Clare, a budding young gardener, turned up at the Gardening Australia expo early this morning for the live talkback broadcast. I hope my suggestions help her bean seedling thrive. So Clare, if you read this, thanks for the picture and poem – they made my day š Happy gardening! Jerry Coleby-Williams 19th April 2008
Author: Jerry Coleby-Williams
Freelance curator, sustainable horticulturist, conservationist, writer.
"Sometimes, the only thing more dangerous than a question is an answer."
208th Ferengi Law of Acquisition
Bellis On The BBC’s Radio 4
An interview will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 next week discussing the water saving aspects of āBellisā. Jeff is particularly pleased as Radio 4 is the home of such favourite cultural icons as the Shipping Forecast and the Hitchhikerās Guide to the Galaxy…Yes, he can be quite strange at times. The Sunparched Country website…
Wynnum Honey Flora
Honeybee health A honeybee colony housed in an organic garden should radically improve pollination (and fruit set), but flowers in one backyard are insufficient to feed a strong colony of 30 – 80,000 honeybees. Thereās no commercial horticulture or agriculture in or near the suburb, so the associated risk of pesticide poisoning is low. The…
Bee Day
Itās bee day. Two colonies have been delivered. Theyāre just settling into their new home on the rainwater tank.
Botanical Stamps
A selection collected by my parents, grandfather and me. One way for a child to learn about plants and places…and a bit of botanical latin too. Thereās just one from my grandfatherās collection: Cattleya skinneri, an orchid. Stamps of his era hadnāt tapped into the profitable collectorsā market. There are more from my fatherās collection…
Water – Decisions And Dilemmas
Jerry talks about the hard decisions heāll have to make in the productive garden if the summer rains fail again…
Seasonal Sizzling
Itās sizzling outside. Just enough cloud cover to bathe everything in a white UV glow. Itās certainly humid. Hereās some local gossip: a gardening friend says a local water diviner told her that in February Brisbane will see rain like it’s never seen rain before. Iām sure thatās reliable testimony. Iāve chocked everything up under…
A Beneficial Orgy
Sustainable gardens are safe havens for all sorts of activities, but Iāve never witnessed a scene like this. Last summer they did it amongst my pineapples. Last autumn they were hard at it in my sweet potatoes. This week itās the cardamom that are the silent, involuntary witnesses. I canāt water these plants without wetting…
Chiquita Bananas Sued
Garden sustainably. Grow your own organic bananas – it reduces your ecological footprint. The Great Barrier Reef is choking on agricultural sediment, fertilisers and pesticides; Invest sustainably. Never do business with Chiquita – to keep their boots off the faces of others; Never do business with Chiquita. How sure are you that your superannuation isnāt…
Guerilla Gardening: Poppies For Remembrance
āIn Britain people wear paper red poppies to remember soldiers killed in war. In London four guerrillas gardeners decided to plant some instead – around the lawns of the Ministry of Defence without permissionā. Richard Reynolds http://www.guerrillagardening.org Their inspiring short film can be viewed here: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/media/2007/10//383053.mp4 Jerry Coleby-Williams 15th November
Luffas – Grow Your Own Bath Sponge
Itās time to sow heat-loving summer crops and this year Iāve sown some angled luffa. Luffas are mostly grown for their fibrous fruit used to make bath sponges. They may resemble sea sponges but this is a vegetable, a curious member of the Cucurbitaceae or cucumber family. Two species are grown: the smooth luffa, Luffa…
Level 6 Watering Restrictions
The Queensland government, and the Water Commission in particular, continue as the stateās arch water wasters… People who grow food at home are not exempt from watering restrictions. Some of us do this to save money so we can repay our mortgages.
Jerry Coleby-Williams 