By Matthew Lunn
An iconic part of the home garden has been the humble lawn, but in recent times this terrific backyard addition is under threat. Plot sizes are getting smaller as the urban sprawl dictates city living in apartments and small courtyards, and where some are moving out of city dwellings where a nice turf area works well, the turf industry is faced with another phenomenon – artificial grass.… Continue reading
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By Clive Larkman
The world of botany is full of commonplace plants as well as some standout weirdos. Australia has its own Wollemi Pine which was ‘discovered’ in 1994 in a nature reserve just north of Sydney. It is not really known how old these wild plants are nor how old the species is.… Continue reading
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Landscape Design Institute of Australia (LDI), formerly known as the Australian Institute of Landscape Designers and Managers (AILDM), is pleased to announce a new partnership with Greener Publishing & Media Pty Ltd Publishers of Hort Journal Australia magazine for the ongoing publishing of LDI’s member and industry publication Landscape Outlook (LO).… Continue reading
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Representatives of the Australian Institute of Horticulture (AIH) and the Landscape Industry Association of Singapore (LIAS), met recently in Singapore to acknowledge and outline a collaborative and mutually supportive relationship with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
Both parties have various skills, assets, and resources, and the purpose of this MOU is to collaborate through training, workshops, and webinars.… Continue reading
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The Australian Garden Council (AGC) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with The Garden Society of Japan at the Australian Embassy in Tokyo.
This Memorandum of Understanding brings together both the venerable gardening culture in Japan, which is thousands of years old, with the young, growing gardening community in Australia that is blended with a 50,000-year-old living culture.… Continue reading
Read MoreWhilst at Macquarie University, two scientists, Fernando Soley and Marie Herberstein, investigated the hunting methods of Australian assassin bugs in the Gorareduvius genus. These insects kill prey by using their long beak-like mouth parts to inject digestive enzymes into the body of their prey, and then sucking up the liquified innards.… Continue reading
Read MoreAnother report focused on insects and, in particular, why they are attracted to light – something that would concern night-time tennis players, no doubt. Researchers at the Imperial College London have determined that insects are more likely trapped by the light rather than attracted.… Continue reading
Read MoreAn extraordinary amount of effort goes into research. Research projects, targeting myrtle rust for example, are of critical importance to Horticultural industries. Dr Ashley Jones, recipient of the Forest and Wood Products Australia Award will explore the plant RNA responses to a fungal attack in an attempt to understand how myrtle rust is getting through the plant’s immune system.… Continue reading
Read MoreHorticulture courses previously offered by Swinburne TAFE at no cost to students under Victoria’s priority TAFE courses program, will be shut down. Existing students will be either transferred to other providers or may be able to carry on until the course is complete.… Continue reading
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For the first time in fifteen years I missed the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (MIFGS), except for lockdowns and cancellations due to COVID19. Unfortunately, I had to suffer ten days of near perfect diving conditions on the coral reefs between Lizard Island and Cairns, including the Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea.… Continue reading
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By John Fitzsimmons
As it exited pandemic times the biennial Australian Landscape Conference 2023 attracted impressive audience numbers and was another signature offering of diverse and accomplished presenters. While the 2023 theme was nominally ‘Beyond the Boundaries’ it could be argued this conference revealed just how much awareness, skill, and creativity is needed and how challenging it can be to identify ‘boundaries’ much less define them.… Continue reading
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By James A. R. Clugston and Scott Yates
Cycads are a charismatic group of plants with a lineage that dates back more than 250 million years. With around 370 currently recognised species in 10 genera split between two families (Cycadaceae and Zamiaceae), they are diverse and have a strong pantropical distribution.… Continue reading
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Syzygium ‘Up and Away’ is the dream plant you have been searching for. With an unrivalled neat, columnar habit, and stunning foliage colour year-round, what more is there to be desired? White flowers are borne throughout the warmer months. Flowers are pollinator-friendly, attracting some of our beautiful native birds.… Continue reading
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Sure to turn heads with its striking foliage and eye-catching narrow growth habit, Ginkgo ‘Lemonlime Spire’ is the perfect addition to any garden or landscape design.
Famous for its foliage colour throughout the year, ‘Lemonlime Spire’ won’t disappoint. Its light-green spring foliage deepens to darker shades of green as the season progresses.… Continue reading
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By Gabrielle Stannus
A small footprint does not necessarily make for a boring garden, judging by the balconies I saw at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show recently. Given the growing number of multi-level apartment buildings that have been, and are continuing to be constructed in our urban environments, the demand for balcony gardens will not be going away anytime soon.… Continue reading
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By Michael Casey
Global cities continue to develop at a rapid rate, and with an increase in size comes more people, more built structures, and in a lot of cases fewer green spaces for biodiversity to thrive. To counter the reduction of biodiversity, city planning needs to incorporate larger dedicated green areas rather than commonly creating small green spaces.… Continue reading
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By Karen Lau and Steve Warner
It has long been said that gardens can heal the soul and replenish depleted spirits. For years, we have been coming together in one form or another to cultivate soil, produce food and experience a social connection.… Continue reading
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As the southern hemisphere’s largest garden and flower festival, and the fifth largest on a global scale, the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (MIFGS) had a jam-packed program offering something for green thumbs of all ages and experience levels, with fifty garden displays including the Welcome Garden with daily Tai Chi and meditation sessions, fantastical floral fashions, engaging hands-on workshops, inspiring educational talks from celebrity gurus, and endless family fun.… Continue reading
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By Denis Crawford
Insects that have life cycles of complete metamorphosis have larvae that come in a variety of forms.
A life cycle of complete metamorphosis (holometabolous) means hatching from an egg into a larval stage, then pupating, and later emerging as an adult.… Continue reading
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By Dan Austin
It is an uncertain time for the future of many industries, horticulture included. As the greats of old, age and retire, quality training is needed like never before. So, in an industry that is increasingly moving online, it is fantastic when training providers invest in much-needed material assets.… Continue reading
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