Gardening Australia digital subscription

HIP, HIP... Happy 20th birthday to the award-winning Australian Garden at Cranbourne! The jewel in the crown of the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne, just an hour’s drive from Melbourne, the 15ha garden showcases 100,000 native Australian plants and is home to vulnerable and critically endangered species. Last year, it was named by The New York Times as one of 25 global gardens to see in your lifetime! Highlights include the Dry River Bed garden (pictured), the often-photographed Red Sand Garden and the Gondwana Garden (featuring plants with origins 180 million years ago). For more, visit rbg.vic.gov.au/Cranbourne-gardens See over for more news and events… Giving a fig The heritage trees at Melbourne Zoo are breathing easier, thanks to sustainability specialists and modern technology. The zoo team has developed technology that allows…

For a bright start to spring, plant seedlings of Anemone coronaria, Ranunculus asiaticus and poppies (Oreomecon nudicaulis syn. Papaver nudicaule) now. Choose from 26 varieties of Ranunculus ‘Elegance’, which includes a mixed selection (pictured above); 20 varieties in the ‘Mistral’ and ‘Levante’ series of anemones, including ‘Levante Azzurro’ (above, right ) and ‘Levante Rosso’; and six varieties from the ‘Colibri’ poppy collection, such as ‘Colibri Corallo’ (above). southernhighlandsflowerfarm.com.au The Summer Balcony Seed Collection (above) is made for small spaces, starring ‘Tiny Tim’ tomatoes, ‘Thai Long Green’ eggplants, ‘Californian Wonder’ capsicums, ‘Maui Purple’ chillies, ‘Violet Queen’ beans, ‘Spacemaster’ cucumbers, ‘Oxheart’ carrots and chives. Start tomatoes, eggplants, capsicums and chillies indoors, then plant seedlings and remaining seed varieties when soil temperatures reach 15°C. Sow the Fast Feast Collection outside now and in…

THE COASTAL GARDEN Phaidon editors, text by Sorrel Everton, Phaidon Like the views they enjoy, these gardens are spectacular. But with climate change reshaping how we garden, The Coastal Garden is much more than a coffee table book. As British designer Nigel Dunnett says in his introduction, the gardens – 48 from around the world – are at the forefront in dealing with climatic and environmental extremes, pointing the way forward for the rest of us. Australia is well-represented, with gardens by Victoria’s Fiona Brockhoff and Phillip Johnson, and Sydney’s Pepo Botanic Design and Secret Gardens. While most of the designers prioritise native plants, their main criteria is toughness and adaptability, so you’ll see kangaroo paws in a garden in Sonoma, California. Each garden is beautifully described and photographed. WHY…

I love creating gardens, and have shaped three of them over the years. My first real garden creation was ‘The Chapel’ at Ashton, a cool-climate part of the Adelaide Hills. My second was Hamlyn Cottage in Mount Barker, which is also in the Adelaide Hills but has a Mediterranean-like climate – hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters, with frosts down to -5˚C. I shared many stories about this garden with Gardening Australia viewers and readers over the 11 years I lived there and it became known as ‘Sophie’s Patch’. But I moved from that glorious garden in 2022, and rented while I found my next project. Some people wondered why I left Mount Barker: they didn’t realise that the property was soon to be surrounded by a cheek-by-jowl housing…

Paul Whelan’s childhood holidays were spent jumping in the ocean with his surfboard, camping on the beach, and making memories with family and friends. Adulthood took Paul travelling far and wide, but his favourite place for a getaway is still the beach at Dodges Ferry, a coastal town 40km east of Hobart, in Lutruwita/ Tasmania, where Paul has created a cosy, coastal garden at his holiday home. He says Hobart was a different place in the ’90s: “I grew up in the northern suburbs – the ‘badlands’, as it was called back then. There was high unemployment, economic strife, and few opportunities. After university, I went off to travel the world, then I returned to Hobart after a difficult break-up. I was a bit lost and started taking small landscaping…

Australia’s native flora is rich in winter-flowering plants, and including a few in your garden provides interesting textures, long-lasting cut flowers and a valuable food source for wildlife. In many areas, insects remain active during these months, while birds are always on the hunt for nectar, making these plants a magnet for visitors. Many native species also bring strong structure to the garden: think about growing some of the lesser-known varieties and forms that add individuality. Here’s a snapshot of six genera, including species that are found across most states and territories, spanning a wide range of habitats and climates – so there’s a winter bloomer for everyone, wherever you live! BORONIA Genus Boronia; family name Rutaceae; 135 species; found Australia-wide Boronias are attractive small-to-medium shrubs, with masses of small…

Long prized for their glossy green leaves and reliable winter colour, camellias are a familiar presence in many gardens. There’s a wide range of species and countless cultivars available, offering plenty of options for interest throughout the cooler months. Yet among this abundance sits a quieter group – camellias with scent. stop and smell the camellias Often subtle, though sometimes surprisingly rich, these fragrant varieties have largely slipped under the radar. Overshadowed by the larger, showier blooms camellias are known for, they have been less widely grown, but are well worth seeking out. Fragrance in camellias tends to be concentrated within a small group of species and their hybrids. Most garden varieties are bred from Camellia japonica and C. sasanqua – and fragrance is not their primary feature. Instead, it…

Sitting beside an avenue of pin oaks, the potting shed at Bowermere Cottage is picture perfect in the afternoon sunlight. It is a quintessential garden room – in size, shape and decor. A space that entices you inside with warmth and character but doesn’t feel so perfect that you’d be afraid to spill dirt on the floor. This is a story from the fairytale forests of Victoria’s Upper Yarra Valley, on Wurundjeri Country, east of Melbourne. A for-sale sign staked outside an old weatherboard cottage caught the eyes of a young couple on a camping trip – and the rest, as they say, is history. Tarnya and Ryan Harper swiftly began to make plans to rejuvenate the house and garden, which back onto the Yarra River. This little outbuilding was…

Cities in Australia and all around the world are buzzing and vibrant places – with people busily living out their days, and nights. Of course, there is convenience and conviviality to our 24-hour lifestyle. Who doesn’t love an all-nighter? But lighting the night is also having an impact on almost every animal on earth, including us! And, as always, gardeners can help. Why is lighting the night a problem? Dr Kaori Yokochi is an ecologist at Deakin University in Melbourne and a member of the Network for Ecological Research on Artificial Light. She says nearly all living things are guided by the natural day/night cycle: “We’ve all evolved to use light as a cue. Plants use light to photosynthesise, but also to stimulate seasonal behaviour like flowering and fruiting. In…