Down in the Garden: Get Rid of Pests, Organically
“Help! I need an organic alternative.” This was once the cry of radical greenies and hippies, but these days most of us have realised we just don’t want to consume,…
“Help! I need an organic alternative.” This was once the cry of radical greenies and hippies, but these days most of us have realised we just don’t want to consume,…
Our attraction to flowers is not frivolous or fanciful, it is a survival instinct that without, we would have probably perished. As hunters and gathers, ancient people needed to not…
With over 60,000 small hobby farms now operating in Australia, occupying over 20% of farming land and numbers steadily increasing, the only people having problems with the surge in a…
We have always invited flowers into every facet of our lives. Flowers and the treasures they create such as perfumes, foods and medicines, have been readily embraced for their supportive…
We all love more than a bit of sun and our gardens, particularly our veggie plots that would not thrive without it. But a balanced garden needs a bit of…
Indoor plants can make us healthy, happy, calm, more focused and breathe a little easier – science has proved it – but can you just plonk any old plant anywhere?…
Propagation is an interesting and rather addictive gardening practice … once you have achieved a few successes. For the botanically minded, there are two types of propagation, the first being…
There are some of us gardening folk who spend every spare minute in our botanical paradises, tending each leaf and nursing every bud to blossom. On the other far side…
As the festive season blankets many parts of the world with images of snow, holly and winter dusted pine trees, here on the East Coast of Australia we look forward…
Could it even be Christmas without our botanical friends, the Christmas tree in our loungeroom, the poinsettia gracing our table and the Christmas Bush bursting from gardens everywhere? Depending on…
One thing that wasn’t cancelled in 2020 was gardening. And those of us who already enjoy this earthy pursuit have noticed our numbers swell this year as neighbours, friends and…
Your gardening writer is not the biggest fan of lawns, but I do see their use and their desirability, particularly for those who have a young family, enjoy outdoor games…
Polyculture is the practice of planting combinations of plants for stronger, healthier growth and greater yields in productive agriculture. When we think of companion planting, often it is considered as…
It’s getting warm on The Coast and I feel a salad coming on! We are a lucky bunch here – we can grow many of the warm weather loving plants…
The European Honeybee (Apis mellifera) gets a lot of great PR. They do a good job of pollinating plants and in providing the standard honey that most of us are…
Most would agree that an Aussie burger (vegetarian or not!) would not be ‘True Blue’ without a slice of juicy beetroot. It is beloved in salads, roasted, in sandwiches and…
Creating a wall of green to hide an ugly fence, covering a difficult patch of ground or making a pergola a shade house in summer and a sun trap in…
There are so many ways to garden and each season seems to bring us a new term, a new way of caring for and harvesting the plants we grow at…
These delightful gems of the botanical world are popular, easy to grow indoors or out and, with Christmas rapidly approaching, great for creating living gifts for your family and friends….
As summer returns to the Coast, so do the hibiscus! We have a bit of a love affair with this tropical looking blossom as any balmy evening walk through our…