feeds from gardens.com.au http://gardens.com.au/rss/ en-au http://gardens.com.au/rss/ http://gardens.com.au/static/campfire/layouts/images/omg-logo-small.png http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2010/3/13/lifes-little-pleasures/ Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST news Pretty as a picture, sweet peas exude old-fashioned charm. THERE are so many beautiful plants that I find it impossible to have just one favourite. That said, I'm definitely partial to some plants more than others and sweet peas are among the flowers that really lift my spirits.These old-fashioned plants have such a delicate charm and delightful perfume. It's no wonder the symbolic meaning of the sweet pea in the language of flowers is "blissful pleasure".The sweet pea has been bred continuously ...

Pretty as a picture, sweet peas exude old-fashioned charm.

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2010/3/4/rampant-growth-threatens-market-gardens/ Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST news WHEN you are biting into a tomato, cucumber or lettuce, chances are you are tasting a piece of Sydney's history. But it is a slice of Sydney that is fast disappearing, warns Therese Sweeney, the artist behind an exhibition that tells the stories of the city's migrant market gardeners.Market gardens - typically about two hectares - play a vital role in the city's food supply, providing up to 90 per cent of our vegetables.Ms Sweeney is part of a growing movement of people who want to protect the m ...

WHEN you are biting into a tomato, cucumber or lettuce, chances are you are tasting a piece of Sydney's history. But it is a slice of Sydney that is fast disappearing, warns Therese Sweeney, the artist behind an exhibition that tells the stories of the city's migrant market gardeners.

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2010/2/27/plant-fair-offers-something-for-everyone-and-lots-more/ Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST news ROSEMARY Simpson lost 240 hectares of her land in last year's fires. While it was devastating, there was no loss of life and the historic Guilford Bell-designed house and garden were saved.Lubra Bend in the Yarra Valley is open this weekend for the Australian Open Garden Scheme's sixth annual plant fair. It's an opportunity for gardeners to buy rare and unusual plants from Victorian and interstate growers including perennials, trees, bulbs and succulents.Simpson's garden is also worth visiting w ...

ROSEMARY Simpson lost 240 hectares of her land in last year's fires. While it was devastating, there was no loss of life and the historic Guilford Bell-designed house and garden were saved.

http://www.gardens.com.au/articles/organic-gardens-methods-and-techniques/ Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

Organic Gardens Methods and Techniques Organic gardens are rising in popula ...

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2009/11/21/when-summer-crops-up/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST news A few measures can help your vegie patch thrive in the heat, writes David Adams. SUMMER has come early, with record-breaking temperatures for this time of the year. While your vegetable garden may already be showing signs of stress, it's not too late to take some action to help deliver a bumper crop.Experts say the key to a flourishing vegetable garden is good soil and year-round soil care. Talei Kenyon of the Digger's Club, a mail-order nursery, garden club and heirloom plant specialist, says t ...

A few measures can help your vegie patch thrive in the heat, writes David Adams.

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2009/9/5/having-a-garden-and-eating-it-too/ Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST news GARDENS can be both productive and pretty, and Hendrik Van Leeuwen's backyard is proof of this. He is passionate about growing his own food, but he wasn't going to sacrifice a good-looking garden for the sake of his vegetables.Mr Van Leeuwen has an advantage over most suburban gardeners: he is a landscape designer and has spent years researching the most sustainable and drought-tolerant plants. He wanted an organic, edible garden using sustainable materials and very little water. But design and ...

GARDENS can be both productive and pretty, and Hendrik Van Leeuwen's backyard is proof of this. He is passionate about growing his own food, but he wasn't going to sacrifice a good-looking garden for the sake of his vegetables.

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2009/8/23/suits-and-salary-not-a-patch-on-shoots-and-celery/ Sun, 23 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST news Amid a call for backyard gardening, the Kitchen Farmer's leading the way, writes Carmel Egan. SIMON Gilfillan's great adventures in agriculture had taken him from managing farms in outback NSW and Queensland to grain-handling, international currency and futures exchanges.But when he was offered redundancy from the Australian Wheat Board last year he decided it was time to mothball the suit and get back to basics."I wanted to do things that were transparent, I really wanted to build things," he s ...

