Choosing the right plant for the right place and knowing how to care for them is very important – it helps minimise materials and care needed to make them flourish and minimise the need to weed.
White Cedar – a Shade Tree
There is always something that makes a plant less than perfect but until I discovered the seeds of Melia azedarach were toxic to humans and other…
Can’t see the Trees for the Lawns?
Each spring and early summer it is amazing how fast grass, weeds and lawns can grow. The combination of longer, warmer days and the occasional shower…
Nettles – Friend or Foe
The hairy, dark green, finely toothed leaves are a real sign of winter. Although it is regarded as a weed by many and needs to be prevented from…
Conserving Indigenous Remnant Vegetation at Heide
“There is a growing and strong, but quite unscientific ‘feeling’ that the bush must be saved and I believe this feeling should be encouraged to the…
The value of trees in urban areas
It is a great pity that so many of our citizens think of our parks, gardens, streetscapes and urban landscapes only in terms of their aesthetics.…
Fan Flower – Fabulous Native Ground Cover
Scaevola – groundcover species What a popular garden plant this has become, and quite rightly so. The splendid fan flowers that give the genus its…
Native Orchids
Orchids are one of my favourite plants and one of the many reasons why I live on a forested property north of Melbourne. The area is a recognised…
Ficus elastica (Rubber Plant)
Ficus elastica Just what makes that little old ant, Think he’ll move that rubber tree plant Anyone knows an ant, can’t - Move a rubber tree plant But…
Growing Herbs, Vegetables & Flowering Annuals from Seed
Growing from seed is fun and rewarding as well as being very cost effective. You can access a much broader variety of plants than those that are…
Plant Propagation from Cuttings
How often do we see a lovely shrub or perennial in a friend’s garden and just wish we had one like it? And with a little skill, ingenuity AND your…
Container Planting
There are a huge variety of containers available from expensive designer pots to recycled tin cans. What you choose comes down to budget, space…
Courtyard Gardening
A courtyard garden can be a private retreat created to relax with family, entertain with friends and to garden with pleasure. Courtyard gardens are…
