The Garden Clinic

How to: grow an edible hedge

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Trade up from murraya and lillypilly to a hedge you can eat! These four flavoursome options tick the boxes for pretty, practical and productive.

How to: growing vegetables from seed

18 March, 2021 | Arno King

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.

How to: Make Potting Mix

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Plants in pots need the right nutrients, water, air and a quality potting mix to live happily ever after.

How to: prune a camellia

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

Ken Lamb, Australia's master of Japanese pruning techniques, took to a historic, mature camellia at Retford Park as part of a three-day, hands-on workshop on creative pruning, held at the Southern Highlands National Trust property last winter. The camellia, an old japonica with a pendulous habit and flowers in both solid and variegated pink, had only ever been pruned to stop it intruding onto the driveway, and it now formed a solid wall of dark green, shutting off views to the house.

How to: prune climbing roses

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

The first thing to know about pruning climbing roses is not to do it in winter when you do your other roses. Here Robin Powell shares some of her other climbing rose insites

How to: Strike a Queen of the Night cutting

18 March, 2021 | Dan Wheatley

For stunning contrast of texture and form, huge repeat flowering and fragrance to die for there is nothing quite like the Queen of the Night orchid cactus, a plant that is as easy to propagate from cuttings as it is to grow.

How to: style balcony pots

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

To make a balcony feel like a garden it needs to surround you with plants. Somehow you have to get some plants up at eye level, and even above it. A small tree would be just the thing, but on most balconies a pot big enough to support a large plant is just too heavy once it’s filled with moist soil - and a tree! A more pragmatic approach is to arrange smaller pots at different levels. You need to get those pots up off the ground to really appreciate your balcony garden. Here are a few ideas.

How to: use coconut peat

18 March, 2021 | Arno KIng

Need a lightweight, easily stored, highly effective potting medium? Look no further than this byproduct of coconut production, which has advantages for plants as well as gardners.

In my kitchen garden: Camden, NSW

18 March, 2021 | Mickey Robertson

Mickey Robertson’s kitchen garden at Glenmore House is as beautiful as it is productive, experimental and instructive.

In the garden: August

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

The winter show is packing it's bags and making way for spring. It's time to plant some potted colour, prune the perennials and clear out the compost

In the Garden: Broughton Hall

18 March, 2021 | David Musker

Find out what David Musker is up to at Broughton Hall in Victoria

In the Garden: February

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

Humidity in February is at it's summer peak. The garden will need a helping-hand to get through the next few weeks and into the cooler weather.

In the Garden: January

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

Clip, snip, mow and trim. It's time for the post festive clean-up in the garden

In the garden: July

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

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

In the garden: March

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

It’s time to get busy this march. Back by popular demand - our reminders of what to do in the garden this season.

It's time to: August

18 March, 2021 | Elizabeth Swane

Get ready, spring will be here before we know it. It's time to get the last of those last-minute winter jobs done

It's Time To: December

18 March, 2021 | Tammy Huynh

Summer is gardenia season! Pick their blooms to enjoy delicious scent indoors. Watch out for scale and spray with eco-oil. Best to spray early in the evening to prevent leaves burning during the day.

Kitchen Garden Spring Jobs

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

This spring try something new: a vertical pumpkin patch; a fence line of sweet potato or a hanging basket filled with the sweetest, most productive strawberry ever.

Kitchen Garden Spring: Soft Herbs

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

The key to a thriving herb garden is to give each plant the conditions it needs to prosper. The result is easy gardening, and delicious pickings. Here Linda Ross shows you her favourites and the conditions they need to thrive in spring.

Kitchen Garden: subtropical winter

18 March, 2021 | Arno King

Arno is a garden designer and writer whose garden in Brisbane is mostly edible. He is constantly testing the received garden wisdom for its relevance to subtropical gardeners, and trialling new products. Lets see what Arno's growing this winter

Know your: ferns

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Many ferns have a soft feathery quality that makes a great contrast with other plants - in the garden or indoors.

Know your: indoor plants

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

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

Magic Magnolia Mulch

18 March, 2021 | Sandra Ross

Sandra's special recipe does magical things to sulking magnolias!

Meet Keith and Maureene Smith

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

Cancer fundraisers and plant propagators

Meet Mark Jury, magnolia breeder

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

If there’s a stunning deciduous magnolia in your garden with enormous cup-shaped blooms and rich colour, chances are it was bred by New Zealand plantsman, Mark Jury.

Meet Ros Loftus

18 March, 2021 | 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.

Postcard from the garden world

18 March, 2021 | Ross Tours

See what's happening in the world of Ross Garden Tours this spring

Spring jobs: November

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

The last of the spring blooms are falling. The mauve carpets of Jacaranda flowers are covering lawns and the throng of the crickets and songs of the frogs has begun. Here's a list of the last remaining spring jobs to be done in preparation for a big summer ahead

Spring jobs: October

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

October is an energetic month for gardeners but there’s much to appreciate on the way. Here's a list of October essentials in the mid-spring garden.

Spring Jobs: October

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Spring has sprung and the promise of new growth in the garden and stunning spring floral displays is exciting. Here's a swag of jobs, tips, tricks and things to look out for in the garden this OPctober

Spring Jobs: September

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Spring has sprung and Elizabeth Swane is excited about the promise of new growth in the garden and stunning spring floral displays. Here She has a swag of jobs, tips, tricks and things to look out for in the temperate garden this September

Thinking gardens

18 March, 2021 | 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.

Tomatoes

18 March, 2021 | Arno King

Wherever you live it’s time to think tomatoes: plan for a summer crop in cool areas, and grow now in warm areas.

What’s new this spring

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Here's what's new in the garden this spring

What’s new this winter

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

Even if she hadn’t been running Collectors’ Plant Fair, Linda Ross would have been there before the gates opened to be sure of securing a swag of treasure. Here’s part of her shopping list from this year.

Whats new this winter

18 March, 2021 | Narelle Smith

What’s new: and not-so-new, plants we love. Narelle Smith gives us the winter lowdown for 2018

Zucchinis - a veggie in a hurry

18 March, 2021 | Graham Ross

Quick and easy to grow, even in pots, nutritious and incrediblyversatile in the kitchen.

Passion for pink

14 June, 2023 | Dorothy J., Berrima, NSW

I’m hearing stories from friends about a new plant called pink spice. Is it a herb or a shrub? Apparently, it has a great perfume but is rare and tricky to grow. What’s the story please?

Altitude sickness

15 March, 2024 | Ellen G., Birrong NSW

My giant bromeliad has finally flowered with a massive spike over 2m tall. Everyone is asking me what it is and does it produce seed. The stem is still growing as I write this but what happens when it finishes flowering?

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