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Garden plans for the summer
Apart from all my plants growing nicely, there isn’t a lot going on this week in my garden. I’ve done the required sweeping outside to keep things tidy and watered everything and that is as exciting as it gets this week. This coming summer, I am going to see how many of my own vegetables…
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Early bird
What time do you go to bed and wake up currently? I have always been an early bird, getting up early in the morning. I find that the mornings are my most productive time of day too. Due to the fact that I start work at 6.30 in the morning these days, I am up…
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Wildlife at work
One of things that I love about my work is that I often see wildlife of various sorts when I’m out working. Today, have seen some birds, one of which is my favourite Australian native bird the kookaburra. I really love looking out for the native birds as they are really different to the equally…
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A quieter week in my garden
This week has not been a busy week for my home gardening. As we have had a little rain this week, and it is cool due to us being in winter, I’ve only had to water my avocado and mandarin trees once. All my other plants still sat in nice, moist growing media. All my…
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Horticulture is my thing
On what subject(s) are you an authority? Horticulture is the subject in which I have most knowledge. It is what I do for a living. I also spend a lot of time outside of work reading about plants, pottering around in my small patch of balcony garden and always trying to learn new things. The…
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Nutrients essential for plant growth
Just like people, plants need a range of nutrients to keep healthy, grow well and look fabulous. There are the 16 nutrients that plants need. There are nine macro-elements, as shown below: There are seven micro-elements need by plants, as shown below: There are several other things to note here in relation to nutrient uptake…
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Cape Gooseberry-Physalis peruviana
This is a plant that I found last weekend when I did my usual monthly bush care volunteering. It is a plant that I haven’t seen before, so I thought I’d find out a little about it. In the context of where I found this plant, it is a weed and is one that can…
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A teacher should be inspirational
What makes a teacher great? A true teacher is someone who can inspire you in some way. They make the subject really interesting. They help you understand even if you find the subject difficult. They also make it far more fun than it would otherwise be. A great teacher isn’t all that common.
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What’s been happening today?
In my little patch, there isn’t much to report really, other than all my crops are continuing to grow nicely an that the sun is out, even though it is feeling cold (for Sydney at least). I did a quick sweep of the patio area so that it doesn’t get too messy. I really don’t…
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Busy bees in the garden
On my travels at work, there is an Agave attenuata in flower. Today, I was all excited to see bees loving the flowers. Some people may think that I am slightly odd for getting excited about seeing bees doing their thing in a garden, but I will wear that oddness with pride! I also managed…
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My garden this week
We have had a mostly sunny week at home, with only 6mm of rain on Thursday. My Saintpaulia (African Violets) are flowering, especially my blue-purple flowered one and looks amazing. I keep them on the windowsill in my bedroom and seem to be really happy there. With my outdoor plants, I now have many seeds…
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Bushcare in June
As usual, the fourth Saturday of the month is Bushcare day for me. I spend two hours of my day pottering around in the bush. As usual, there is always plenty of work to be done pulling out weeds that shouldn’t be there. The list of weeds taken out today include: Although there is a…
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Mischief, mayhem and peas!
Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you to childhood? A big reminder of childhood is whenever I eat peas. This humble little legume is such a reminder, because I spent every summer picking the pods and then shelling the peas at my grandparents farm. I always remember this as a lot of fun…
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Winter is cold but beautiful
What is your favorite season of year? Why? Here is Sydney, winter is my favourite season for several reasons. The first reason is that the temperature is cool. Coming from England originally, I still struggle with summer temperatures and find the winters a lot easier to deal with. In winter, the sun always seems to…
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Nutrients essential for plant growth
Just like people, plants need a range of nutrients to keep healthy, grow well and look fabulous. There are the 16 nutrients that plants need. There are nine macro-elements, as shown below: There are seven micro-elements need by plants, as shown below: There are several other things to note here in relation to nutrient uptake…
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Weekend activities in my garden
This weekend has not been too busy in my garden really, but there usually something to report. None of the seeds that were sown have germinated yet, but I’m hoping that this week the new seedlings will appear. Some of the mandarins on my mandarin tree have now been harvested. This year they are super…
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A lack is of forward planning is rarely a good thing!
