The Garden Clinic

How to: sow seed indoors

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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.

August Jobs

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

Daffodil displays are the prize in August. It's time to get out there and enjoy them.

Black Spot on Roses

18 March, 2021 |

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

18 March, 2021 | 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!

Bug Watch: Bindii and other annoying lawn weeds

18 March, 2021 | 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.

Bugwatch: Bronze Orange Bugs

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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.

Home grown: Lemons

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

The plant that gives Garden Clinic gardeners more grief than any other is the lemon. Here’s how to grow gorgeous lemons.

How to: arrange flowers

18 March, 2021 | Annabelle Hickson

In this edited extract from A Tree in the House, self-taught florist Annabelle Hickson shares her key tip for arranging flowers beautifully.

How to: attract bees into your garden

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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: create a shell garden

18 March, 2021 | Joanne Aquilina

Succulents don’t need a lot of root space as they store most of their water and nutrients in their leaves. This means gardeners can get creative about where they create succulent gardens.

How to: create the perfect pergola

18 March, 2021 | Arno King

Shade, privacy and a place to show off fabulous plants - who doesn’t want a pergola!

How to: divide upside down orchids

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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

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: grow hydrangeas

18 March, 2021 | Sandra Ross

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

How to: grow tulips

18 March, 2021 | Isla Barlow

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

How to: grow your vegies on the verge

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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

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: make up a Magic Mix

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | Matthew Carroll

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

How to: plant bare-rooted plants

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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

18 March, 2021 | 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.

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Speak soon, Graham Ross

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Speak soon,
Graham Ross