In the Garden

Solve a problem, find a plant or look for a design inspiration


Water Repellent Soils

One of the most common mistakes people make is not watering properly. It’s an easy mistake to make since you can water a plant quite heavily and should be able to assume it has been watered. Unfortunately some soils & potting mixes can become water repellent so...

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Weird Plants

In keeping with the ‘weird’ theme of this week’s program, Don looked at some very curious and unusual plants. String of pearls (Senecio rowleyanus) This is a type of succulent that actually looks like beads on a string. It is native to South Western Africa. String of...

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Shade Plants

 If you are looking for plants for a shady area most nurseries have a shade house so head for that area.  There are a number of plants that are suitable for these areas: Austromyrtus – related to lilly pillies, it’s a variety of a native rainforest shrub with red new...

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Palms

    Don showed some of his favourite palms: Rhapis palm: Good points: ·      Great indoors ·      Tough ·      Fabulous for shady areas ·      Doesn’t grow too tall Parlour Palm & Cascade Palm Good points: ·      Excellent where low growing plants are...

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Native Orchids

Australian Native Orchids

  These plants are wonderful plants for semi-shaded areas. Commonly known as Dendrobiums although there has been a recent name change to Thelychitons (which is being largely ignore). Sadly, while the more common orchids such as cymbidiums are very well known, the...

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Summer Tips

BUSHFIRE PROTECTION 2009 is shaping up to be another very bad bush fire summer. Many people buy pumps so they can be ready to protect their houses. These are then dropped into any water storage areas such as tanks, swimming pools or dams if available and the water is...

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Tips of the Trade

Don gave some tips used by professional landscapers that could be used in your own backyard. 1. Trick of the Eye Use vertical plants to frame views or features such as pools, ponds or works of art. If views or features are viewed this way the area will look much...

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Weirdest Plant In The World

The orchid qualifies as a strong contender for being the weirdest plant in the world.  Their seed is like dust; it floats in the air & is the smallest seed of all plants, taking more than 1.25 million seeds to weigh a single gram.  A specific fungus allows orchid...

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Small Spaces

  As the size of houses increase, the size of backyards decrease and the most important area is the living space where people can enjoy a quiet drink, a meal or just relax. There are many excellent examples of the sort of living areas you might find appeals to...

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Top Ten Best Gardening Inventions

  DYNAMIC LIFTER :  A pioneering fertiliser & probably the best ever.  Engineering genius, the late Norm Jennings, was the first person in the world to work out a way to pelletise chook poo so that it could be used as a highly reliable poultry fertiliser free...

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