One thing that does annoy me in my work is when there is a lack of planning in carrying out work on a new garden bed. I’ve had a situation recently where this garden bed in question has been empty for months then suddenly needs to be filled with plants by the end of the…
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Plants, plants and more plants!
What are you passionate about? I love plants. There are many reasons for this, including: I could go on! I find that there is a never ending supply of something new to learn and I really enjoy that aspect too-along with tasty food and colourful flowers! All photos above are my own
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More planting in my garden
Time flies past too quickly sometimes! It’s over a month since I last said what was going on. It is now officially winter here in Sydney, but I can still have plenty of things growing in my little garden area. My mandarin tree has several mandarins on it that will be ready to eat soon.…
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A good life
What are the most important things needed to live a good life? For me, this is really simple as I don’t feel I need anything fancy for a good life, even though fancy stuff and places can be fun. All I really need are my family and friends who are there for each other and…
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Early morning travels
As a parent with a son that plays sport on Saturday mornings, I am usually up and about quite early. This morning is cold, but the weather is clear and sunny. We have been up in North Turramurra, which is a bit higher than the surrounding areas and you have a really nice view. I…
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My favourite childhood read
Do you remember your favorite book from childhood? As a kid, my nose was rarely out of a book. I have always loved reading and could give so many answers to this question, but my answer has to be the BFG by Roald Dahl. I don’t know what it was about this book, but it…
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Banksia ericifolia-Heath-leaved banksia
Another Banksia for you, noticed because it has sprung into flower recently and looks great-this genus has become one of my favourites since moving to Australia. Banksia ericifolia is a shrub that can reach 2.5 metres in height, being common in heath and woodland. As mentioned previously, all Banksia species (named after Joseph Banks) are…
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Life before the internet
Do you remember life before the internet? I do remember life before the internet, back when I was a kid. In my childhood, I was constantly outside playing with friends in most weather. Being from northern England, cold and rain didn’t seem to bother me provided I was outside having fun running around. I loved…
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Lantana
In Australia, lantana is a weed. In this instance, I don’t mean a weed that disturbs the look of a flat green lawn, like a dandelion, but a weed that disturbs the natural order of native bushland where it smothers the native plants that provide food and homes for Australian wildlife (which, by the way,…
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What does ‘having it all’ really mean?
What does “having it all” mean to you? Is it attainable? Having it all, to me, implies an insane rush to constantly work too hard, for far too many hours, just to pay for the random stuff that I don’t really need or want-all for some sort of bragging rights. I have recently started asking…
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Banksia spinulosa-Hairpin banksia
The hairpin banksia is a shrub native to the states of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland in Australia, being as far north as Cairns in Queensland. It’s habitat varies from coastal forests to the forests of the great dividing range. The presence of this shrub does indicate that conditions within its environment are moist.…
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Cold weather is a relief
How do you feel about cold weather? Living in Sydney means I do get a lot of warm, if not hot, weather in the summer. Along with this comes humidity. Coming from England originally, I struggle with this combination of heat and humidity, so the cold weather of winter comes as a relief. As a…
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Balancing work and play
How do you balance work and home life? I think that the key to this is valuing all aspects of your life equally. We all have to work to support ourselves, but I do believe that working your set hours and then going home is essential for health and happiness. It is important to work…
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Asclepias curassavica
This is a perennial herb that grows to 1 metre tall and 1 metre wide. It belongs to the Asclepidaceae family. The genus Asclepias tolerates drought and loves the sun. Plants in this genus do have milky sap that can irritate skin, so wear gloves if doing anything with it! The flowers contain plenty of…
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Fruity goodness
List your top 5 favorite fruits. I enjoy most fruit but my favourite are as follows:
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Freedom
Freedom for me is eventually being able to work for myself. A lot od this is down to the fact that I dont like being told what to do, especially when I know there are better ways of doing things but have to do it the boss way! This also applies to being able to…
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Career plan
What is your career plan? As a horticulturalist, I want to tell the world how awesome plants are. From amazing flowers and interesting structural forms, to heath benefits and homes for wildlife, plants are endlessly fascinating to me and I just want to share that with the world.
