In the Garden

Grassy plants are popular these days but true grasses can be hard work to keep trimmed and looking good. Lomandra is an Australian native plant that is grass-like but is not a grass and belongs to the Black Boy family (Xanthorrhoeacea). Plant details Common name:...

Gerberas are becoming fashionable again, particularly as cut flowers. Gone are the narrow petals and insipid pale orange and salmon flowers. Available now are gerberas in vibrant new hues with broad petals in double and semi-double forms. As well as improving flowers,...

Three ground cover roses with high disease resistance have been released in Australia in the past six years. These are called the Flower Carpet series. The first, launched in 1992 has small bright pink flowers. It is called Flower Carpet ‘Pink’. The...

A new rose has come on to the market to mark the life and work of the late Fred Hollows, the Australian eye surgeon who worked to eradicate cataract blindness. Les Stratford of Stratford’s Wholesale Nursery at Oakville in New South Wales found this rose in 1994...

Fuchsias are among the most popular garden plants in the world. They are extremely versatile and can be grown in shaded gardens or in hanging baskets and pots. Fuchsias can also be trained as hoops or standards but the modern hybrid fuchsias are really for people with...

Gaura ‘Siskiyou Pink’ One of the most fashionable plants to have in your garden at the moment is gaura (Gaura lindheimeri) also called White Butterfly Bush. Although commonly pronounced gow-ra, it is more correctly called gore-ra. It is particularly...

If you want to add colour to your winter garden, consider Euryops, a yellow daisy, which is a member of the Daisy family native to Southern and Central Africa. This hardy plant flowers through winter which gives the garden colour through those drab months of the year....

Many new plants have come onto the market in the last year. However, they usually need testing over a few years to know if they perform well in the garden. Polygala ‘Fairy Lights’ is a new and unproven variety, which looks very interesting. Plant Details...

Best perfume 1. ‘Double Delight’ (two tone cream and crimson) 2. ‘Friesia’ (yellow) 3. ‘Rod Stillman’ (violet-pink) 4. ‘Papa Meilland’ (dark red) 5. ‘Fragrant Cloud’ (brick red) 6. ‘Jardins de...

Bougainvilleas are among the most colourful and the most spectacular flowering plants. However they can be rampant climbers that can take over the garden, choking trees. The answer for the average size garden lies in dwarf bougainvilleas. They can be used in the...