How to design with and grow Camellias

Designing with Camellias Whether it is a swirling curved low hedge to be contrasted with mass planted blocks of low foliage, an evergreen glossy green screen to hide a shaded fence line or neighbour’s house, a low maintenance low allergy shrub with beautiful flowers or a ‘petal confetti’ winter wedding scene Camellias are often on […]

Low Allergy Gardens

If you want to enjoy the outdoors in the beautiful spring weather then simply getting outside and into the garden or relaxing on the veranda sounds like a terrific idea. For those with Hay fever or Asthma this beautiful time of year is less appealing. Working for clients has led me to read books covering […]

Country Australian Gardening

The way we live may have changed but the world we live in is still there. It is a challenge sometimes to understand why Australia is one of the most urbanised countries in the world. With 89% of our population living in cities most are missing out on being part of the real Australia; real […]

Living shade- time to prune the ornamental grapes

There is something about living shade, it is cool, relaxing, and elegant and every year it is fresh and new. There are not many products in this world that come with a guaranteed replacement old for new, every year, for free, but that is what you can expect with deciduous climbers. Here in south east […]

How to water plants in the landscape

The important thing is not so much the way you water but why you water. If you are growing plants in the ground then the roots need water and a little bit of air. Whether you rely on rainfall or add water depends on your plant selection, soil type and good maintenance. Whichever way you […]

Spice it up with succulents

Succulents are finding a place with other contemporary architectural plants but better than this is the fact that they can work well in a variety of garden styles from the very grand and historic, right up to the ultra-modern and just about everything in between. After years of hovering in the background it is […]

Edible Gardens- time for a revolution!

Food gardens can be both beautiful and useful and are returning as fashionable statements in current landscapes. There is a certain connection with the world through growing edible plants which makes a productive garden quite different from gardens that are only looked at through the windows of a house or windscreen of a car. A […]

Green Walls and Hedges

Making hedges work starts with well thought out design. I love hedges; they are the bones and the backdrop of many classic garden styles and I’m prepared to go out on a limb and say that hedges will never go out of fashion. What is a bit old fashioned is the word hedge. I think […]

Congratulations to Warners Nurseries

I attended an industry meeting last week at one of Melbourne’s best wholesale production nurseries who were celebrating 100 years of growing quality plants. It is obvious that Warner’s Nurseries takes pride in what they do. Quality takes effort, energy and enthusiasm but it is also an ideology. I feel like I should say thank […]

Do garden spaces make us feel better?

After spending the last three hours researching the topic with an open mind I have found lots of articles, studies and reports that point to the fact that this is true. There is a fundamental reassuring feeling about being connected to the real world that any amount of concrete, swimming pools and shining man-made things […]