Garden Clinic Blog

How to: create an orchid tree

Inspired by a trip to Singapore and the gorgeous Gardens of the Bay, Graham decided to create an orchid tree.

Know Your Orchids

The orchid family is so extensive, and so wonderful in the garden. Here we introduce just the essential exotics for your garden. The exciting native orchids we’ll save for another day.

How to: reflower a moth orchid

One of our most-asked questions to the Garden Clinic helpline and to radio is about caring for moth orchids so they flower again. Here are our top tips.

Handy Guide: Orchids

Orchids are found in every corner of the planet and come from the biggest family of cultivated plants on earth: 30,000 wild species. There are twice as many orchid species as there are species of birds! Orchids have had a 200-year journey from the tropical jungles to become the nation's most popular houseplant.

Federal Gov authority to de-register common home-garden insecticides containing Chlorpyrifos

A special gazette published by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) last month detailed the proposal to cancel the registrations of the 27 chemical products containing the active ingredient chlorpyrifos

How to: Grow tomatoes

For home-grown tomato tragics like Linda late winter doesn’t signal a time to ramp up the gym membership and line up a fake tan. Rather she is busy germinating heirloom tomatoes seeds. Whether you are joining her in growing from seed, or skipping that step with seedlings from the nursery, here are her top tips for growing a great feed of tomatoes this summer.

5 steps to starting a veggie patch from scratch

Ever wanted to grow your own veggies but never knew where to start? Here are five steps to consider when starting a patch from scratch.

How to make Power Soil

Give the warm season vegetable patch a big boost before seedlings go in. Use our Power Soil recipe and get ready for take-off!

How to make a veggie stock

If you planted out root vegetables in early autumn you’ll be harvesting them now. While roots make great side dishes for whatever you’re cooking for dinner, your home-grown produce also makes the best stock.

Mickey's Kitchen Garden

Mickey Robertson gardens at Glenmore House near Camden. Sounds like a scene out of Pride and Prejudice? Well yes, you do feel as though you've traveled back in time where women wear linen and the air smells clean. Winter, she says, is crisp mornings thawing to glorious blue-sky days. Early morning reveal traces of frost on cabbage and kale leaves; and sometimes, just sometimes, the paddocks blanketed in white. Evenings also have a rhythm all their own as woodsmoke trails through the valley. Here she shares glimpses of days in her winter garden.

How to grow veggies from seed

Planting punnets of vegetable seedlings is easy, but it is much more cost-effective and more fulfilling - not to mention offering wider choice and better results - to sow seed directly into the garden. The key is to sow plants suited to your climate, at the appropriate time of year.

In the garden: July

The winter chill is settling on the garden. It's time to enjoy winter flowers, sharpen up the pruning tools and get those spring bulbs in

Orange and whisky self-saucing pudding

What’s not to love about a self-saucing pudding? There’s the magic trick of pouring liquid over batter and having it transform, a short time later, to become a thick, luscious sauce under a fluffy, crisp-topped cake.

How to use seaweed in the garden

In their new book ‘Milkwood’, permaculture gardeners Kirsten Bradley and Nick Ritar devote a whole chapter to the glories of seaweed. Beyond its uses in the kitchen, seaweed is great in the garden.

The rebirth of New York's High Line

Back in 2013 workers removed the last remaining bits of Sydney’s monorail. After 25 years the unpopular transport project has been relegated to memory. How different the decommissioning of New York’s old freight rail, the High Line, and the transformation into a most exciting horticultural tourist attraction, revitalising a city and utilising the worlds premiere perennial plantsman.

Bake a whole Orange Cake

From Linda’s go-to collection, a dead-easy cake that she makes in triple quantities. One cake is eaten fresh and the other two go into the freezer for entertaining emergencies.

Grow better Oranges with our handy guide

Orange trees are jewels for the home garden with shiny green foliage, sweet-smelling blossom and glowing winter fruit.

Coping with a deluge

While subsoil drainage, such as drainage grates, gravel pits and sumps, are effective in light rain, heavy downpours overwhelm pipes and the water sheets across the landscape. Arno King has some tips top help cope when the heavens open up.

How to Make Magic Mix

At a Garden Clinic class held at Honeysuckle Nursery in Mosman we wondered aloud at all the plants bursting with health and vitality, with shiny, glossy leaves and so much energy they seemed about to leap off the shelves. The answer? This Magic Mix!

