Succulents: Chlorophyll With Character
My first flower memory is of a cactus. I was about three years old and peering up into a huge, red Epiphyllum flower. It sprouted from an old, much-loved plant belonging to my… Continue reading
Category Archive: Ornamental
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Pride of Bolivia/ Shame of Queensland (Or How Civic Weed Trees Cost Ratepayers Twice)
Question: “Dear Jerry, This seed blew into my garden on this week’s westerlies. Any clues would be gratefully received. I have no intention of eating or planting it till I know more about… Continue reading
In Flower This Mid-winter’s Day At Bellis, Brisbane
For Brisbane to skip one winter is forgivable, but to skip two winters in a row seems somewhat careless. May was the hottest month on Earth since records began. June 2014 is the… Continue reading
Cathedral Fig Walk with Redcliffe Tree Society
Today I joined the recently formed Redcliffe Tree Society beside Moreton Bay. We met at Prince Edward Parade to admire the ‘Cathedral Fig Walk’ of native fig trees (Ficus benjamina) planted over half… Continue reading
Right Plant, Right Place: Wynnum Branch of Queensland Transport
I love seeing well grown plants used to maximum effect. Outside the Wynnum office of the Queensland Transport grows Callistemon ‘Little John’, a native bottlebrush. It’s growing as a boundary hedge, and it’s… Continue reading
Plant Heartsease For World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
If subtropical gardeners sow seed of ‘Johnny Jump Up’ this week, they will be flowering just in time for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on 15th June 2014.
In Production Today: April 2014
A couple of brief April showers kept the grass green, but below the surface the soil remains dry. It’s ideal weather for propagating Cranberry Hibiscus and Four Seasons Herb, cuttings are rooting within… Continue reading
Pretty And Productive Plants For Brisbane
At a recent consultation I was asked to prepare a list of ornamental productive plants that can be grown outdoors in Brisbane.
Do Sydney’s Botanic Gardens Need Redeveloping?
Instead of asking the staff at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, The Guardian asks assorted architects for their take on the controversial plan to redesign one of Sydney’s most cherished and tranquil landmarks…
Thrifty, Fertile and Illicit: 4BC Horticultural Intervention
So there I was with Noel Burdette, in the pre-dawn darkness of Brisbane’s Cannon Hill. Groggy but organised, and with only a smartly dressed security guard as a witness, we got stuck in. Long… Continue reading
Favourite Flying Fox Food Trees: What To Plant
Flying-foxes are flying gardeners, they sustain forests along eastern and northern Australia, pollinating native trees in national parks and reserves that have become separated or isolated by settlement. Flying foxes also spread tree… Continue reading
Love Cycads
Q: “What’s a cycad?” A: “Just over 300 species of cycad survive, many are only known as fossils. Think Tolkein, think Middle Earth, think dinosaur food. Wonderful plants, the kind you want to… Continue reading