Author Archives: Sandi Pullman

Sandi Pullman

About Sandi Pullman

Sandi was a horticultural advisor to ABC TV’s Gardening Australia and has 21 years experience. She is a regular contributor to Vasili’s Good Gardening and Your Vegie Patch. She has also contributed to the Gardening section of The Age and to the Australian Garden History Society journal over the years. She is a founding member of the Friends of Burnley Gardens and now is volunteer garden co-ordinator for the Friends of La Trobe’s Cottage and is researching what plants were available from 1800 to 1854 to recreate an authentic garden of early Melbourne.

Burnley volunteers and the Burnley Table Great value in garden volunteers

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You know, I think the world would collapse without volunteers, especially gardening ones. Volunteers save organisations thousands and possibly millions of dollars in labour, do jobs that otherwise would not get done and without them we wouldn’t have many of the special places we like to visit. Continue reading →

Burnley Campus early 2013 Burnley Gardens 150th birthday

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I was privileged to go to Burnley in the early 1990s. It was not through good planning but I lived in the right area where Burnley students were drawn from. It is one of those special places where people find their calling. Burnley Campus (known to everyone as Burnley) is a hidden treasure of Melbourne and is one of the city’s best kept secrets. Not many people know that the gardens are public and anyone can come in and enjoy them. Burnley Gardens are situated 6km east of Melbourne on the banks of the Yarra River and many Melbournians used to travel to the gardens for picnics by ferry but unfortunately this no longer happens. Continue reading →

Richard and Cottage 042 Cacti and succulents at La Trobe’s Cottage

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It is funny how your garden tastes change over time. I wasn’t keen on succulents until one day at Burnley Gardens I walked past the huge old fig (Ficus macrophylla) where there is a rock wall lined with succulents under its canopy and it just clicked. I haven’t been a big fan of cacti either they just didn’t do it for me. Maybe I had seen too many bad 1960s and 70s gardens with scoria rock mulch and the old moth eaten cacti still standing. Continue reading →

Pelargonium triste How to interpret a historic garden

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Just over 3 years ago, I became involved with a group of volunteers that formed the Friends of La Trobe’s Cottage (FOLTC) which is a National Trust property in Melbourne. I have been blogging about all the changes happening in the cottage garden on my blog Sandi’s Garden Patch. A lot has happened over the last 3 years with the help of the garden volunteers, Citywide and some money from the Federal Government Stimulus Package a new roof, new fence and a well needed fresh new coat of paint. Continue reading →