I’ve just found a letter written years ago in response to an article I wrote about edible members of the Hibiscus family (the Malvaceae). This refers to rosella leaves (Hibiscus sabdariffa), an icon of Australian backyards, and also peasant food or famine food in Bangladesh, Thailand and Burma. Rosella leaves helped Australian prisoners survive the…
Tag: Sustainabiity
Pretty And Productive Plants For Brisbane
I was asked by a client to prepare a list of ornamental productive plants that can be grown outdoors in subtropical Brisbane.
Freedom 2014
To me, freedom is access to water – clean rainwater, harvested from my roof, and recycled water generated by my sewage system which I use to grow organic food.
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 ago we’d decided that the front garden at 4BC Radio, home to the voice of Brisbane’s gardeners, needed a little buffing up….
In Production Today, March 2014
The most widespread recorded drought in Queensland’s history has meant most of my gardening effort continues to be spent on watering and soil improvement. At least I’m able to keep fruit trees productive and perennials alive. Beds which would normally be filled with seasonal annuals can remain dug, mulched and bare until useful rain arrives. But…
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 seed, helping to landscape vast areas of Australia. Many forest-dwelling threatened species depend on these ‘batty’ forests to provide them with food…
Gardener’s Escape: Tour Thailand And Singapore With Jerry Coleby-Williams
From paddy to plate, a special escape for gardeners: Tour Thailand and Singapore, from 23rd September to 3rd October 2014. Join sustainable gardener Jerry Coleby-Williams and experience the best tropical gardens, plant collections, markets, botanical landscapes, temples, palaces and other cultural destinations in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and Singapore.
Marigold Magic
Question I love the smell of Stinking Roger, but my neighbour says it’s a weed to get rid of. Please do tell me what use I can make of it. Kelly, Facebook
In Production Today – June 2012
There’s just 112 different types of edible available right now, less than in late winter, since many crops sown are still juvenile. Winter in Brisbane is perfect for mushroom growing on the cheap. In cool conditions, mushroom fly (Lycoriella sp.) ceases egg laying, so its maggots don’t riddle mushrooms with holes.
Towards A National Food Plan
Draft notes for Queensland Conservation’s submission to aid in the development of a National Food Plan. The final draft was submitted by QC on 2.9.11… Introduction A National Food Plan is vital for Australia’s ongoing food sovereignty. Food Sovereignty may be defined as a nation’s self-sufficiency in food, where affordable staples are made available to…
‘Bellis’ – A Model 21st Century Garden
‘Bellis’, Brisbane’s award winning sustainable house and garden, is now seven years old. Last October this place won a national Save Water! Award in the Built Environment category. Since its inception, this 810 square metre property has collected over 7 megalitres of rainwater and recycled over 3 megalitres of sewage water. In the ornamental subtropical…
Review ‘Eat Your Garden’, By Leonie Shanahan
Review: ‘Eat your garden’, by Leonie Shanahan; Publisher: PI Productions Photography; ISBN 9780975217764; 2010. “If they (children) grow it, they will eat it”. Schools are where Australia’s gardening culture is most rapidly developing, and this is thanks to children. Why? They are generally more keenly aware of 21st century global environmental issues than many adults…
Jerry Coleby-Williams 