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Revving Up the Lawn in Spring Spring is a good time of the year to give your lawn some attention, particularly if you have any bare patches that need replanting. Sowing seed in the bare patches is an option for some lawn varieties such as cool climate grasses, but it...
Citrus plants have fragrant white flowers, glossy, evergreen leaves and delicious fruit which is very rich in vitamin C. They develop into attractive small trees when planted in the garden, but they are also well suited to pot culture. In fact, many species will crop...
Sanders Scott Cam, the builder from Backyard Blitz, looks at the best sanders for the home handyman. There are many different kinds of sanders, and your choice will depend on the type of job you are doing. Scott recommends including both a belt and an orbital sander...
Golden Marjoram – The French Alternative Jackie French says that golden marjoram (Origanum vulgare ‘Aureum’) not only tastes good, but also keeps garden goblins away. According to legend, goblins hate marjoram. Golden marjoram can be used in salads,...
Sharpening Tools Don showed how easy it is to sharpen tools using a bench-mounted grinder. Spade A spade is a cutting implement, just like a knife, a pair of secateurs or a saw. Spades are much easier to use if they are kept sharp. Sharpen the bottom side only, by...
Growing Asian Greens Nothing tastes as good as the vegies that you grow yourself. Even if you don’t have much time to spend in the garden, you can still enjoy growing and eating quick-cropping Asian vegetables. Attached to the cover of the October edition of the...
In the Southern Hemisphere spring officially begins on the 1st of September, but technically it is around the 22nd of September (called the vernal equinox) when the days are of equal length to the nights. Unlike humans, plants and animals don’t go by dates...
Don looked at a Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) that had been grown as a weeping standard. He pointed out that although wisterias are vigorous climbers, they do not really develop strong stems when trained as standards, so very strong supports are required....
Summer in the Garden This has been a very hot summer. The high temperatures and hot winds have killed or burnt plants in a lot of gardens, and high humidity has caused fungal diseases to occur on plants in many areas. Don’s advice is not to do much gardening at...
Don showed how to mount a staghorn on a wall. This particular plant had been growing on a dead tree trunk, but had fallen off. Elk or stag? Don used a staghorn to demonstrate the mounting process, but an elkhorn could be substituted equally well. The difference...