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Wood Ash in the Garden Now that those chilly winter evenings are here, lots of people have been stoking up their slow combustion heaters or warming themselves in front of glowing open fireplaces. In fact many of those people have written in to Burke’s...
Yates Anti Rot Phosacid Many of the fungicides that were once used in the garden were quite dangerous to us and to the environment. Many diseases are also resistant to some of the commonly used fungicides. The good news is that there is now a very safe and effective...
Matching Plants to Pots Don visited Michele Shennen’s Willoughby Garden Centre and chatted to Michele about the very latest trends in pots. Michele explained that new ranges of pots are being imported from all over the world these days, giving...
While we all dream of the perfect garden filled with beautiful, exotic flowering plants, the reality is that plants in many gardens don’t perform and often drop dead. Even worse, they don’t die quickly, but linger on for years looking half dead. What to...
Mulching depth If your garden is mulched but you are still having problems with weeds growing through, you probably haven’t applied the mulch correctly. Mulch needs to be at least 75-100mm (3-4″) deep to control weeds. It is very important to mulch your...
The weather has been very unseasonable in Australia recently, particularly along the east coast. Summer didn’t really eventuate. We’ve had the occasional very hot day, but then later that day or the next day it’s been cold again. When temperatures...
There’s something about pruning that seems to bring out aggression in people, especially men. However, pruning doesn’t have to be like a shoot-out at high noon. You don’t need to take out all your frustrations on your plants, nor should you be...
Although grasses are fashionable in gardening circles at the moment, many of them really don’t perform very well. A notable exception is a gorgeous new blue coloured Australian native grass. It is called Mingo, which is claimed to be the aboriginal name for...
Robinia Problems Don looked at a street tree planting of golden robinias (Robinia pseudocacia ‘Frisia’). This was a vogue tree in Australian gardens and landscapes during the 1980s and it is still tremendously popular today. However, before you plant a...
Ground Covers There’s nothing as tedious as pulling up weeds, and it’s a chore that takes up a lot of valuable time. Don’t despair – there are other things you can do to help control the problem. The first step is to mulch the garden, and then...