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Spring Rose Care Roses are among the best flowering plants in the world – for outstanding colour, perfume and cut flowers they’re hard to beat. However, roses do have special needs. If they don’t receive the right care and attention they won’t...
Espalier Espaliering means training a tree or shrub to grow against a flat surface. It’s a technique which has been used in France for centuries, particularly with pear and apple trees, and it makes a lot of sense because it means you can grow what is normally a...
Spring tips Spring has come early in many parts of Australia with plants like rhododendrons flowering up to a month early, and others finishing flowering much earlier than usual. Spring is always a busy time in the garden, but the early flowering and persistent heavy...
Garden on a Garage As you can imagine, landscape designer John Happ faced quite a few problems when he was asked to create a garden on top of a concrete slab! The property had already undergone extensive renovations, including the building of new garages. The clients...
The general consensus these days is that stakes weaken plants, and they should not be used. However, there are times when it is necessary to give your plants some support. For instance Don staked a melaleuca which had fallen over, to prevent the rootball from rocking...
Irrigation System in Hedge A watering system is an integral part of many good gardens, but sometimes the overall effect can be spoiled by unsightly black irrigation piping and risers. Don looked at an irrigation system growing up through a freestanding plant, with the...
Old Husbands’ Tales There are many gardening related myths, and sorting out fact from fiction can sometimes be difficult. Don took a close look at two classic old husbands’ tales – top dressing lawns, and the effect of lime on azaleas. Tale: You...
Liquidambar Roots Don’s favourite native plant is the scribbly gum (Eucalyptus haemastoma). These trees have beautiful smooth, white and grey mottled bark with distinctive “scribbles”. The marks often look like some mysterious form of writing, but...
Myths and superstitions are part of the rich fabric of our lives – we rely on them to forecast the weather, tell the future and even to grow plants! The trouble is that sometimes it’s very difficult to separate fact from fiction. Throughout the program Don...
Plant Botanical Names People often laugh at the complicated scientific names that are given to plants and animals. Sometimes they really are funny, for example Rhododendron goodenoughii, a plant which comes from Goodenough Island in Papua. The island itself was...