? Simply because they are starved of water.
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Almond tree — prunus dulcis
Aus April 2008
with Lee Mullen
Almond trees originate in the Middle East and were well-known to the people of
Israel during Bible times. Like cherry and peach trees, the almond tree has
early blossoms that are quite beautiful.
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Hibiscus rosa-sinensis — Chinese Hibiscus, or common Hibiscus.
Aus March 2008
with Lee Mullen
The common Hibiscus is native to Southern China and south-east Asia. Over time, they spread to the Pacific Islands long before Europeans reached that part of the world.
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Snake Vine Hibbertia scandens
Aus February 2008
with Lee Mullen
The first time I ever came across this eye catching climbing ‘buttercup’ I was on my way to watch a rugby league game funnily enough!
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Hebes!
Aus November 2007
with Lee Mullen
Hebes are great little evergreen shrubs for the garden; they always look good, whether the gardener remembers to prune them after flowering or totally forgets about them, and are so well behaved that they require very little maintenance yet reward you with both architectural qualities and great floral displays!
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Ipomoea genus — Morning glory
Aus October 2007
with Lee Mullen
Consisting of about 500 species, the best-known of Ipomoea’s garden plants are climbing annuals and tender perennials — it’s name is from the Greek ips, “worm”, and homoios, “resembling” — but the genus also contains non-climbing annuals and perennials along with a few shrubs and trees.
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Lillies
Aus September 2007
With Lee Mullen
A family of around 90 species, lilies are mainly upright plants, usually with one leafy stem per bulb. Generally the leaves are narrow and usually slim and can be long. Between spring through to autumn, large, sometimes fragrant, trumpet or bellshaped flowers with wide and curvy petals form at the top of the stems. The flowers occur in all colours except blue and are often beautifully marked with flecks or zones of contrasting shades.
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In praise of big bloomers
Aus August 2007
by Holly Read
Flowering trees with spectacularly large blooms are nature’s botanical showpiece. For those fortunate enough to have garden space, let’s take a look at trees that are the big bloomers of Australian flora.
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Sensational Citrus!
USA June 2007
with Lee Mullen
Citrus is a fruiting plant that can grow quite well in a dry climate despite originating in more humid areas of southeast Asia. They are large shrubs or small trees, reaching 16—50 feet tall, with spiny branches. The flowers are in small groups, each flower 1-2 inches in diameter, with five (rarely four) white petals and they are often very strongly scented. The familiar fruits have a leathery rind surrounding segments.
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Carob Tree (St. John’s Bread or Locust)
Aus June 2007
with Lee Mullen
The Carob tree (from Hebrew: Charuv), Ceratonia siliqua, is an evergreen shrub or tree native to the Mediterranean region, cultivated for its edible seed pods.
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Swamp or spider lily
Aus May 2007
with Lee Mullen
Some people ask me: “What is that giant leafy hyacinth I see around in peoples garden but the flower is white and resembles an octopus?!”
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Autumn Pageant
Aus April 2007
with Hank Reeve
Those of us fortunate enough to live in cooler districts are again witnessing that wonderful transformation as green gives way to the vivid scarlet, burgundy, red, orange and yellow hues — the glorious pageantry of autumn.
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Plant of the Month Echium pininana — Pride of Tenerife
Aus March 2007
with Lee Mullen
Anybody who has been to the Canary Islands or Cornwall in the UK, will have probably noticed the towering spires of blue-violet flower-heads of this plant growing out of the lush undergrowth. Echium pininana is a stunning plant for any sheltered border providing a tropical touch to the summer but also thrives well in coastal areas. They will tolerate a light frost to around minus 3C.
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The Bromeliad plant family
Aus February 2007
with Lee Mullen
There are 3000 species of bromeliads, the most well known being the pineapple, but also includes Spanish Moss (which is neither a moss nor Spanish!) and other species resemble aloes or yuccas while still others look like green, leafy grasses.
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