Techniques

Bug Watch: Bindii and other annoying lawn weeds

03 March 2015 | Linda Ross

Regretting not spraying against bindii in winter? Bindii (Soliva pterosperma) is a low-growing annual herb with leaves like a carrot top. It produces a single flower at its centre that matures into a prickly seedpod that sticks in bare feet.

How to: sow seed indoors

15 May 2015 | Linda Ross

If you’d like to be enjoying fresh tomatoes from your garden before Christmas, start in winter, sowing and growing indoors so that you have advanced seedlings ready to plant out once the cold weather, and chance of frosts, has passed.

A lesson in clipped hedges

13 February 2015 | 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.

Black Spot on Roses

14 October 2015 |

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.

Bug Watch: Aphids and Other Li'l Suckers

21 August 2015 | Dan Wheatley

Given the chance those annoying little suckers bothering your flower buds now can become an infestation later. But if you get in early enough you can manage the problem without using any chamicals, just a few little backyard-buddies. Its time to get out there and evict your unwanted tennants!

Bugwatch: Bronze Orange Bugs

04 November 2015 | Linda Ross & Dan Wheatley

Just when your poor citrus tree thought it would be safe to put on some new growth, this dreaded pest arrives with its stinky, squirty spray, sucking all the vigour from the new spring shoots. Yes, its stink bug time again. But this year we we mean business!

Bugwatch: Scale

08 July 2016 | Mez Woodward and Dan Wheatley

Scale insects are some of the most common garden pests around. They attract other pests and suck the vigour from your plants, but they are easy to control and even easier to prevent.

Companion Planting 1

03 March 2015 | Linda Ross

Companion planting is about wisely using plants to reduce the work of the gardener. These are our favourite garden workers.

Companion Planting 2

16 March 2015 | Linda Ross

We love any strategy that reduces human intervention in the vegetable garden. Here are a few of our favourite tips for creating a productive garden with less personal effort.

Composting

25 April 2015 | Sandra Ross

All too often gardeners start composting with great excitement and enthusiasm, only for interest to wane as the results disappoint. Here is a quick guide to help you produce the best compost in whatever composting bin you choose.

How to: attract bees into your garden

22 April 2015 | Linda Ross

Bees are at the heart of the grow-your-own game. No bees, no pollination, no fruit. To ensure that summer sees us picking buckets of passionfruit and barrow-loads of pumpkins we integrate bee-attracting flowers into and around the orchard and vegetable garden.

How to: care for deciduous fruit trees

17 March 2015 | Linda Ross

Get ahead of the game by using a variety of strategies to prevent pests and diseases attacking fruit trees, such as apples, peaches, nectarines, apricots and figs. Some work now will mean bounteous harvests later!

How to: care for lawns

06 March 2015 | Jake Byrne

With the weather cooling we can back off the mowing but the lawn work is not done. Autumn is a good time to address any problems to ensure that the grass is even greener on the other side of winter.

How to: clip balls

05 September 2018 | Linda Ross

Plants clipped into balls add form and structure to the garden, and beautifully balance wilder, looser planting. The repetition of shapes develops rhythm which holds the garden together, while the contrast with other shrub shapes adds variety and interest.

How to: divide upside down orchids

27 May 2015 | Graham Ross

Graham’s upside-down orchid (Stanhopea tigrina) has grown old and unproductive, and this year treated us all with only five flower spikes, instead of the usual 30! We checked it out and found the basket lining had disintegrated and the pine bark mix had completely decomposed. It was time to divide and conquer!

How to: entice a cyclamen to flower again

16 March 2015 | Linda Ross

A pot of cyclamen is a favourite winter present, but by now you might be wondering what to do with it. Don't throw it away. A cyclamen will repeat its beautiful dispaly year after year if you treat it right.

How to: Fix The Compost

03 July 2017 | Sandra Ross aka The Compost Queen

Compost can be the greatest free source of nutrient for your garden. Here our very own compost queen, Sandra Ross answers some of the most frequently-asked compost questions.

How to: fix the lawn

21 May 2018 | Narelle Smith

Most warm-season grasses stop growing when the nights turn cold, allowing weeds to get a foothold while your attention has turned indoors. So now is the time to target terrors like bindii, wintergrass and dandelions and avoid seeding - and many years more weeding - before boosting growth for lush summer lawns.

How to: fix the lawn

31 May 2018 | Narelle Smith

Most warm-season grasses stop growing when the nights turn cold, allowing weeds to get a foothold while your attention has turned indoors. So now is the time to target terrors like bindii, wintergrass and dandelions and avoid seeding - and many years more weeding.

How to: fix your roses

29 November 2016 | Linda Ross

Many questions from radio callers to Garden Clinic on 2GB on the weekends involve roses. We feel your pain! These are our go-to fixes for six common rose problems.

How to: grow an edible hedge

04 October 2017 | 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: grow hydrangeas

28 May 2015 | Sandra Ross

Hydrangeas are old favourites, yet myths about growing them persist. Sandra clears the air.