Know your flowering trees

Love tropical flowering trees? Paul Urquart knows all the tropical trees that will thrive in Sydney

Six great plants for summer

Peter Nixon traded in his inner-city Sydney courtyard for a Sea-change paradise. Here he givces us six plants that make this central coast garden sing

Sea-changer

Four years ago garden designer Peter Nixon traded in his inner-city Sydney courtyard for a big blank corner block on the Central Coast and turned it into this!

Broughton Hall: Six plants I love

David Husker is busy this winter maintaining his stunning garden, Broughton Hall Here David gives us 6 plants he loves that look their best in winter

Winter in Broughton Hall, Victoria

Winter is a busy time in the garden as we prepare for the big show that is spring. Find out what David Musker is up to at the stunning Garden at Broughton Hall in Victoria.

6 Plants for Autumn

Mature trees, sharp hedges and a passion for roses shape the unfolding beauty of Mittagong's Red Cow Farm. Here Ali Mentesh gives us 6 plants for autumn.

Picardy Garden Pea Risotto

One of my favourite gardens in Victoria is Picardy, a romantic French provincial style garden in the picturesque hills of Neerim. Marian and Bryce Somes had always been Francophiles - mad for French food, in love with the language - but it was a trip to France to celebrate a significant birthday year in 1986 that confirmed a passion for French style.

Know your indoor plants

Plants make indoor spaces beautiful and people happy. Here are a few easy-care options to start - or enlarge! - your indoor garden.

How to brew a Compost Tea

When I was a child all our neighbours and friends had a large tub - generally an old enamel washing machine tub - buried close to the vegetable garden. This was the ‘brew’ tub. Ingredients for the brew - compost, manures and seaweed - were widely discussed and benefits widely acclaimed. And it turns out these gardeners were onto something!

Meet Marianne Farrer, The Secret Garden and Nursery

The Secret Garden and Nursery is a not-for-profit community and therapy garden that allows variously abled people to work together in a beautiful space. It’s also a great local nursery, with plants at bargain prices.

Getting ready for Tomato Time

It's time to get ready for tomato planting. Autumn is the absolute best time of year to get prepared, feed the soil, prepare beds and growing structures and raise seeds to plant out as seedlings in spring

What's in the She'll be PINE-apples pack?

Renew or join the Garden Clinic at the Platinum level this weekend and you’ll receive two of Linda’s home-grown Pineapple tomato plants and a swag of products, like Neutrog’s Gyganic & Amgrow Seaweed concentrate.

Plus, everyone who joins or renews their membership this weekend goes into the draw to win a double pass to Wildwood Garden’s at Bilpin. We have 5 double passes to give away!

Meet the giant Camellia family

The camellia is the queen of winter, unrivalled for glamour, yet she is down to earth, easy to grow and long-lived especially when you treat her just right. With thousands of camellias to choose from there is one for every spot in your garden – including pots! Here we explain the different types and share some troubleshooting advice.

Roses at Red Cow Farm

Seduced by the colour, forms and perfumes of roses, Ali Mentesh has already collected some 200 to adorn the garden rooms at Red Cow Farm. Here Ali discusses the seven he chose to stand out.

Bugwatch: Aster Yellows

The Aster Yellows virus has recently been detected in NSW and Victorian gardens. Plants affected by this easily-transmitted virus should be disposed of, not composted. Here's how to recognise the symptoms.

BBM Youth Support Award for Horticulture

BBM Youth Support will this year offer two Youth Support Awards for Horticulture. It's time for the budding horticulturist in your life to get their application together and take advantage of this fantastic opportunity.

Garden News: Citrus Canker outbreak in WA

The National Nursery Industry Biosecurity Program Team have released a biosecurity advice update this month with regards to confirmed cases of Citrus Canker found on three properties in Western Australia

In The Garden This Week

What did we chat about on the radio this week? What pests & problems were solved? Here's the weekly radio round-up - the tips & topics of the week for total success in your garden with a healthy dose of flowers, vegies, new releases and inspiration. Tune in Monday to Friday on Talking Lifestyle from 12 noon to 1pm, and 2GB Saturday and Sunday mornings from 6 to 9am, an hour earlier in Queensland.

In the Garden This Week

What did we chat about on the radio this week? What pests & problems were solved? Here's the weekly radio round-up - the tips & topics of the week for total success in your garden with a healthy dose of flowers, vegies, new releases and inspiration. Tune in Monday to Friday on Talking Lifestyle from 12 noon to 1pm, and 2GB Saturday and Sunday mornings from 6 to 9am, an hour earlier in Queensland.