Amid a call for backyard gardening, the Kitchen Farmer's leading the way, writes Carmel Egan.

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2009/1/18/water-rebates-flow-to-the-wealthy/ Sun, 18 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST news The big money is going to the well-off to keep their gardens green, not to cut water use in the home as the rebates were intended, writes Michael Bachelard. STATE Government water savings rebates are being claimed by well-off middle-class people living in leafy eastern and north-eastern suburbs. Overwhelmingly, they are used to keep gardens green.Official figures obtained by The Sunday Age show a tiny number of people claim the Government's preferred $1000 rebate for using tank wate ...

The big money is going to the well-off to keep their gardens green, not to cut water use in the home as the rebates were intended, writes Michael Bachelard.

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2009/1/15/pioneers-family-tree-branches-out-in-potted-history/ Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST news LIKE a pioneer of Nelson Bay, Jenny Megson hopes that from small things, big things will grow.Ms Megson is cultivating new plants from cuttings from the Port Jackson fig tree that had to be removed from Apex Park at Nelson Bay last year.The 110-year-old tree, which is believed to have been planted by one of the pioneers of Nelson Bay, Alfred Laman, became diseased and had to be cut down in June.But it will live on thanks to Ms Megson, who has nurtured the cuttings to small plan ...

LIKE a pioneer of Nelson Bay, Jenny Megson hopes that from small things, big things will grow.

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2009/1/9/gardens-plan-for-family-fun/ Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST news THE Hunter Valley has a reputation as the perfect destination for couples, but so much of what the area has to offer is also perfect for families. Hunter Valley Gardens is offering over two weeks of Australiana school holiday fun with a Kids Stay, Play and Eat for Free offer aimed at making it even more affordable for a family getaway. Packages at the Grand Mercure Hunter Valley Gardens include accommodation for two adults and two children under the age of 12; free breakfast for two chil ...

THE Hunter Valley has a reputation as the perfect destination for couples, but so much of what the area has to offer is also perfect for families.

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2008/12/10/dirty-hands-at-darlo-to-see-garden-grow/ Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST news The first bell may not yet have rung for the start of school but the playground is alive. Children are watering, scooping, digging and examining their new vegie patch in this inner-city garden. The area is a happy mess and the landscape designer, Richard Unsworth, is at the centre of it all in more ways than one.Unsworth has donated a large number of trees, vegetables and seedlings to Darlinghurst Primary School, helping a project which is largely driven by him, parents and the principal ...

The first bell may not yet have rung for the start of school but the playground is alive. Children are watering, scooping, digging and examining their new vegie patch in this inner-city garden. The area is a happy mess and the landscape designer, Richard Unsworth, is at the centre of it all in more ways than one.

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2008/9/28/garden-style/ Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST news Jim Fogarty rounds up 10 of the best new finds in al fresco living.The gardening industry is always busy; every year new plants are bred and new products launched. Here's a snapshot of some of the latest products to look out for this spring for your garden.1 Leucadendron modestum 'Strawberry Fair' The prowess of leucadendron is under-appreciated in Melbourne gardens. This variety (bred by Proteaflora) remains compact, growing to 60cm x 60cm, and flowers from August to September ...

Jim Fogarty rounds up 10 of the best new finds in al fresco living.

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2008/9/22/blooming-for-research/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST news ONE of the Hunter's most stunning gardens, Hartley Hill Homestead, will be open to the public on Sunday. The private gardens of the homestead at Cardiff South will be open for a fund-raiser for the Hunter Medical Research Institute.The 1.2 hectares of gardens will be open from 10am to 4pm this Sunday and also next Sunday, October 5, and money raised from the $5 entry fee, $15 for families, will go to support various research programs run by the HMRI.Hartley Hill Homestead is at ...

ONE of the Hunter's most stunning gardens, Hartley Hill Homestead, will be open to the public on Sunday.