How to: grow tulips

20 March 2015 | Isla Barlow

Find some time this summer holiday to create a wonderful picture of tulips.

How to: grow your vegies on the verge

26 February 2015 | Linda Ross

We are fortunate to have a reasonably big space in our garden that we can allocate simply to growing food. Other gardeners make the most of space on a sunny balcony or terrace. If that’s not an option for you either, consider what might done on the verge!

How to: lay a lawn

07 May 2015 | Linda Ross

Did you know? The average turf backyard captures carbon and produces enough oxygen for a family of four?

How to: lift your courtyard

14 May 2015 | Linda Ross

In just one weekend the Garden Clinic team transformed a chilly corner into a welcoming sanctuary, that is simple to pack up and move to a new location when necessary.

How to: lush the lawn

15 May 2015 | Matthew Carroll

Come the warmer weather and the lawn needs a makeover! Follow these simple steps to grow the lush green carpet of grass you’ve always wanted.

How to: make a spiral topiary

13 February 2015 | Sandra Ross

A spiral topiary makes just as good a focal point in a small domestic garden as it does in grand gardens like the one shown here.

How to: make a summer vegetable tepee

12 March 2015 | Linda Ross

For space saving nothing beats a tepee! A single structure will provide 36kg of cherry tomatoes, cucumber and green beans over a 3 month stretch.

How to: Make Potting Mix

01 October 2015 | Linda Ross

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

How to: make up a Magic Mix

08 December 2016 | Robin Powell

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!

How to: overhaul your irrigation system

15 May 2015 | Matthew Carroll

Here's how to give your irrigation system a once over.

How to: plant bare-rooted plants

30 April 2015 | Linda Ross

In winter trees and roses are often sold ‘bare-rooted’. They are simply a skeleton of stems, with the bare roots often wrapped in hessian or plastic for protection.

How to: plant propagation

06 March 2015 | Isla Barlow

Want plants for free? Winter is the right time of year to take cuttings from established plants to create new ones.

How to: propagate begonias

28 May 2015 | Sandra Ross

You don’t often see these plants for sale in commercial nurseries, so the best way to introduce them into your garden is to find a friend who is willing to share, and practice your propagation skills.

How to: propagate hibiscus

16 March 2015 | Linda Ross

Many of the most exciting hibiscus are found in gardens rather than in garden centres, so it’s handy to know how to propagate your own plants.

How to: prune a cloud topiary

13 February 2015 | Graham Ross

After decades of admiring beautiful specimens of cloud-pruned trees in China and Japan, I finally decided to create my own cloud topiary. When our editors discovered what I’d done they asked me to write about it.

How to: prune angels trumpet

13 February 2015 | Linda Ross

Angels trumpets (brugmansia) are native to the subtropical forests of Brazil and Chile. There they grow beneath other trees in an unruly and tangled mess of branches, illuminated by those sensational flowers.

How to: prune climbing roses

23 August 2017 | 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: rejuvenate the lawn

16 February 2015 | Robin Powell

It’s time to refresh tired, stressed turf and transform it into lush, green lawn.

How to: remove rose suckers

20 March 2015 | Sandra Ross

Rose suckers can overtake a precious rose if you don’t act early. Sandra Ross explains how to identify and remove them.

How to: repair a patchy lawn

20 May 2015 | Linda Ross

Autumn is a great time to oversow a balding lawn, grown patchy from the extremes of summer weather - and holiday entertaining!

How to: save your garden when off on holidays

14 May 2015 | Linda Ross

We’re all going on a summer holiday - and the garden is staying behind! But with a little forward planning your garden can be just as lovely when you return as it was before you left.

How to: scare birds

18 March 2015 | Linda Ross

This autumn don’t lose your precious fruit harvest to the birds. These are our favourite – proven! – techniques.

How to: set up a hen house

09 August 2016 | Claire Bickle

Thinking about keeping chooks? Good plan. But before you put in an order for fluffy little chickens, get the henhouse right. Whether you are choosing a ready-made option, or building your own from new or recycled materials, here’s what you need to know to create a happy home for your hens.

How to: sharpen the pruners

13 February 2015 | Shane Neill

A good crisp cut is one of the joys of pruning. Blunt tools not only deprive you of this simple pleasure but do a poor job and damage your plants.

How to: sow seeds

15 May 2015 | Linda Ross

Start planning in winter to sow seed for summer. There are two ways to raise vegetables from seed: sow them directly into the soil in which they are to grow; or raise them under cover in your house or greenhouse.

How to: stop snails invading precious pot plants

15 May 2015 | Matthew Carroll

Keep both pets and snail-sensitive plants safe with these solutions.

How to: style an ikebana

05 September 2018 | Linda Ross

The key difference between an ikebana approach to flower arranging and a Western style is that in ikebana the focus is on line and space rather than mass. Instead of adding more flowers to make it look better, ikebana is about what can be taken away. The space between the elements is as important as the elements themselves.