Garden Design | The Garden Clinic

Poolside Styling: How to Decorate Your Pool Area with Summer-Perfect Plants

05 January, 2026 | Words: Graham Rowe | images: Brent Wilson, Adam McDonald (Impressions Landscapes), Shutterstock

Transform your pool into a garden retreat. From tropical foliage to native and modern poolside planting, The Garden Clinic shares expert tips, plant ideas and design inspiration to create a safe, stylish and resort-like pool garden at home.

Outdoor entertaining at home

11 December, 2025 | Shuttersotck, Luisa Brimble, Robin Powell, Hannah Tu and Kateryna Hliznitsova @ Unsplash

There’s no better place to entertain than in your own backyard– amidst flowers, herbs and the soft hum of summer evenings. Whether you’re hosting a relaxed lunch, a twilight get-together or just a few friends among the blooms, these tips will help you make the most of your garden’s magic this season. Follow these simple tips to style, refresh and enjoy your garden– making summer gatherings effortless!

How to build a water feature in a weekend

30 November, 2025 | words: Julia Zaetta | Images: Shutterstock

Create instant appeal with easy-to-assemble water features designed for every garden style – and with great news there's a wide range available to buy ready-made.

Colour me beautiful

09 October, 2025 | Julia Zaetta | Wattyl

Your house is the most important feature in your garden — it sets the tone for everything around it. Choosing the right exterior paint colours is a powerful way to highlight its character and reflect your style.

Patch from scratch

30 September, 2025 | Julia Zaetta | images: shutterstock

Grow your own fresh, delicious vegies at home, no experience needed!

Spring Fever

23 September, 2025 | Words: Julia Zaetta | Images: Shutterstock, Stock Photo & Garden Clinic

Spring is the season of possibility – gardens are bursting with colour, fragrance and fresh growth. We’ve gathered ideas from beautiful outdoor spaces brimming with seasonal magic, ready for you to bring into your own garden. From creative pot displays and striking plant pairings to clever ways of filling bare spots.

It's all in the small ideas

03 July, 2025 | Images: Shutterstock | Unsplash (Rnady Fath)

Bringing single notions together are what create a gorgeous outdoor living space. So choose from here those you love, and add them to your garden.

Be the envy of the street

13 March, 2025 | Graham Ross

With the right tools and know-how, growing your dream weed-free lawn is easy.

Small space, big impact

11 March, 2025 | Tammy Huynh

Feeling limited by your space? Here are three innovative garden designs from last year's Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show that will inspire you to rethink your small outdoor area and unlock its potential.

Lovin' your balcony

12 February, 2025 | Sandra Ross Be inspired to transform your balcony into a lush retreat with these creative ideas that maximise space and style. Read More

A grass act

12 February, 2025 | Graham Ross

Discover expert tips to find the perfect lawn variety for your garden and lifestyle needs.

Call in the Wild

12 February, 2025 | Sandra Ross

Borrow ideas from this wonderful native garden to transform your backyard into a vibrant, eco-friendly haven teeming with life.

Private screening in your own backyard

30 January, 2025 | Words: Roger Fox | Images: Shutterstock

Having nice neighbours is great, butt hat doesn’t mean you want to see themevery time you step outside. Privacy and enclosure are such an important part of creating a garden, helping to transform your outdoor space into a private retreat from the world.

Spring Pot Luck

22 September, 2024 | Words: Sandra Ross | Images: Brent Wilson

Sandra shares some of her favourite plant combinations to capture the exuberance of spring.

Time to say goodbye

21 September, 2024 | Words: Sandra Ross | Images: Michael McCoy, David Ferraby

Picture leaving behind a garden you've nurtured for nearly fifty years. New Zealand gardener Carolyn Ferraby is doing just that, leaving a legacy of beauty and dedication.

Visionary: Gardens and Landscapes for Our Future

21 July, 2024 | Claire Takac

In her latest book, acclaimed Australian photographer, Claire Takacs beautifully explores gardens and landscape design in the face of climate change. This Spanish garden is one of eighty featured.

Blooming marvellous

03 June, 2024 | Words: Robin Powell | Images: Colin Barlow When Ross tour leader, Robin Powell took a group of travellers to visit Marian’s garden, Picardy, in West Gippsland, Victoria, it was a riot of flowers. Read More

Gardener on the Rise

03 June, 2024 | Libby Cameron

Brenton Roberts, winner of Better Homes and Gardens ‘Garden of the Year 2023’, enjoys creating beauty, and making his home look its best.

Back to Basics

11 March, 2024 | Graham Ross

Are you a new gardener? This is for you; tips for autumn planting success.

Permaculture on a plate

06 December, 2023 | Julie Bennett

A stunning kitchen garden on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula is creating a different experience for its guests with a true estate-to-plate experience, writes Montalto’s produce manager, Julie Bennett.

