Articles
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Eremophila
I have written about Eremophila before and I probably will continue to, as I am constantly inspired to garden in harsh conditions with them. As a group they would have to be among the toughest when it comes to frost tolerance, drought tolerance and for the most part, they are not fussy about soil type including the heaviest of clays. Read more...
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Just When You Thought It Was Safe...
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the garden… Extreme heat seems to test all things. Like tempers (or patience as the case may be!), watering systems and methods, choice of mulch and choice of plants we use in our gardens. Read more...
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Native Hibiscus
Alyogyne or native Hibiscus is well worth looking at for free flowering plants to suit most gardens in the Riverland and Mallee. Most gardeners would be familiar with tropical Hibiscus and many are quite successful locally until the frost hits. The native Hibiscus is pretty much the same except that they are tolerant of poor soils and very dry conditions once established. Read more...
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Back to Basics
I have long advised customers to use drought tolerant, frost hardy and long living plants to form the framework of a garden. This is especially applicable to gardeners working with ‘blank canvases’ or even for older gardens having a major makeover. Read more...
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Deep Watering
Many people have noticed the brilliant yellow flowers on roadsides over the past few weeks. While it is not surprising that many have noticed, but it is surprising how brilliant the display was and is throughout the Riverland and Mallee. Most are in fact Cassias otherwise known as Senna artemisioides subsp filifolia (syn. Cassia nemophila) “desert Cassia” and Senna artemisioides nothosubsp. sturtii (syn. Cassia sturtii) “Sturt’s desert cassia”. Wow, what a mouthful; I didn’t make up the names! Read more...
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Wild Violet
Some plant communities we see in the wild are just so striking in their simplicity but are impossible to replicate in a garden. On a family holiday in the Northern Flinders Ranges I came upon a simple mix of Swainsona adenophylla wild violet and Ptilotus obovatus silver mulla mulla. While the vivid purple of the wild violet and the creamy heads of the mulla mulla made a nice contrast, the bare rocks and mountains roundabout made the scene altogether more dramatic. Read more...
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Expect the Unexpected
While it is an oxymoron, nothing could be so close to the truth to Australian plants than this. We have become accustomed to expect the different or unusual almost to the point of indifference. The striking contrast of the green and gold (wattles in flower against green leaves) we instantly recognise as ‘our’ sporting colours with pride during the Olympics. The strangeness of Kangaroo Paws in full bloom is like nothing else on the planet. Read more...
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Fruit
A friend recently asked me the question, is it really worth growing fruit trees considering the rising cost of water and all the associated bother with pruning, fertiliser, pest control and then keeping off birds and the like from eating your harvest? Read more...
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Grow Your Own Firewood
As the nights are longer and colder, we all naturally want to stay warm. What better way than a slow combustion stove or an open fire? Read more...
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Street Trees (Part 2)
Nearly two years ago I wrote in this column about street trees and I was extolling their virtues. I also listed a few that would be and in some cases are, very useful and long lived shady street trees. Maybe they should be planted widely as street trees before our streets are reduced to barren rows of memories of trees. Read more...
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West Australian Red Flowering Gum
Some plants simply take your breath away. I don’t mean literally (although I suppose some do if used too generously in cooking!) I mean the type where you round a corner, be it walking, driving, riding or even boating, and a single plant or group of plants are just so spectacular that you involuntary take a sharp breath. If you have experienced this, you’ll know what I mean. Read more...
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Lomandra
The genera Lomandra is in the same family as the Australian grass trees (Xanthorrhoeaceae) but without the tree bit. They form tufts or tussocks and most have a long flat ‘blade ‘for a leaf. Read more...
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Native Timber
How many of us have gone for a drive or perhaps a walk and only just see what is there rather than seeing what could be? Read more...
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Kangaroo Paws
For those of us that have travelled west, the kangaroo paw or Anigozanthos can evoke strong memories of Western Australia, as not only are they quite unusual but are also endemic to south west Western Australia. Read more...
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Butterflies in the Garden
Nothing screams spring louder than butterflies. I know butterflies are fairly quiet, but I think you know what I mean. Read more...
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Going Grey in the Garden
We often think of the colour grey as more mature or even at best dignified and restrained. That is, when it is on the head or perhaps as a beard. Read more...
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The Plant Enthusiast
I was quite amazed by the extraordinary lengths some will people will go to grow Australian plants as reported in the journal of the Australian Native Plants Society recently. I’m not talking about your average half interested bloke in the Riverland, I ‘m talking about almost obsessed plant fanatics on the other side of the world. Read more...
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Hanging on for Dear Life
Recently I had the pleasure of a coastal camp site. Don’t get me wrong, I love the river but as they say a change is as good as… Read more...
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Melaleucas or Honey Myrtles
Honey Myrtles particularly the bracelet honey myrtle and other very large Melaleuca can strike fear into some householders that have close encounters with them. Read more...
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Soft Growth
If you have noticed trees or branches falling down with monotonous regularity lately, you are not the only one. If you are also wondering why, the perfectly logical explanation put simply is ‘soft growth’. Read more...
