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SUMMER IN FULL BLOOM Start the year with an inspiring visit to a botanic garden or an open garden near you! For gardeners in Victoria, a treat awaits on the weekend of January 10–11 at The Barwitian Garden in Barwite, on Taungurung Country, 140km north-east of Melbourne. This extraordinary naturalistic garden (pictured) is the work of artist and garden designer Ralph Bristow. Over the past seven years, Ralph has transformed a former paddock into a semi-wild landscape brimming with around 20,000 plants, including trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses and cacti. This will be the first time the garden has been open during its peak summer phase, kickstarting Open Gardens Victoria’s 2026 summer season. See over for more news and events… nature at its peak Research by Queensland’s James Cook University has…

Whether you’re looking for a bright border display, a highlight for a vertical garden or something to add interest to a hanging basket, Carex oshimensis ‘Moon Falls’ (below) could be the answer. Growing to 30cm tall, with a spread of up to 50cm, this ornamental grass has a rounded, cascading habit and slender, crisply variegated leaves. ‘Moon Falls’ will grow in full sun or part-shade in a range of soils, although it prefers well-drained soil. And it's tough-as (heat-, drought-, salt- and frost-tolerant) and needs little maintenance once established. pma.com.au These three new releases are sure to set rose lovers’ hearts aflutter. ‘Queen of Sweden’ (top left) is a magnificent David Austin shrub rose with shallow, cup-shaped blooms that have a subtly spicy scent. The flowers start out peachy-pink and…

NATURE PEOPLE Dr César Puechmarin, Affirm Press Wildlife veterinarian, photographer, podcaster and writer Dr Ce´sar Puechmarin could easily have been the subject of his own book, which celebrates 12 passionate naturalists working to protect Australia’s native fauna and flora. Ce´sar interviews them to find out what they do and why they do it. They include frog expert Dr Jodi Rowley; Kombumerri-Ngarang-Wal man Clinton Brewer; and palaeontologist Adele Pentland, who led a team that discovered a new pterosaur species. Ce´sar accompanies many of them as they explore forests, rainforests, deserts, oceans, streams and creeks, taking the reader with him. And each is given time and space to tell their story. The beautifully written text is complemented by richly detailed illustrations and Ce´sar’s own photographs, shot on 35mm colour negative film. THE…

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THE HEAT IS ON In summer, shade and water mean survival for wildlife. Take a critter’s-eye view of your garden and see how to help! water world Birds and small mammals rely on water for drinking, bathing and regulating body temperature, while lizards and some insects seek it for hydration. So, what can you do? Install birdbaths – these offer wide, shallow water that’s safe for birds, small mammals and lizards to use. Keep these tips in mind: • Ceramic dishes or pot plant saucers can work as birdbaths – avoid metal (it gets hot). • Site baths in dappled shade, ideally near shrubs for cover, or add perching branches. • Clean and refill birdbaths daily in hot weather, when water heats up and algae forms quickly. • Keep baths…

You can literally hear childhood memories being made in Tiffany and Damian Wicks’ Toowoomba garden as children play amid a sea of blooms, their laughter and squeals of delight ringing out. Tiffany is the creator and heartbeat of the garden, Flowers on Fairholme, which has won multiple awards, including the title of 2024 Grand Champion in Toowoomba’s annual garden competition. It’s no mean feat: the couple have five children under 10 – Henry, Eddie, Olivia, Alex and newborn George – and Tiffany also works part-time as a clinical child psychologist. She and Damian, a builder, have lived here for 11 years, but only started garden-making six years ago. They had some major earthworks to attend to first, which involved levelling the 1000m² block as part of raising and renovating their…

TROPICAL ● Weather watch Days are sunny and humid, followed by dramatic electrical storms in the afternoon and evening. The monsoon rains bring steamy mornings, lush growth and a burst of life – everything glistens and hums. Frogs call, insects buzz, and the air feels alive. ● In the garden The high humidity and relentless rain can take some of the joy out of gardening, but there are still ways to keep plants healthy: empty saucers regularly to prevent mosquitoes and rot; shift vulnerable pots under cover; and make sure water drains away freely from garden beds. Gardener and ceramic artist Mollie Bosworth has a mix of things happening in her garden in Kuranda, Far North Queensland: “My pride of Trinidad and Tobago (Warszewiczia coccinea) is flowering for the first…

Move over wattles: there’s another green-and-gold native charmer stealing the spotlight: the glorious guinea flower! From mat-forming groundcovers to small shrubs and the occasional climber, guinea flowers (Hibbertia spp.) come in a huge range of forms. With their mid-green leaves and buttercup-yellow blooms, they may seem same-same, but look closer and their individuality shines through – from ruffled or notched petals, to scalloped or narrow leaves, each with its own quirks and charm. Found right across Australia – from Tasmania (the endangered H. basaltica), to the far north of the Northern Territory (H. brownii) – these golden beauties take many forms. The crowd favourite (for now!) is snake vine (H. scandens) – a vigorous climber loved for its lush foliage, sunny blooms and talent for disguising fences. You might also…

With its flaming scarlet flowers, Alloxylon flammeum is well-named. Commonly known as the tree waratah or red silky oak, this native rainforest tree is a vision of beauty worthy of a place in any tropical, subtropical or protected warm temperate garden. The tree’s natural range is limited to the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland, making it relatively rare in the wild. In fact, the tree waratah is listed as ‘vulnerable’ under Australian conservation laws due to habitat loss from land clearing and rainforest fragmentation. The tube-shaped flowers appear in large clusters at the end of branches from spring to early summer, framed by glossy, dark green leaves that make this evergreen tree highly ornamental even when not in bloom. The flowers attract birds and insects, particularly butterflies, and the…