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Gardening Information Services CONTACT SHEET There are many places which provide advice on your garden and on specific plant problems. Most nurseries which employ qualified horticulturists will also offer advice on plant problems, and many Botanic Gardens have...
The most high maintenance part of any garden is the lawn, so many people are opting for lawn substitutes, such as timber decks or paving. Still, it is hard to beat the effect of a beautiful, green lawn. Don believes the answer to the problem of lawn maintenance lies...
To minimise maintenance and hard work, it is very important to seek advice before you plant. Any plant (whether it be a tree, shrub, climber or ground cover) in the wrong place can ruin your garden, damage your house and even cause problems with the neighbours. Here...
Don looked at Yellow Buttons, an Australian native plant that thrives on neglect. Plant details Common name: Yellow buttons Botanic name: Chrysocephalum apiculatum (sold as Helichrysum ramosissimum) Description: A variable species, but usually seen as a small,...
If you’d like a funky, ‘land of the giants’ plant for indoors but you don’t want to spend much time on maintenance, think about the fiddle leaf fig. Its foliage is spectacular. Each glossy, violin-shaped leaf grows to around 38cm (15″) long. The good news is...
When you live in the tropics you can be very adventurous in your use of colours, both in the garden and inside the home. Don looked at an award winning house and garden in Cairns, where the bright colour scheme provides a permanent, tropical holiday feel. Seven years...
Don’s new book, ‘Indigenous’, is the story of his own garden. It describes how he transformed a bush block with virtually no soil into a family retreat with a lush, native garden that looks as if it’s been there forever. As the story of the...
As part of BBY magazine’s June issue story on growing nuts at home, you can download our two bonus fact sheets on growing hazelnuts and peanuts as two separate pdf files ( click here for hazelnuts, and here for peanuts). Hazelnuts (by Peter Valder) is...
Don showed how to transform ordinary light fittings into funky pots and hanging planters. Tools bucket trowel pliers drill/bits spanner/shifter scissors tape measure bolt cutters or hacksaw Materials Light shades 250mm galvanised stormwater pipe x 1800mm 4mm long...
Bonsai artists try to create the impression of very old, ancient trees, but many of these trees are not very old at all. Don showed how to fake up some bonsai using two ordinary plants from the local nursery. The plants Plants traditionally used for bonsai...