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Plan to Plant Now
I have often said the best time to plant is now. That is; if you have the time and inclination, plant now before both pass. Read more...
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Small is Beautiful
Recently I had the pleasure of finding a plant not often seen. In fact I had never seen it before but knew its ilk. I am talking of Caladenia filamentosa var tentaculata or Wispy Spider Orchid. (Pictured) Read more...
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Sprinklers and Drippers
Much has been written recently regarding the pros and cons of sprinklers and drippers. I’m going to buy into the debate only to point out that the whole idea of irrigation is to deliver water to plant ROOTS efficiently. Read more...
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Sturt's Desert Pea
Last month I witnessed a spectacular natural phenomenon that only happens in arid areas once in a while. The desert was blooming in all its glory. Read more...
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Native Vegetation
I recently had the privilege of standing on a mountain (I use the term loosely as the summit is 129m!) and looking out to the horizon in all directions and seeing only native vegetation. Read more...
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Correas
Correa or native fuchsia are one of those plants that are often misunderstood and could be used much more than they are. Read more...
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Street Trees (Part 1)
Love them or hate them, our quality of life would be much poorer without them. Take all the street trees out of Burnside and property values would be chopped in half. South Westerly winds would be all the more fierce. Read more...
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What's in a Name?
I was reading a little book the other day on flowers of the French Alps. I couldn’t read French to save myself, however with some delight I could read the botanical names. Names such as Allium, Narcissus, Aquilegia and Ajuga I could match with pictures quite easily. Chives, Daffodil, grannies bonnets and an European Alp form of our local Ajuga australis were like familiar friends rather than seemingly unpronounceable or just plain stupid names. Read more...
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Removing the Dead Wood
A common problem I have increasingly en-counted over the past year is the problem of dead, dying and just plain crook plants. This is not just restricted to any type of plant but plants right across the board. We could just blame it on water restrictions and do nothing. Or we can be proactive and get in there and quite literally remove the dead and dying. Read more...
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To Grass or not to Grass
Grasses and grass type grasses will give a totally different look to any area. For deserted urban places they can add to the derelict feel but in well maintained gardens they can make an area feel restful and cool. Read more...
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The Sound Garden
Most of us are drawn to the spectacular sights of a stunning garden but how many of us quite literally take time to smell our plants or even just listen. Read more...
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The Best Time to Plant
RIGHT NOW!! Seriously though, the very best time is as soon as you can. There is not a minute to waste. If you have the time and the inclination don’t let anything else stop you. Read more...
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Colour in the Garden all Year
Annual colour dies! Most of us have not persisted with annual flowers in the traditional sense largely due to the huge amounts and high frequency of watering required. Some of us were put off long ago because of the repeated cost of purchasing annuals or the time involved in replanting. Read more...
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Christmas Bushes
With Christmas just around the corner it is only natural that as gardeners your thoughts will turn to plants that both reflect Christmas and gardening in some way. Read more...
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The Importance of Gardens (Part 2)
Your garden may frustrate you during watering restrictions or it may not be close to how you want it either because it is very young or it has diminished from its ‘glory days’. Read more...
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Emu Bushes
Eremophila or emu bushes would have to be one of the most useful group (or genera) for dry land gardening. I often talk about and suggest them for planting for a number of reasons. Read more...
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Spring Wind
Don’t you just love the wind? (NOT!) Read more...
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Wattles
Wattle they think of next. Our most instantly recognisable plant named after a quick and crude building method (wattle and daub) in the new colonies. Stick a few sticks up and slap a bit of mud on it and call it home. Australian vegetation by many then was seen as a barrier and a hindrance to transport and development of agriculture and lack of amenity to the home sick. Read more...
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Travel Broadens the Garden
It has been said that travel broadens the mind. Knowing your plants brings a completely new dimension to travelling. Read more...
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The Importance of Gardens (Part 1)
What is it about gardens and flowers that are so important? Read more...
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rain at Last
The bane of anyone living without a mulched garden particularly out of town would have to be dust. A car pulls up and the dust just keeps going. Open the car car door too quick and one breathes in ones own dust. Read more...
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Tree Kills Man
I can see the headlines: TREE KILLS MAN. Yeah right. It should read; Man spends hours under tree renound for dropping large limbs without warning (and gets squashed). But then less newspapers would sell. And it takes up more space. As always there is more to it than meets the eye. Read more...
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The Perfect Plant
Not like you need reminding but here in the Riverland we experience many extremes. An extremely good lifestyle. An extreme lack of traffic lights. Extremely co-hesive communities. Extremely hot summers. Extremely tough plants. Read more...
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The Australian Gardener
An Australian gardener used to be someone that had a good looking front lawn, a few roses, a productive vegetable patch (or at least a few tomatoes in summer), the odd fruit tree and a few shrubs thrown in for good measure. Read more...
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A Native Garden
A native garden (whatever that is!) is all sticks and no colour. OH NO! Read more...
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Insects Attacking Plants
I have some plants that always seem to have insects attacking them. Why? Read more...
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My Lawn is Mostly Dead...
My lawn is mostly dead. What can I do? Read more...