Be safe around lead

One heavy metal you don’t want in your life….LEAD. Watch Graham's lead safety video here, and keep your family safe from lead poisoning

In the Garden This Week

What did we chat about on the radio this week? What pests & problems were solved? Here's the weekly radio round-up - the tips & topics of the week for total success in your garden with a healthy dose of flowers, vegies, new releases and inspiration. Tune in Monday to Friday on Talking Lifestyle from 12 noon to 1pm, and 2GB Saturday and Sunday mornings from 6 to 9am, an hour earlier in Queensland.

In The Garden This Week

What did we chat about on the radio this week? What pests & problems were solved? Here's the weekly radio round-up - the tips & topics of the week for total success in your garden with a healthy dose of flowers, vegies, new releases and inspiration. Tune in Monday to Friday on Talking Lifestyle from 12 noon to 1pm, and 2GB Saturday and Sunday mornings from 6 to 9am, an hour earlier in Queensland.

In The Garden This Week

What did we chat about on the radio this week? What pests & problems were solved? Here's the weekly radio round-up - the tips & topics of the week for total success in your garden with a healthy dose of flowers, vegies, new releases and inspiration. Tune in Monday to Friday on Talking Lifestyle from 12 noon to 1pm, and 2GB Saturday and Sunday mornings from 6 to 9am, an hour earlier in Queensland.

In The Garden This Week

What did we chat about on the radio this week? What pests & problems were solved? Here's the weekly radio round-up - the tips & topics of the week for total success in your garden with a healthy dose of flowers, vegies, new releases and inspiration. Tune in Monday to Friday on Talking Lifestyle from 12 noon to 1pm, and 2GB Saturday and Sunday mornings from 6 to 9am, an hour earlier in Queensland.

In the Garden This Week

What did we chat about on the radio this week? What pests & problems were solved? Here's the weekly radio round-up - the tips & topics of the week for total success in your garden with a healthy dose of flowers, vegies, new releases and inspiration. Tune in Monday to Friday on Talking Lifestyle from 12 noon to 1pm, and 2GB Saturday and Sunday mornings from 6 to 9am. (1 hour earlier in Queensland)

In the Garden This Week

What did we chat about on the radio this week? What pests & problems were solved? Here's the weekly radio round-up - the tips & topics of the week for total success in your garden with a healthy dose of flowers, vegies, new releases and inspiration. Tune in Monday to Friday on Talking Lifestyle from 12 noon to 1pm, and 2GB Saturday and Sunday mornings from 6 to 9am. (1 hour earlier in Queensland)

In The Garden This Week

What did we chat about on the radio this week? What pests & problems were solved? Here's the weekly radio round-up - the tips & topics of the week for total success in your garden with a healthy dose of flowers, vegies, new releases and inspiration. Tune in Monday to Friday on Talking Lifestyle from 12 noon to 1pm, and 2GB Saturday and Sunday mornings from 6 to 9am. (1 hour earlier in Queensland)

In The Garden This Week

What did we chat about on the radio this week? What pests & problems were solved? Here's the weekly radio round-up - the tips & topics of the week for total success in your garden with a healthy dose of flowers, vegies, new releases and inspiration. Tune in Monday to Friday on Talking Lifestyle from 12 noon to 1pm, and 2GB Saturday and Sunday mornings from 6 to 9am. (1 hour earlier in Queensland)

In The Garden This Week

What did we chat about on the radio this week? What pests & problems were solved? Here's the weekly radio round-up - the tips & topics of the week for total success in your garden with a healthy dose of flowers, vegies, new releases and inspiration. Tune in Monday to Friday on Talking Lifestyle from 12 noon to 1pm, and 2GB Saturday and Sunday mornings from 6 to 9am. (1 hour earlier in Queensland)

How to: colour shade

That tricky shady spot can be a highlight of the garden - if you choose the right plants. Here are a few ideas.

In the Garden This Week

What did we chat about on the radio this week? What pests & problems were solved? Here's the weekly radio round-up - the tips & topics of the week for total success in your garden with a healthy dose of flowers, vegies, new releases and inspiration. Tune in Monday to Friday on Talking Lifestyle from 12 noon to 1pm, and 2GB Saturday and Sunday mornings from 6 to 9am. (1 hour earlier in Queensland)