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Plant New Lavenders Now Plants like lavender and rosemary come from Mediterranean areas, and they can’t tolerate excessive summer rain, high humidity and poorly drained soils. The past twelve months or so have been unusually wet and humid, particularly along the...
Topiary is an art form that has been rediscovered by gardeners in the last 10-15 years. It’s now very fashionable to use buxus cones and cubes, spiralled conifers, or lilly pillys clipped into balls on sticks as focal points in the garden or to create a dramatic...
Plants for Dry Conditions Travelling to other countries can sometimes be a real eye opener for gardeners, because they see plants growing in climates and conditions that suit them best. It’s suddenly very easy to understand why a particular plant is struggling...
Red Eggplants Most people would be familiar with the large, purple-black eggplant or aubergine (Solanum melongena) which is used to make delicious recipes like ratatouille and baba ganoush. If you shop around you’ll also be able to find white skinned or striped...
Red Grapefruit Pink fleshed varieties of grapefruit, such as ‘Ruby’ and ‘Thompson’ have been available for some years, but they often fail to colour well in Australian gardens. The new red varieties ‘Star Ruby’ and ‘Rio...
Turnip Rooted Parsley: The French Alternative Turnip rooted or Hamburg parsley (Petroselinum crispum var. tuberosum) is a hardy vegetable resembling a carrot in shape and appearance. The beige coloured roots have a celery-like flavour, and the stems and leaves...
The genus Billardiera is named in honour of the French botanist La Billardiere, and includes about twenty species of handsome climbing plants. Don looked at a member of the group called Billardiera ringens, a moderately vigorous twiner with glorious orange/yellow...
Boston ivy is one of about ten species from North America and Asia belonging to the genus Parthenocissus. It is not actually an ivy but a member of the Vitaceae, or grape family. It’s a particularly good climber for covering large walls or fences, with the added...
Climbers Climbing plants are excellent for covering or decorating walls, fences, pergolas, arches and arbours. They are also very good screening plants in areas where trees and shrubs are too large. Don looked at a typical range of climbers available right now at...
Grown and admired in China and Japan for over a thousand years, wisteria is one of the great garden plants. These vigorous, long lived climbers like a sunny position with good drainage and reliable moisture during flowering and the initial growth period. In Australia...