Dutch Baroque Beauty

29 November, 2023 | Tammy Huynh

Experience one of Netherland’s most captivating palatial grounds, Het Loo, the former retreat of William of Orange during the Dutch Golden Age.

Finding the Right Shade

08 September, 2023 | Roger Fox

Are you neglecting the shady parts of your garden? Horticulturist Roger Fox shares how to to make them shine

Patch Perfect

06 June, 2023 | Words: Angie Thomas | Images: Shutterstock Growing your own food is one of the most rewarding and healthy things you can do. Read More

Redfern Oasis

07 June, 2023 | Words: Richard Unsworth | Images: Nicholas Watt

Creating a lush urban jungle in a small space sounds like a challenge, but garden designer and writer Richard Unsworth embraced the opportunity.

Squeeze The Day

05 May, 2023 | Angie Thomas

A pinch of sour and a dash of sweet, calamondin is a versatile and easy-to-grow member of the citrus family.

Small space: big ideas

16 January, 2023 |

Courtyard and balcony gardens are less forgiving than suburban gardens. A big garden can ramble a bit, drawing you past a bit of a dead patch with the lure of the something great glimpsed just around the corner. But in a small garden everything is on show, all the time.

The Art of Gardening: Chanticleer, Pennsylvania

07 December, 2022 | WORDS: SANDRA ROSS | IMAGES: CHANTICLEER Hailed as the most romantic, imaginative and exciting public garden in America, Chanticleer is a study of texture and form, where foliage trumps flower, where the gardeners lead the design, and where even the drinking fountains are sculptural. It is a garden of pleasure and learning. Read More

Britain's got talent!

24 August, 2022 | WORDS AND IMAGES: COLIN BARLOW

Immerse yourself in the floral extravaganza of springtime in the UK. Horticulturist and Ross Tour leader, Colin Barlow takes us for an armchair stroll through one of his favourite destinations.

Frensham - A relaxed Country Garden

24 August, 2022 | WORDS: MARGARET LONG | IMAGES: JULIET NICHOLAS

Located on the outskirts of Christchurch, ‘Frensham’ is considered one of New Zealand's finest gardens.

Spring bling

24 August, 2022 | WORDS: PAUL URQUHART | IMAGES; SHUTTERSTOCK

Bulbs are fleeting; annuals flame and die but shrubs can last for decades. Accomplished garden writer and Ross Tour leader, Paul Urquhart shares five of the best.

Japanese Garden Design Ideas

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Japanese garden design offers some great ideas to gardeners. With a bit of imagination we can incorporate aspects and approaches that enhance our gardens without turning them Japanese

Five of the best: wisteria gardens

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Here’s our pick of the best places in the world to be thrilled by the fragrance, form and sheer delight of wisteria.

Winterwood: One Man's Wonderland

01 June, 2022 | WORDS AND IMAGES: GRAHAM ROSS

Bushfire, snow, and wild weather hasn’t deterred this plantsman from creating a botanical masterpiece.

Connoisseur's Delight

08 March, 2022 | WORDS: SANDRA ROSS | IMAGES: WINDYRIDGE GARDENS

Despite its name, Windyridge sits comfortably in its terraced slope in the pretty historic village of Mount Wilson, just two hours from Sydney. With peonies, rhododendrons, waratahs, a dramatic waterfall and lake, it’s a showcase of magnificent cool climate plants.

Chantecler

02 March, 2022 | WORDS: SANDRA ROSS | IMAGES: JULIET ANNE NICHOLAS

Surrounded by dramatic snow-covered mountains and nestled into a sheltered Wakatipu Basin in Central Otago, near Queenstown in southern New Zealand, you’ll find Mike Henry’s garden, Chantecler.

Net Gains

22 November, 2021 | WORDS AND IMAGES: ANNE MARIE CRAINE Read More

La vie en rose

22 November, 2021 | WORDS AND IMAGES: WALTER AND KAY DUNCAN

Delight in the magic of Walter and Kay Duncan’s dreamy landscape, The Heritage Garden, in Clare Valley, South Australia.

Our forever garden

22 November, 2021 | WORDS: SANDRA ROSS, IMAGES: GRAHAM ROSS When two gardeners settle into a home and garden there could be fireworks. In our case, it’s been a joyful 35-year journey, which we hope will last forever. Read More

Festival of Flowers

22 November, 2021 | WORDS: GRAHAM ROSS, IMAGES: GRAHAM ROSS & SHUTTERSTOCK

After 40 glorious spring ‘Cherry Blossom’ and autumn tours to Japan, I realised there was so much more than this ephermal favourite. Wisteria, iris, azalea, and peony are all celebrated with bespoke festivals.

Historic Gem

21 October, 2021 | Words: Libby Cameron | Images: Neil Hendry

Anlaby Station, the oldest sheep station in South Australia, 85km north of Adelaide, is being given a well-deserved new lease on life.

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