Our Blog

Meet Justine Smith, Rhipsalis grower

03 December 2019 | Robin Powell

Justine Smith’s beautifully grown rhipsalis flew off the tables at Collectors’ Plant Fair this year. Don’t worry if you missed out - she’s now supplying Flower Power with these hairy hanging delights under the Jungle Cactus label.

The New Upside of Gardening

03 December 2019 | Kate Neale and Michael Casey

The show gardens at Singapore's first-ever Horticulture Show earlier this year blurred the boundary between the natural and built environment and introduced us to a whole new place to garden - the ceiling!

Garden Trip: Singapore

03 December 2019 | Robin Powell

The Singapore stopover might once have been about shopping, but now it’s about gardens. Add these destinations to your itinerary.

Hanging Around

03 December 2019 | Linda Ross

Cool green curtains dripping delicate leaves from fine stems are mesmerising. Reversing the trend of growing upward to the light, plants that grow down, and hang around are jewels for gardeners.

How to: create a dazzling basket

28 November 2019 | Linda Ross

No one does a hanging basket of summer flowers quite like the English, and, inspired by a recent trip, we’re determined to give it a good shake this summer. We’ve included here some favourite basket-happy plants with the right cascading habit - and some options for really hot spots. The thing is to design an arrangement like a posy, with a mix of textures and colours. Have fun, be bold, try something new, and toss it all at the end of the season.

Know your: balcony flowers

28 November 2019 | Linda Ross

Add some summer dazzle to a sunny balcony with these pot-loving beauties.

In my Kitchen Garden: Bangalow NSW

28 November 2019 | Kate Neale

In the Kitchen Garden series that shares the knowledge and experience of food growers around the country, Kate Neale dishes the dirt on her top summer growing tips and her favourite new harvest.

Agapanthus

27 November 2019 | Linda Ross

The sparkling blue and white flowers of agapanthus cool the summer garden, and new colours are a real thrill.

Robin's Garden

26 November 2019 | Robin Powell

My garden is largely a tropical holiday filled with luxurious foliages and a fruit salad of orange, hot pink, red and gold flowers. A sprinkling of blue grounds that hot colour in a garden bed that sweeps around an oval lake of lawn. In summer the best thing to do is find a seat in the shade and soak it up.

Hydrangea

26 November 2019 | Linda Ross

The soft clouds of hydrangea flowers are a promise of summer. Let’s take a closer look at growing these plants year-round.

How to: cook spinach pie

19 November 2019 | Robin Powell

In Greece local cooks prefer to make their spanokopita (spinach pie) with the mix of wild greens known as horta.

Chelsea: Graham Ross' Survival Tips

19 November 2019 | Graham Ross

Graham Ross shares his best tips to make the most out of the Chelsea flower show in this survival guide.

Star of the season: Agastache

19 November 2019 | Linda Ross

These easy-care, minty-fresh flowery fillers offer reliable and long-lasting summer colour.

Chelsea magic

19 November 2019 | Robin Powell

Chelsea is a magical garden world as full of dreams and emotion as it of of sheer hard work and skill.

Garden festival planner: Chelsea Flower show

19 November 2019 | Robin Powell

Chelsea is the prize bloom of the world's garden shows, and the reputation is well-deserved. Here Robin Powell shares her observations on what has been another breath-taking Chelsea Flower Show.

Great Aussie ideas

14 November 2019 | Robin Powell

One of the great delights of leading tours for Ross Garden Tours around Australia and the world is picking up great ideas. Here are a few from this year's travels.

Potted: Kangaroo Paw

14 November 2019 | LInda Ross

These furry, iconic Australian flowers are a great addition to a potted garden, especially the smaller varieties.

Star of the season: Dwarf Banksia

14 November 2019 | Linda Ross and Mez Woodward

Dwarf Banksias prove that no space doesn’t mean no impact.

Meet Kath Gadd

14 November 2019 | Robin Powell

Kath Gadd’s company is Mallee Design, a garden design business that uses only Australian plants, and does a neat sideline in beautiful, spun copper birdbaths.

A love of colour

07 November 2019 | Jaqui Cameron

Heather Cant is known locally as the Rose Lady. Find out why in this extract from ‘Beyond the Garden Gate: private gardens of the Southern Highlands’.

The new rose garden

07 November 2019 | Robin Powell

Roses mix it up at Wisley, blooming brilliantly with a range of other flowering plants.

Libby’s Armenian Nutmeg Cake

07 November 2019 | Libby Cameron

Simple and delicious, Libby's Armenian Nutmeg cake, with a nice cup of tea, is the perfect treat after a hard spring morning's garden.

We love: A Dollop of Clotted Cream

07 November 2019 | Linda Ross

Opening pale pink then fading to soft coffee cream ‘Cafe au Lait’ is a celebrity-status dahlia. The multi-petalled blooms are up to 25 cm across and there may be 40 on a plant at once, so strong support is essential.

Meet: Anne Ruston, rose garden owner

07 November 2019 | Robin Powell

Anne Ruston is a South Australian senator, but for rose lovers the really important job she holds is as owner of Ruston Roses, a horticultural icon in South Australia, established by her uncle David. Robin Powell walked though the garden with her.

La Vie En Rose

07 November 2019 | Marian Soames

The charms of French country living inspired Marian Somes to create her own version at her beautiful garden Picardy in the Gippsland hills. How did she do it? Here she shares four underlying elements of the French country garden.

