Maya Quin was on a school excursion as a five-year-old when she realised just how much she loved plants. “There was a line of smooth-barked eucalyptus trees that were so nice to touch. I hugged each one saying, ‘I love you, tree’.” Now 16, Maya’s fascination with plants is unwavering. She enthusiastically tends the family’s Mornington Peninsula garden with her dad, devours gardening books from cover to cover and, as I’m sure most gardeners will appreciate, drools at the sight of a pile of soil or mulch. It’s fair to say, however, that indoor foliage plants have her heart, and not just because ..read more

‘Coral Lions-Rose’ This Floribunda rose (above) produces clusters of double blooms that range from salmon to pink, with a light fruity fragrance. It’s a very healthy rose from German breeder Kordes’ Fantasia Collection, with excellent disease resistance. It was successful at the 2023 National Rose Trials, picking up a Bronze Medal, and it grows as a nice upright bush reaching up to 1.2m high. ‘The Ancient Mariner’ David Austin has delivered another swoon-worthy new rose! The mid-pink flowers are packed full of petals and are terribly romantic. Each flower is quite large and gives off a strong ..read more

If you think chrysanthemums are only filler flowers in floral arrangements or the ubiquitous potted colour that appears just before Mother’s Day, think again. Chrysanthemums offer so much more, with their rich cultural significance and extraordinary array of flower diversity. Many species are native to eastern Asia, and the flowers have long been revered in China and Japan. Japan’s monarchy is known as the Chrysanthemum Throne, and both countries hold important autumn festivals in which chrysanthemum liquor, or sake, is drunk, and the leaves are folded into pancake mixtures. Throughout the yea ..read more

Start seeds in punnets Starting your seeds in punnets leads to far greater returns than direct-sowing. The main reason for this is the control you have over the conditions. No matter what the day throws at you – heat, cold, hurricane – you can always move your punnets to a spot where they’re most likely to survive and thrive. That means fewer losses and ultimately, greater harvests. Also, by growing in punnets, you don’t need to have space available in your vegie patch to start your next crop. If the seedlings fill their punnet cells, you can pot them up into larger containers. When a space in ..read more

If you haven’t visited the Art Gallery of NSW for Art Express 2024, we recommend checking it out! This free annual exhibition is on now until April 21, and showcases a selection of outstanding student artworks developed for the artmaking component of the HSC examination in Visual Arts in NSW. One beautiful botanical work that caught our eye is Emma Simpson’s Second glance. Her intricate drawings of dried leaves, tree-bark and banksias, all found while bushwalking, draw attention to the overlooked beauty of non-flowering Australian flora. Emma’s body of work invites the audience to ‘look again ..read more

Tangled lignum (Duma florulenta) Wrens, robins and other littlies readily use this weird-looking shrub for protection. Grows 2–2.5m high. She-oaks (Allocasuarina spp.) From groundcovers to medium trees, there are species native to all climates. They’re pollinated by the wind so they don’t produce nectar. Wattles (Acacia spp.) There are over 1000 species from all climates. A fast-growing option is hedge wattle (A. paradoxa), a dense, thorny 2–4m shrub. Grasses These are important lepidopteran hosts and create top-notch habitat, particularly for birds and lizards. Grasses to consider include ka ..read more

1. Get the timing right The optimal planting time varies across the country. In the tropics and subtropics, April/May is best. In warm temperate to arid areas, it’s June/July. In cold temperate climates, wait until September/October – or you could start your plants a little earlier in a polyhouse for a hastier harvest. 2. Plant enough One or two strawberry plants just won’t cut it. You’ll need five plants or more per person to enjoy a decent and regular harvest. When it’s time to sit down and enjoy a bowl of strawberries, you want a bowl of strawberries! 3. Replace old plantsAfter two years o ..read more

With their subtle but striking flowers and their seemingly endless biodiversity benefits, Australia’s emu bushes are becoming increasingly popular with gardeners. The extensive range of colours, patterns, shapes and textures in the flowers, foliage and growth habits of the more than 200 different species provides numerous design options for the garden. Endemic to Australia, emu bushes belong to the genus Eremophila, a word derived from ancient Greek that means ‘desert-loving’. The plants have tubular flowers in a wide range of colours. Those with red, orange and yellow flowers are generally p ..read more

Maples are deciduous trees native to the Northern Hemisphere, where they grow in forests in temperate to cold regions. They are universally loved for their exquisite autumn foliage. One of these leaves even has the honour of being Canada’s national symbol. Of course, not every garden has space for the sugar maple (Acer saccharum). This towering tree reaches 25–35m high, and its sap is tapped for maple syrup. There is, however, plenty of room, even in the smallest of gardens, for Japanese and other small maples. Here’s a selection of the smaller-scale big performers: 1. Acer palmatum ‘Sango Kak ..read more

Did you know that almost all the roses promoted each year in Australia come from overseas breeders? Without question, they are beautiful roses, but if you want to support home-grown talent, you may want to check out some Australia-based rose breeders who have equally amazing plants. These locally bred roses really suit our climate, but we also think they deserve a mention because they’re simply stunning! Here are a few: ‘My Yellow’ The flowers on this rose are golden with a hint of pink on the outer petals (pictured above). They’re highly fragrant and don’t fade as they age. Winner of Best Aus ..read more