Solve a problem, find a plant or look for a design inspiration
Greg Vale has always been a keen gardener, but several years ago he moved from a house into a unit. The tiny apartment balcony (1.5m x 2.5m) was bare except for a few miserable, half-dead plants and some kitty litter. Greg set about transforming the balcony into a...
If you’re tired of hedges that are boring and predictable, a tapestry hedge is a very attractive option. Tapestry hedges are made up of a range of different plants, chosen for foliage colour, texture, flowers, berries and fragrance. In our segment Don showed a...
Bichons Bronson and Bianca Boyle, Bichon Frises from Townsville in Queensland, emailed to dispute some of the details in our Bichon Frise road test. The breeder interviewed in our segment said, “For dogs with that length coat, you’d be looking at spending...
Before doing any work or purchasing plants for your garden, it
Fiona King wrote to Don to say that she was keen to fix the rotting timber sleepers around her garden beds. The timber was not treated, so it had become infested with ants and was falling apart. Fiona had been eagerly watching the program hoping for a segment on...
Funky fig Don was asked to suggest a funky, modern plant for a large pot. He suggested two, the Kentia palm and the fiddleleaf fig. The kentia palm (Howea forsteriana) has a slender trunk and a graceful crown of dark-green drooping fronds. The trunk can grow 5-15m...
Garden designer, Ted Whitley, faced a real challenge when he was asked to create a garden on top of a garage. Ted said that it was the most difficult garden he has ever worked on, because of its westerly aspect, shade from trees on a neighbouring property, steepness,...
Kathie Johnson wrote to Don to say that she would really love some help with problem areas around her garden. One area (5m x 3m) faces due north, the other is a very dark, shady garden (5m x 70cm) along the southern side of the house. There was also a small, weedy...
Euphorbia leucocephala, or snow flake bush, is an interesting plant from Central America, which puts on a wonderful display of creamy, petal-like bracts during autumn and winter. Closely related to poinsettia, it is a classic low maintenance plant that would suit the...
The lipstick hibiscus (Malvaviscus penduliflorus) is an evergreen shrub from Mexico. It belongs to the Malvaceae or Mallow family, along with its relative the true hibiscus. It grows to around 2m tall. It has pendulous, bright red flowers from about Christmas through...