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2008/4/30/mums-shed-care-at-the-gardens/ Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST news SPEND a day enjoying the great outdoors on Mother's Day.Hunter Valley Gardens at Pokolbin is rolling out the red carpet to treat mums to a special day of pampering and fun with the family on May 11."Hunter Valley Gardens will be spoiling mums on their special day with pamper zones where they can relax and enjoy themselves while the kids participate in their own fun-filled activities," Hunter Valley Gardens horticulturist Sean O'Brien said."All mothers who visit Hunter Valley Ga ...

SPEND a day enjoying the great outdoors on Mother's Day.

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2008/4/13/brendan-moar/ Sun, 13 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST news Big, brave thinking is needed for gardens, KRISTIE LAU finds.Brendan Moar doesn't believe in low-maintenance gardens. And don't get him started on limiting the outdoors to just plants and flowers.To this innovative landscape architect, the backyard is worthy of so much more than that. "It's almost like having kids or even a dog - if you don't have the time or energy to give them love, you're not going to get anything back," he says."People are often making very small strokes in ...

Big, brave thinking is needed for gardens, KRISTIE LAU finds.

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2008/2/20/time-to-dig-in/ Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST news With winter on its way, now is the time to prepare your garden so it will bloom come spring time, writes KILMENY ADIE.The change of summer to autumn is a hectic time for gardeners, according to nursery operator Gwen Reid.When the trees begin their colourful transformation into autumn shades gardens need a little TLC and careful planning.Reid runs the Drive Thru or Park nursery in Unanderra and says with the cooler months around the corner, now is when people should start making ...

With winter on its way, now is the time to prepare your garden so it will bloom come spring time, writes KILMENY ADIE. The change of summer to autumn is a hectic time for gardeners, according to nursery operator Gwen Reid.

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2008/2/10/earthly-delights/ Sun, 10 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST news Dig around for some practical and stylish garden solutions to ensure everything comes up roses.Recent ABS figures show that 83 per cent of Australian households have a garden of some sort. That's a fairly healthy representation but it's also a 4 per cent drop on the previous decade, a result of the trend for high-density living, reducing gardens to a window box or potted balcony, and the spread of the McMansion, which sacrifices exterior living space to make room for even more rooms insi ...

Dig around for some practical and stylish garden solutions to ensure everything comes up roses.

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2008/1/24/soul-gardens/ Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST news Writers' gardens reveal inspiration drawn from a connection to the land.IF SHE WERE planning a garden today, Trisha Dixon would have landscaping and grow nothing but herbs, vegetables and fruit. "Mother Nature does it better than any of us," she says. Dixon visits gardens all over Australia and in many countries for her work as a photographer and writer. Her latest book, Under The Spell Of The Ages: Australian Country Gardens (National Library of Australia, $49.95), records som ...

Writers' gardens reveal inspiration drawn from a connection to the land.

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2008/1/19/gardening-brigade/ Sat, 19 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST news Volunteers are needed to tend sick people's gardens, writes Barry Revill.ACOUPLE OF MONTHS ago a friend called by for a cup of tea. He explained he had not been able to visit due to a knee reconstruction, and worse, would not be able to play golf for some time. He then went on to explain the importance of golf to him - that when he played, he felt as if he was in the country - the smell of freshly mown grass, the laughter and conversation drifting through the trees. I have found myself r ...

Volunteers are needed to tend sick people's gardens, writes Barry Revill.

http://www.gardens.com.au/news/2007/9/23/budget-beauty/ Sun, 23 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST news A landscaped garden can add to the value of your home, and it doesn't have to break the bank..Landscaping a garden used to be a relaxed affair. Well, no longer. A lovely garden can dramatically improve your property's look and value and a few pavers and a smattering of mondo grass won't cut it. However, the extra effort is worth it, and the good news is that it need not cost the earth. Although landscaping your garden can be as technically challenging as the renovation of your house ...

A landscaped garden can add to the value of your home, ? and it doesn't have to break the bank..