Bellis Open Day 2024

The annual Open Day at Bellis in subtropical Brisbane will be held this Mother’s Day Weekend, 11-12th May 2024. Bellis is now twenty years old! Over 500 different climate-appropriate plants grow at Bellis for food, medicine, pesticides, to support biodiversity, including climate change-ready ornamentals.

Tour Peru: Gardens Of The Inca with Jerry Coleby-Williams

INTRODUCTION If you make Peru your destination in 2024, you can expect many things, starting with distinctly different landscapes, plants, foods and cultures. And possibly a caiman, or two, floating gently by.  This will be my eleventh escorted holiday with The Adventure Traveller. You can expect many first-time experiences. Like Amazonian microbats dozing on trees,…

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Brush-Turkey Trouble

These ecosystem engineers are thriving along the east coast of Australia. That’s just one message from Ann Goth’s new book ‘Amazing, Annoying Birds’, which explores these fascinating mound-building megapodes, expanding our knowledge about these much talked about colonisers of suburbia.

Jerry’s Jaboticaba Jam Recipe

When jaboticaba (Plinia cauliflora) fruit, they do it abundantly. I enjoy eating fresh fruit whole, which takes a little practise. Jam is a great way to preserve your bounty.

Growing Naranjilla Sustainably 

How A Distinctive Taste of South America Can Be Grown Sustainably, Keeping its Growers Healthier and Better Off… On our tour of Ecuador, courtesy of The Adventure Traveller, we visited Carlos, a naranjilla farmer at Archidona in the foothills of the Andes. Naranjilla, Solanum quitoense, is a short-lived tropical perennial related to tomato. It is…

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Norfolk Island Plant Communities

This spring, I toured Norfolk Island, courtesy of The Adventure Traveller. This biodiverse island occupies 35 square kilometres and is situated 1,412 km due east of Evans Head (NSW, Australia). It is a heavily eroded former volcano, 2.3 to 3 million years old, surrounded by reefs, sitting atop the Norfolk Ridge which links New Caledonia…

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What is an Ecotype?

Gardeners are familiar with different plant phenotypes. For example, I grow White Icicle carrot which has a white root. It is a distinct and different cultivar of carrot. It was selected in a garden for horticulture because of its distinctive phenotype. Gardeners know tomatoes come in many sizes, forms and colours. Each is a distinctive…

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A Garden Rescue

When asked to rescue a neglected garden, the weeds were up, over and under the fence invading neighbouring gardens. Thick undergrowth made it hard for its elderly owner to safely reach the letterbox, let alone stroll around the garden. Where to start?

Book review: Starting With Bromeliads by the Bromeliad Society of Queensland Inc.

Book review: Starting With Bromeliads by the Bromeliad Society of Queensland Inc.

“The most important reason why a home gardener should own a copy of ‘Starting with Bromeliads’ is because within its pages is the wisdom of lived experience of dedicated enthusiasts and collectors.

This second, revised edition updates essential information for bromeliad culture in the climatically varied Australian state of Queensland, where no season exactly repeats.

This easy to read guide is aimed at novice bromeliad growers, and it is a great investment in their successful cultivation and display. Including both general advice for whole collections and specific advice for some of the most popular varieties, this is a handy, practical and affordable guide”.

Jerry Coleby-Williams, 26th September 2021