Gardening

Patricia Gill. Forests and reserves around Denmark have been hit by a ‘forest collapse’ event as the region struggles through a dry six months and feed for farms is depleting. Murdoch University fire and plant ecologist Dr Joe Fontaine says Denmark and South Coast regions may not be having the driest spell on record but the ecology was suffering due to an unusually long summer.

Gardening in extreme conditions is not an educational program anywhere. Ukrainians in the combat zone are learning this from their own personal experience. Many people in other countries believe that this is a useful experience that should be taught to the population in peacetime ... Read Pavel's life hack for gardening in a war zone.

I read in the local Facebook forum that there was this you beaut marvellous bird trap that could catch up to a dozen birds at a time.... As they have been bloody pests in the barbeque area where my husband feeds the dogs - stealing food and pooping copiously everywhere ...

I’ve read a number of books that delve into issues surrounding Australian food production and it’s fair to say that I found Jill Griffiths’ book What’s For Dinner? the easiest one to digest (pun intended). Jill is a biologist and journalist who’s been writing about the environment and agriculture for more than three decades and her book is a blend of science, history and lived experience.

Di Michalk. Still Water is a beautiful, sprawling country garden built around towering natural red gums. Designed by Mary Skene-Kidman in 1959, the older parts of the garden strongly reflect her design, plant selections and colour schemes with Edna Walling influences at play in The Shrubbery.

Eighty-three events and activations (making up a combined total of 1025 days) will be on offer at this year’s 75th anniversary Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers. The Carnival is taking place over four weekends in Spring from 13 September to 7 October.

People who love dogs often love gardens, and often, keeping mental peace while loving the two can be fraught. Many people have written stories about the perils of dogs and plants ... Doctor Seuss ... Banjo Paterson wrote a poem called “A dog’s mistake” ... Pam Ayres also struck trouble ... Enter Agnes…

At this time of the year we see the tumbling grass-seed heads rolling into fences and garden beds - especially if the garden is surrounded by pasture land. This will be a different type of visit for the Allora and District Garden Circle when they gather for their garden tour next Tuesday 2nd April.

A group of gardening enthusiasts is giving Tennant Creek’s community garden a new lease on life. Situated on the main street next to Barkly Quality Butchers, the green thumbs have launched a new initiative to rejuvenate the garden and make it productive once again.

You learn this as you go. When there’s a man in your life you quickly learn to grab the printed directions and stash them for future reference as men do not read labels or follow directions ... What I have especially learned by trial and error over too long a period is to keep the labels from plants bought for the garden ...

I have lots of roses. They are always rewarding with their different shapes colours and perfumes and are often admired by visitors. But there’s one in the garden, that’s a bit shabby and out of shape, and is the one most loved and cherished by all the family. She’s had an interesting history.

Well that’s what it feels like. Twenty five years at Mickleham, on top of a granite, rock covered hill made me learn which plants could cope, thumb their leafy noses at the wind and rocky soil and grow, and which took one horrified look at what they were expected to cope with and turned their toes up. The roses showed me just how tough they really are by not only surviving but flourishing, and they did well. Many even survived parts of the house falling on them in the blaze, others laughed it off and kept flowering.

Insufficient globalisation of the world economy is holding back the development of amateur gardening around the world. Ukraine is a clear example of this. Gardeners cannot purchase the plants they like or are forced to do so at inflated prices. But everything can change if globalisation wins.

And this is not simply some tall tale. It is, in fact, actually a tall flower. The Red Gate Community Garden in Donald is attempting to outshine the summer skies with a sun of their own, this year.

Kerry Cain. Local Judy Streeter has waited 12 years for her Gymea Lily to bloom. When Judy purchased the lily, she was told it would never grow in Maldon. 

Alford gardener John Peters says Overwatch drift has affected about 100 plants in his garden, including roses, fruit trees, and ornamental and aquatic plants. “I noticed the damage at seeding time and I’m noticing it now, when they are supposed to be putting out leaves and flowers,” he said.

John Leadbeatter has been growing giant pumpkins for so long he can’t remember when he started. He has several pumpkin patches in his garden in Rukenvale … to increase the chances of growing the heaviest pumpkin to enter at the Summerland Giant Pumpkin and Watermelon Festival...

In the 2023 Warwick Garden Competition Lynn Close at Roseneath Cottage at Allora was awarded 2nd place for her Large Home Garden and 2nd place for her magnificent roses.

After the wintery "wash-out" of the 2022 Garden Walk, the Nhill Lions Club members were ever hopeful for a fine sunny day this year for their Annual Garden Walk. Their wishes were certainly granted as the sunshine and magnificent blue skies greeted everyone from early morning, last Sunday, right throughout the day.

To say that a bushfire can turn a normally rational person into someone on the verge of becoming unhinged is an understatement. Experts say that panic is a normal response and that you never know how you’ll react until a bushfire threatens your community, your property, your loved ones or your life. But the experts also say that being prepared can greatly reduce panic so here are some valuable tips and points of advice.

The therapeutic value of a wander in the garden can hardly be overestimated. The exploration, the changes, the delights and other minutiae which are observed in our cultivated spaces triggers a sense of well-being which promotes feelings of satisfaction and enjoyment.