In the Garden

Twenty years ago the chemicals that were available to treat pests and diseases were quite nasty. Not only were they unsafe to you and your family but also to the environment. Many have now been banned. There are certain groups of plants, each with their own set of...

  Drainage When heavy rain occurs such as that which has been falling in many parts of Australia recently, it is a good time to get out and have a look at the water courses in the back or front yard – where the water comes from and where it goes. You can...

Keen gardeners don’t seem to notice the grime and gunk that comes off their hands when they wash up in the bathroom at the end of a gardening session. Jackie French has a great idea for solving those bathroom sink blues that comes with extra scrubbing power....

Mushrooms and toadstools conjure up images of pixies and fairies, and some extraordinary fungi come up after we’ve had some rain. Don Burke recently looked at an absolutely glorious fungus which he says had a soft, cold and clammy, yet almost human feel to it....

Don Burke has a few suggestions for brightening up a spring garden, adding colour, interest and a bit of whimsy. Three of the best azaleas which will give strong structure and colour to the garden are ‘White Prince’ (white), ‘Rose Queen’ (pink)...

Spring is the season for fetes and now is the time to get into the garden if you want to propagate some great pot plants in time to sell at the local school, church or hospital fete. Plants are always great favourites at fetes and if you follow a few of Don’s...

Australian native plants are excellent in the garden especially the new varieties of grevilleas, grafted darwinias, banksias, compact and prostrate wattles. An excellent base for a native garden is sandstone rubble. Sometimes this is produced when digging is done to...

Topiary is a fascinating gardening activity where people can create all sorts of animals, birds and shapes in the backyard. Anthony Cabret is a master of topiary who can transform amorphous blobs of trees into artworks, like his model titanic that is sinking into the...

Many parts of eastern Australia received heavy rainfalls recently bringing relief to some drought situations. There are some gardening tips for autumn that will help your garden look even better after the rain. Autumn is a good time for planting particularly after...