By John Arnott
At time of writing, I am a few weeks off ‘hanging up the boots’ at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, entering a ‘retirement phase’ of a gardening career that has straddled five decades of public gardens horticulture. Over this period, I have witnessed numerous trends come and go, and thought it would be fun to quickly reflect on a few of these in this article.… Continue reading
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(L-R) Tara Graham-Cochrane, Leigh McGaghey, Anna Baker-Creswell, Steven Wells, Dr Kate Neale (Image: Meg Chatterton)
By Leigh McGaghey
Therapeutic Horticulture Australia (THA) recently hosted their national Conference ‘Seeds of Change: Social Physical and Mental Wellbeing Through Therapeutic Horticulture’ at the RACV Resort in Noosa, Queensland. Volunteers delivered a tremendous event over three days, with the conference as well as tours, workshops and social events bringing together delegates from across Australia.… Continue reading
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Working in a botanic garden requires a diverse range of skills such as creating the de-signs for the Calyx exhibitions at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney (Image: Karen Smith)
By Daniel Fuller
For most of my decade-long career in the landscape maintenance sector, I truly believed that I only had two pathways to progress my career in the horticulture industry – move into management at a large company, or start my own maintenance business.… Continue reading
Read MoreBy Clive Larkman
Last month we looked at a great garden plant that looks good, is easy to grow and has great use in the kitchen, Tasmannia lanceolata, an attractive large shrub that comes from SE Australia. Another equally attractive plant is the Avocado Tree (Persea americana) which is native to a small area in Central America between Central Mexico and Costa Rica.… Continue reading
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The ‘Australian Idyll’ Show Garden at this year’s Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show (Image: Platylobium Landscape Design)
By Gabrielle Stannus
Whether you design, construct, or maintain landscapes, you cannot wear every hat all the time. Using other professionals who are experts in their trade can save you time and money, and help your business reach its full potential.… Continue reading
Read MoreBy Daniel Fuller
Buying in newly-bred plants is always a risk for nursery businesses. Retailers have to gamble on whether consumers will buy their stock, and wholesalers don’t know whether landscape architects are going to specify them.
Ozbreed surveyed both landscape architects and consumers.… Continue reading
Read MoreIt’s official, there’s a new Top Dog in conservation. After years of training, Zoos Victoria Detection Dog, Daisy, has used her incredible sense of smell to locate one of the rarest fungi in the world, tea-tree fingers. Daisy, a six-year-old Lagotto Romagnolo (Italian water dog), is a canine in Zoos Victoria’s Wildlife Detection Dog Squad – a team with a mission to help save Victoria’s threatened species.… Continue reading
Read MoreAstronauts have grown seeds on the International Space Station for a decade, and China’s Chang’e 4 2019 moon mission sprouted seeds on the Moon. Now, as part of NASA’s Artemis project, which is a step towards a Mars landing, astronauts will grow plants on the surface of the moon.… Continue reading
Read MoreModern rose hybrids have lost more than a quarter of their genetic diversity since the early 19th century.
The domestication of roses can be traced back about 5000 years and were cultivated independently in China and Mediterranean regions. The diversification during the 19th century is associated with crosses between the two previously isolated genetic backgrounds.… Continue reading
Read MoreA proposal by Pedro M.P. Correia et al, from the University of Copenhagen, suggests that horticulture generally could make use of naturally occurring selection processes to improve crop yields.
Most high-yielding crops are susceptible to abiotic and biotic stresses, making them particularly vulnerable to the potential effects of climate change.… Continue reading
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