Tuesday, July 22, 2025
EditorialGreener Spaces Better Places Update

What’s Growing on

A CONSUMER ACTIVATION HIGHLIGHTING THE BENEFITS OF INDOOR PLANTS

Improving Home Air Quality, One Houseplant at a Time

Greener Spaces Better Places is bringing Australia’s first home air curation service to everyday consumers. Mitch and Mark, known for their success on The Block, will be visiting homes around Australia to help improve indoor air quality by integrating houseplants into living spaces.… Continue reading

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EditorialNewsbuds

Researchers making hempcrete binders four times stronger

Dr Peter Irga

Australian researchers at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) are working with experienced hempcrete builders to develop a hemp-based structural panel with a geopolymer binder said to be up to four times stronger than traditional hempcrete.

Led by Professor Arnaud Castel from the UTS Faculty of Engineering and IT, a multi-disciplinary team of researchers have released their first publication on research creating a binder made of calcined clay and ground granulated blast-furnace slag.… Continue reading

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EditorialNewsbuds

AIPH International Horticultural Expo Conference

The International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) is pleased to announce that We Lodge, an accommodation provider for major events, has joined as Gold Sponsor for the upcoming AIPH International Horticultural Expo Conference. Taking place in Ghent, Belgium, the Conference will welcome Expo organisers, city officials, event providers, and key stakeholders on 15 September 2025.… Continue reading

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Plant PalettePlants

Monstera deliciosa ‘Thai Constellation’

By Clive Larkman

Monstera ‘Thai Constellation’ took the world by storm in the mid to post COVID years. At the time, indoor plants were undergoing a resurgence that started just pre-COVID and then went ballistic as we were all shut down.… Continue reading

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EditorialNewsbuds

Plants versus pollution

Research proves green walls offer more than good looks

By Associate Professor Fraser Torpy and Dr Peter Irga

If you love that new-car smell, brace yourself. While that smell evokes feelings of fresh and new, it’s the byproduct of materials like paint, carpet and plastics leeching potentially carcinogenic compounds such as benzene into the air.  Continue reading

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EditorialEditors editorial

Lifelong learning and fascination

When people ask why I chose horticulture as a career, I usually respond that I love the fascination of nature. If I lived ten lifetimes, I would only be scratching the surface of all there is to learn. I gain new knowledge at every event, conference, trek, or bushwalk, and from many of the conversations that take place on such occasions.… Continue reading

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Green InfrastructureLandscape

Naturalistic planting takes centre stage

By Gabrielle Stannus

The Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reimagine that city’s cultural hub. Encompassing The Fox: NGV Contemporary, the major refurbishment of Arts Centre Melbourne’s Theatres Building, this major infrastructure project will also oversee the creation of Laak Boorndap, a new 18,000m2 urban garden.Continue reading

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PlantsWeeds

Weed species – a guide to plant choice and soil indicators

By Patrick Regnault

Observing the weed species can tell us a lot about the nutrient availability, soil compaction, recent history of the site, pH, moisture levels, and soil texture. Understanding or reading weeds can guide us in our planting selection. It can help us work successfully with the conditions rather than forcing unsuitable plants upon the land.Continue reading

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PlantsTurf

Newly released buffalo grass cultivar

Supplied by Lawn Solutions Australia

Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA) has been working with Dr Ambika Chandra, from Texas A&M University in the US, on a new buffalo turfgrass Stenotaphrum secundatum for the Australian market for many years. New turf varieties are not shelf-stock items and take many years of research, data collection, morphological testing and comparable trials in the US and Australia before, and if, they are released to the market.Continue reading

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EditorialIndustry Event

Perth Garden Show flourishes in new location with strong industry support

By Lisa Passmore

The 2025 Perth Garden Show bloomed into its vibrant new home at McCallum Park in Victoria Park, nestled beside the Swan River and shaded by mature trees and providing the perfect canvas for Western Australia’s premier garden and outdoor living event.Continue reading

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