In the Garden

Rose Geraniums Surprisingly, one of the most wonderful rose scents in the garden comes not from roses, but from rose geraniums – and not from flowers but from leaves. Jackie French uses the leaves of rose geranium to make a rose-scented room deodoriser that is...

  Sasanqua Camellia ‘Classique’ is a compact, low-growing sasanqua camellia. Plant details Common name: Sasanqua camellia Botanic name: Camellia sasanqua ‘Classique’ Description  A prostrate sasanqua camellia which grows slowly to around...

Shade Plants Many gardeners have difficulty growing plants in moist, shady spots. Don visited Bronte House in Sydney, and looked at a group of plants that have been used very effectively in a semi-shaded part of the garden (see list below). They include some indoor...

Cacti and other succulents are water-storing plants, so they are ideal for busy people who don’t have much time to spend in the garden watering. Succulents have a number of features, or modifications, which enable them to survive in deserts, on rocks and in the...

Succulent Garden Suzie Forge is an interior decorator who loves colour and texture. She has put her decorating skills to good use in her small Melbourne courtyard, which has been ‘furnished’ with a variety of colourful succulents and cacti. Suzie has used...

Grevillea ‘Poorinda Royal Mantle’ ‘Poorinda Royal Mantle’ is a ground cover grevillea which is often grafted onto silky oak (Grevillea robusta) understock to form a weeping standard. Don came across a mature grafted specimen that looked like...

Grevillea ‘Sunset Bronze’ Don looked at a fascinating new grevillea hybrid of unknown parentage. Grevillea ‘Sunset Bronze’ was a chance seedling found in a Brisbane garden and is thought to be a cross with G. ‘Honey Gem’. It was...

Linum This member of the flax family comes from the foothills of the Himalayas. It is a particularly useful plant because it produces bright yellow flowers in the middle of winter, bringing some much-needed cheer when the rest of the garden is bare. Plant details...

Luculia In winter some of the most gorgeous perfumed plants flower, including daphne (Daphne odora), winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) and the shrub that Peter Valder looked at in our segment, the luculia (Luculia gratissima). It has rose pink flowers with...

  Michaelmas Daisies  Michaelmas or Easter daisies (Aster novi-belgii) were once popular in gardens, but are rarely seen now. They are herbaceous perennials with upright, much-branched stems on which masses of small daisies are produced in late summer and autumn....