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Random question answered
What do you do to be involved in the community? I take part in bush care, which is where volunteers help to maintain local bush land. I take part ice a month for a couple of hours and really enjoy the time in the fresh air talking to friends while helping to protect local wildlife.
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The Chinese Garden of Friendship, Sydney
This is a garden that I have wanted to visit for a while, but never had the time to visit until recently. The garden opened on the 17th January 1988, being designed and built to show the friendship between the sister states of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia and Guangdong in China (along with…
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What’s happened this week
I haven’t had a huge amount of time this week to do much, but I have finally managed to plant my peas (Pisum sativum) and my sweet peas. Where I live, don’t really see fresh peas in the fresh fruit and veg section of the supermarket. One of my favourites are fresh peas, straight from…
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Interesting listening
I have just started listening to a new podcast called Unearthed: Journeys into the Future of Food. It comes from the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, narrated by the botanist James Wong. The podcast does talk about our food and where it comes from, of course, but it covers other fascinating plant topics like their impact…
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The Goods Line, Sydney
The goods line, is a section of old railway that ran between Darling Harbour goods yards and the rail yards around Redfern further south. It was first built in 1855, becoming vital for the movement of goods like coal, shale and wheat amongst others. Over time, the Ultimo (where the goods line is located) became…
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My garden
I live in a ground floor apartment in Sydney, earning outside space is limited. As far as this outside space goes, I have a patio area on one side and an area of what should be some form of grass, but is currently just weeds on the other. I have decided that I need to…
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Chinese hibiscus-Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
This showy plant is one I have come to really like, precisely because of it’s showy flowers. It’s binomial name has the following meaning-Hibiscus-Latin (coming from the Greek word hibiskos) marsh mallow, rosa-senensis-rose of China. The basics of this plant are as follows: All photos are my own
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Morning glory-Ipomoea indica
This is a weed that has an obvious strong selling point, as well as many flaws as a plant in Sydney. The positive is the large, purple flowers that look really stand out when present. The trouble is with the fact that this plant is a vine that can grow up and then smother (and…
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Australian native violet-Viola hederaceae
This little ground cover is native to the eastern states of Australia, along with Malaya. It belongs in the Violaceae family which contains 900 species, in 22 genera, of shrubs, herbs and climbers. The components of the plants binomial name have the following meaning; Viola is the Latin word for plants and hederaceae is ivy-like,…
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What is bush care and why is it important?
Bush care is where groups of volunteers meet to care for areas of bushland, removing weeds and rubbish to enable native plant communities and their associated fauna to continue to survive and thrive. Many local councils and national parks run bush care groups in their natural areas and parks, and are always welcoming of new…
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Why having trained horticultural staff is vital in today’s world.
No matter the garden you have, a trained horticulturalist is always beneficial. Gardening is not just about having a lawn that’s mowed regularly or hedges that are kept tidy. We know how to ensure that your hedges and lawns are fertilised well so they always look healthy as well kept short or hedged. Having trained…
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Pteris vittata-Ladder Brake
This is a fern in the Pteridaceae family which I find quite an interesting plant. It is native to several countries including Australia, where it is found in the states of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia. Natural occurrence is thought to be rare. They are found on hillsides, frequently near streams and…
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Banksia serrata-Old Man Banksia
This is a tree that is an emblem of Australia to me. It can be a little scruffy, but (as with many Australian natives) it has a random charm to it-the flowers look awesome and it can survive fire through the ability to reshoot from a lignotuber. The flowers are also a source of food…
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What are some of the benefits of horticulture?
Horticulture has a wide range of benefits in several different areas of our world, including for our health and well-being, for urban areas, the environment and the economy. In terms of health and well-being, horticulture can improve our lives greatly: In urban areas, the green space available can help in improving social cohesion, with trust,…
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What is horticulture?
