landscape design

EnvironmentEnvironment & Sustainability

Making Water Work

By Stuart Elder

‘Making Water Work’ is the name of the Water Hyacinth Harvesting Pilot Project at Murray Lagoon, Rockhampton Botanic Garden. Murray Lagoon is a vital ecosystem and community resource situated at the gateway to Rockhampton City in Central Queensland on Darumbal Country and is a significant natural asset.Continue reading

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CareersCareers & Education

Meaningful workplace diversity

By Daniel Fuller

Workplace diversity has been a hot topic in recent years, and it’s not surprising that many people roll their eyes when they hear the term. Some employers feel they have a responsibility to hire diverse candidates but end up fostering a team that don’t necessarily work well together.Continue reading

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Plant PalettePlants

Midyim – the Australian Berry

By Clive Larkman

As a child, I remember blackberries, strawberries and occasionally raspberries. As time moved on, we started to get many other berries like boysenberries, mulberries, youngberries and our own local silvan berry. We then became really modern with blueberries, cranberries, and red and black currants to really challenge our taste buds.Continue reading

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EditorialEditors editorial

Lord of the flies

Instead of reaching for the insecticide or insect repellent, a group, consisting of seven- to eleven-year-olds, were exposed to an insect revolution at ARC Ento Tech Ltd at Somersby, NSW. The event was organised by the Horticultural Media Association of Australia.… Continue reading

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Garden DesignLandscape

Guess who’s coming for dinner?

By Gabrielle Stannus

While your clients sleep, their gardens may attract unwanted guests looking for a late-night feed. Australia’s many nocturnal animals are attracted to native plants and those exotic species we humans love for their edible and ornamental value. I spoke with Beverley Sherwood, Manager of the Plants of Tasmania Nursery, to find out how physical barriers, plant selection, and placement can help landscape designers and horticulturists discourage these unwanted visitors from the gardens we design and create.Continue reading

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NutrientPlant Nutrition

Humates, chelates and other ‘secret solutions’

By John Fitzsimmons

Most people in horticulture are familiar with the big-ticket plant nutrients, readily focusing on the familiar NPK summaries. However, shelf labels, catalogues, and online searches often include other nutritional references that may be less familiar and/or less understood.… Continue reading

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Plants

Photosynthate transfer through a common mycorrhizal network

Photosynthate transfer from an autotrophic orchid to conspecific heterotrophic protocorms through a common mycorrhizal network

Does the ‘wood wide web really exist? Can speculation that parental plants nurture their young be justified? New research by a group including Katie J Fields at the University of Shefield in the UK has shown a definite transfer of carbon in the form of photosynthate essential for protocorm development.… Continue reading

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Botanic GardensPlants

Conifers for warm climates showcased at Mt Coot-tha

By Dale Arvidsson

Conifers are among the oldest and most diverse groups of plants on Earth. They have existed and evolved for more than 300 million years, surviving ice ages, changing climates, and mass extinctions. These plants have adapted to a wide range of habitats, living just above sea level in the tropics to over 3000 metres in altitude and above the timberline of the world’s highest mountain ranges.Continue reading

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Native PlantsPlants

New landscape natives with eye-catching foliage

By Daniel Fuller

Flowers are great, but they’re fleeting. A good landscape design includes plants with eye-catching foliage that will provide aesthetic value month after month, year after year.

Ozbreed has bred several new native cultivars with foliage full of interesting colours, shapes, and textures.… Continue reading

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Business ProfileEditorial

Three steps to creating the sales and profit you want over the next year

By John Corban

The new financial year has begun, and  if you have not already done so, now is the time to analyse your P&L from the year just finished.

By following my three simple steps, you can analyse your numbers and percentages.… Continue reading

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