By John Fitzsimmons
There are those who love trees simply for their beauty and splendour. There are people who regard trees as being ‘in the way’ of some more immediate perceived want or need, or who dislike living with trees in close proximity for cultural or aesthetic reasons.… Continue reading
Read MoreINDUSTRY EXPERTS INVITE 82,000 AUSSIES TO ASK ME ANYTHING!
A dynamic two-way conversation between industry experts and Australian green life consumers has been rolling out via the @GreenerSpacesBetterPlaces Instagram channel. Connecting consumers directly with industry gardening experts, the social media video series recently featured:
Andrew Laidlaw, lead horticulturist and landscape designer for Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens.… Continue reading
Read MoreBy 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
Read MoreBy 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
Read MoreBy 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
Read MoreInstead 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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The sharp points on Acacia verticillata, Prickly Moses, are useful in deterring wildlife from gardens (Image: Kenraiz Krzysztof Ziarnek via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
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
Read MoreBy 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
Read MorePhotosynthate 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
Read MoreBy 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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