Know your: Hedging plants

29 October 2019 | Linda Ross

Inspired to get hedging? Choosing the right plant for your hedging plan is critical. Look for a height range and maintenance regime that suits your needs, as well as plants that will do well given the soil and position you can offer. Here are a handful of the hedging plants we think should be on your shortlist.

A lesson in clipped hedges

29 October 2019 | Graham Ross

A hedge is many things. It can define areas of the garden; shield you from the curiosity of passersby; block ugly intrusions into your view; protect your privacy; offer favourite plants a green backdrop against which to dazzle; or simply give your garden a nestling sense of enclosure and cosy comfort. Here Graham Ross answers the most-asked questions on hedge cultivation and care.

Star of the season: Jacaranda

29 October 2019 | Linda Ross

The purple veil that floats over Sydney in November is an international star – but not one most of us can bring home.

Kitchen Garden: Spring Planting

29 October 2019 | Linda Ross

It’s time to pull out winter crops to make room for summer’s great produce. Here Linda Ross shares her know-how and experience about what to plant now to keep a family of four enjoying delicious home-grown food all through summer.

How to: use your pea harvest

29 October 2019 | Robin Powell

Peas are one of those crops that can make the home gardener feel smugly self-satisfied because they taste so good fresh from the garden.

How to: use edible flowers

29 October 2019 | Linda Ross

Eating flowers sounds exotic but in fact we do it all the time. Some are disguised, like saffron, which is the dried stigma of the crocus flower; others are obvious, like the gold flowers of zucchini.

Thinking Gardens

25 October 2019 | Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, (c) Sydney Living Museums

Betty Maloney was a pioneer of bush gardening whose advice on finding serenity in the garden is as relevant now as it was half a century ago.

Blooms and Brushstrokes

25 October 2019 | Penelope Curtin

In their floral history of Australian art, mother and daughter team Peneloep and Tansy Curtin uncover the stories behind some of our favourite floral artworks.

Zinnia (Sow now)

24 October 2019 | Linda Ross

Zinnias are the happiest of summer’s flowering annuals and come in vibrant colours of cerise, terracotta, gold, and lipstick-pink.

Spring Jobs: October

24 October 2019 | Linda Ross

Prune rhododendrons when they finish flowering to maintain shape. Plants grown too tall will respond well to a hard prune. Follow with a feed formulated for acid-loving rhodos, and mulch with cow manure.

Delicious asparagus 3 ways

24 October 2019 | Robin Powell

Asparagus is so fresh right now and Robin Powell has 3 ways to make the most of a fresh harvest.

How to: fix your tomatoes

24 October 2019 | Linda Ross

Fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes are one of the great joys of summer. The best way to ensure that your tomato-growing experience delivers baskets of delicious fruit is to keep plants healthy.

The List: Our top 6 bush pinks

16 October 2019 | Nola Parry

Pretty pinks are a huge feature in the spring time native garden. Here are Nola Parry's best pinks for the season.

Mulberry pudding

16 October 2019 | Robin Powell

This classic pudding is a simply delicious taste of summer. This is the kind of recipe that reminds us how inventive the cooks of previous generations were in turning leftovers into dinner or dessert, especially bread.

Mulberries: 3 ways

16 October 2019 | Robin Powell

Mulberries flooding in to the kitchen? Here are some quick and tasty ways to use them.

Mulberry growing

16 October 2019 | Linda Ross

No summer goes by in the Ross family household without mulberry jam, mulberry pie, and swirled mulberry icecream. Fancy the menu? Take Linda’s tips on growing the hero ingredient.

Roses

16 October 2019 | Sandra Ross

Winter is rose-planting time, and to help you make the most of these much-loved flowers, we’ve put together all the information you need. Armed with some growing advice you'll be picking armfuls in no time at all.

Meet Ros Loftus

16 October 2019 | Robin Powell

Riversdale is a National Trust property in Goulburn where volunteers have battled drought, rabbits and running bamboo to recreate a beautiful, much-loved garden.

What is Cake and Cuttings Day?

15 October 2019 | Linda Ross

A few years ago we wanted to get our gardening family together to talk about what we're growing, share secrets and exchange some of our favourite treasures from the garden. It's turned into one of our most popular events, and it's free!

Fish baked in paper with olives and tomatoes

10 October 2019 | Robin Powell

These fragrant fish parcels are tasty, healthy and quick. And as a bonus, there’s no washing up!

Set up your own worm farm

10 October 2019 | Linda Ross

Linda caught up with some school students using the power of the worm to decrease their waste, increase their vegetable harvest and raise money for their school. Here she shares some tips on worm farming.

Comfrey tea can save you money

10 October 2019 | Linda Ross

This home-grown fertiliser contains more potash, and more nitrogen, than commercial feeds, and costs only the price of a bucket and its water. Your vegetables will love it, especially your tomatoes.

Know Your Flowering Shrubs

09 October 2019 | Linda Ross

Flowering shrubs are the backbone of the garden. Get familiar with these beauties to add some spring bling to your garden.

Roses for Sydney

03 October 2019 | Robin Powell

Some of the best performing roses for warm climates are old favourites -and we mean old. Search out these hardy centurions for fragrance, generosity and trouble-free beauty

How to manage Black Spot on Roses

03 October 2019 | Linda Ross

Out, damn’d spot! The dark side to growing roses is fungal disease. Knowing your enemy is the first step in ridding yourself of this problem for good.

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