Horticulture is the cultivation of both ornamental plants and the production of fruit and vegetables on a commercial scale. The cut flower industry can also be included. In terms of places or businesses that are included under the umbrella of the term ‘horticulture’ are: Within this broad industry, there are a range of jobs, including…
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Why should leaves be used as mulch?
Leaves make the perfect mulch and are ideal for several reasons. There are many benefits to using leaves as mulch, as discussed below, with the only downside being that it can look untidy if the leaves are left in your garden beds as leaves. Using them as mulch, whether composted or not, also prevent huge…
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Weed matting and why I dislike it!
Weed matting is sheeting that can be laid on the ground over soil, with the aim of suppressing weed growth. The matting is supposed to allow air and water through into the soil without hinderance, as it naturally would do without the matting present. This sheeting can be made from plastic or various forms of…
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Acanthus mollis
Acanthus mollis, also known as Bears Breeches and Oyster Plant, is a climp-forming perennial. It’s native habitat is the Mediterranean basin, including south wet europe and north west Africa. The genus Acanthus, consists of 25 species of perennials that grow in dry rocky areas. They are vigerous plants that have an architectural look to both…
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Camellia leaf gall
I saw this fungal infection for the first time at work a few days ago and thought it was worth talking about it, as I learnt something new and it could be of value to you at some point in the future. Camellia leaf gall is caused by the fungus Exobasidium camelliae. When conditions are…
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Grevillea caleyi
Grevillea caleyi is a rare grevillea that comes from a small area of northern Sydney. The name of the genus, Grevillia, was given in honour of Charles Francis Greville-an Englishman who collected and propagated plants of, and within, New South Wales during the early part of the nineteenth century. The species name, caleyi, was given…
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Anredera cordifolia- Madeira Vine
Madeira vine is my most disliked, but also my most loved, weed here in Sydney. I say this because it causes so much damage, grows quickly and spreads very easily, which is why I dislike it with such a passion, while I love it because I get immense pleasure out of removing it from the…
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Epacris longiflora-Fuchsia Heath
This is a lovely shurb that is native to the sandy soils of the Sydney area of NSW. Both parts of the binomial name for the plant come from Latin words. Epacris comes from epi-meaning upon and akros meaning the top, longiflora means long flowered. Fuchsia heath grows naturally in nutrient poor, free draining, but…
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Hardenbergia violacea
This is one of my all time favourite plants. It is an Australian native plant. In the wild, this climber grows in forest/woodland and in coastal scrub. The distribution of this climber covers the majority of NSW, along with Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. In the clay soils of western Sydney and the…
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Soil basics
Soil is the natural material in which a plant grows. All plants are provided with the nutritional requirements from the soil, provided it is itself healthy and in good condition. The soil also provides structural support to the plants that grow within it. Plants require a soil depth of 200-300mm, if not a bit more,…
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Camellias
Camellias are a genus of shrubs and small trees between one and twenty metres tall. They are native to woodland with acidic soil in Asia-from northern India and the Himalayas in the west to Japan and China in the east, extending south to northern Indonesia, Java and Sumatra. While there is some debate over the…
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Lisgar Gardens Hornsby
My first garden visit is to the lovely Lisgar Gardens on Lisgar Road in Hornsby, NSW. These gardens cover 2.6 hecatres on a hillside, with the different garden levels created by using sandstone blocks. The gardens are owned, and cared for, by Hornsby Shire Council. They are open 8 am-3.30pm on weekdays and 10am-4pm (5pm…
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What is a weed?
The most basic definition of a weed is a plant that is growing where it is not wanted. As with many things, the definition can become a little more complicated. A weed can cause harm to people, livestock, the economy or the environment rather than just being an ‘unwanted’ plant. Weeds share common traits that…
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What is sustainable gardening?
There is no single answer to this question. For me, sustainable gardening is about gardening in a way that reduces the quick fix, throw-away approach to life that we have today. The need to carry out good good horticultural techniques, wasting less and using your time and resources wisely are all important. First and formost,…
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