Pruning a Sasanqua with Don and Dave About 21 months ago Don showed how simple it is to buy an ordinary sasanqua camellia from a nursery and in just a few minutes turn it into a beautiful ball on a stick or topiary. The two camellia standards that were created almost...
Pruning Grevilleas Grevilleas are by far the most popular Australian native plants grown in gardens today. They attract native birds to the garden and many of them flower for most of the year. The only problem is that after five to six years some grevilleas start to...
A fine piece of architecture can be spoiled at ground level if the landscaping is not quite up to standard. Don looked at a classic example of getting it right: a garden and building that worked together particularly well. The result was not only stylish, but it also...
Lawns in many areas of Australia are being attacked by armyworms (Spodoptera mauritia). These caterpillars are brown, greenish brown or black, sometimes with striped or triangular markings along the body. They feed on lawns in large groups then when the food...
Six weeks ago Don planted a new lawn. Part of the lawn was planted with cell-grown grass, and the rest was sown with runners. In our segment Don checked on the progress of the two lawn areas. Both areas were sown with a shade-tolerant variety of soft buffalo called...
The November edition of the Burke’s Backyard magazine includes a 20-page guide to creating gardens that really are low maintenance. The guide goes through all the elements of a garden, distinguishing those that are easy-care from those that mean work such as...
Don showed how to mount a staghorn on a wall. This particular plant had been growing on a dead tree trunk, but had fallen off. Elk or stag? Don used a staghorn to demonstrate the mounting process, but an elkhorn could be substituted equally well. The difference...
Natural Defences of Plants Don demonstrated that diagnosing sick plants is not as straightforward as it seems. Also, that something as simple as watering the garden is actually one of the most complex arts in horticulture. Caterpillar problem? One plant in a row of...
Watering the garden is a much more complex job than many people think. It is particularly difficult if your soil is water repellent (or hydrophobic), because the water just runs off instead of soaking into the soil. These soils can be treated with a soil wetting agent...
Don explained why the orange tree (Citrus sinensis) shown in our segment was dying. It was struggling to survive in a damp, shady position, in heavy clay soil, with competition from the surrounding lawn. Don advised the garden owners not to try and save the orange...