Articles
This newsletter comes amid a large change for me, as I am relocating from the Central Coast of New South Wales where I grew up and spent a lot of my life. I shall be putting down new roots in Tasmania, where I have bought a lovely property. Once there, I will be...
The Kangaroo Paw Celebration 2016 at Cranbourne Royal Botanic Gardens The Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne went all out to make this event a spectacular success. It was a career highlight for me, and I really want to thank...
Wild Pollinator Count If you love interesting insects at work, this is your chance to get amongst them and also help the cause of science and our environment. This annual event runs this year from the 13th to the 20th of...
I've got a bit of a one track mind this month. Think felty furry flowers. Think Skippy the Bush Kangaroo. Think about a plant that started off in one state of Australia, and now gets planted from far north Queensland to Tasmania and has gone out to the world to be...
Celebrating Spring, Wattle Day and Fathers Day! The start of September is a wonderful time. Spring flowers are bursting forth. It is a great time to add new plants to your garden, with mild weather helping them to...
In the footsteps of the plant hunters in China I know this is not about Australian plants, but for anyone who appreciates seeing flowers and plants in their wild environment, I think you will appreciate this trip as something of a botanical odyssey. I had the very...
The Kimberley I recently had the opportunity to cross off one of the things on my bucket list - a trip through the Kimberley. It was everything I had imagined it would be, plus a bit more, and I could highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking of doing it. I...
KIMBERLEY TRIP As we speak I am heading off on a trip across the Kimberley in preparation for the tour I am leading for Ross Garden Tours in September this year. The landscape here is something that needs to be experienced in person, as it is impossible to convey the...
AUTUMN FERTILISING OF AUSTRALIAN NATIVE PLANTS I am busy feeding my kangaroo paws at the moment. They are putting on a lot of new vegetative growth through the autumn and winter which will set up spectacular flowering in spring. If you have not removed all the old...
THE AUSTRALIAN NATIVE GARDEN BOOK LAUNCH AT CRANBOURNE BOTANIC GARDENS The Australian Garden at the Cranbourne Annexe of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria is one of our horticultural gems, and is an amazing showcase for landscaping with native plants. So it was both an...
The Australian Native Garden is here! Several years in the making with my co-author AB Bishop (who hails from aptly named Kangaroo Ground near Melbourne), this book continues my journey of wanting to inspire and inform...
Central Coast Native Garden Extravaganza I would like to share a great day I recently spent with 20 plus native plant enthusiasts and the fantastic folk from The Wildflower Place nursery at Erina on the NSW Central Coast. [gallery link="file" columns="2"...
In search of the Queen of Sheba while feeling 'as fit as a mallee Bull' Banksia Late last month I had the good fortune to be able to get over to the floral wonderland that is south west Western Australia for a bit of plant therapy. Forget retail therapy, plant therapy...
Queensland Garden Expo I had the privilege of being asked to be a guest speaker at the QGE at Nambour in July. The subtropical climate and the wonderful enthusiasm of the gardeners that attend is always inspiring. One of the things that caught my eye there was a...
WINTER BUSHWALKING AT CATHERINE HILL BAY I am currently spending a lot of time in the historic township of Catherine Hill Bay (Catho to the locals), a little to the south of Newcastle in New South Wales. An old coal mining town, it features a whole series of quaint...
WINTER REMINISCING Welcome to Winter! The second Monday in June is a holiday around most of Australia, honouring the Queen's birthday (except for Western Australia, who like to be different and have it in spring). It used to be a great tradition to celebrate with a...
CELEBRATE MOTHERS DAY WITH AUSSIE NATIVE FLOWERS Mums make the world a better place. My mother (and grandmothers) gave me the gift of my lifelong passion for plants through their own love of gardening, native plants, conservation and bush walking. So on mum's special...
BUSH FOOD FORAGING WITH BONUS SEEDS I have just got back home from a great three week tour of Kangaroo island, the Great Ocean Road and Tasmania. It was very successful- we have an amazing country with fantastic plants, but it's nice to get onto home ground again....
HERE COMES AUTUMN! Autumn weather brings milder temperatures to a lot of areas of Australia. This is a good chance to catch up with weed growth that might have got out of hand in summer, to review plants that have not performed in the heat, and to plant new garden...
SUMMER FUN Another month of summer weather to go, and we are counting down the days till the milder temperatures of autumn kick in. Holidays and relaxation are finishing too, kids are going back to school, so it's a great time for various plant related activities....