Permaculture versus sustainabilityWhile most people think that permaculture and sustainable garden styles are the same. In fact permaculture can often be exactly the opposite.
Toowoomba Japanese GardenToowoomba Japanese Garden covers 4.5 hectares and truly lives up to its name ‘Ju Raku En’ meaning ‘long life and happiness in a public garden’.
‘It’s our time’ – a local landscapeWhile 2020 will mark the 25th Anniversary of the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, it will also mark Phillip Withers and the team our 5th professional appearance.
Vale Shirley StackhouseSydney’s best-loved gardening personality, Shirley Stackhouse, died on March 4 aged 92. She passed away peacefully after a short illness.
An Irish AdventureIn 2016, my husband and I decided to sell our Australian sheep property and move to Ireland, my country of birth. In 2018 we sold the farm along with 3000 merino sheep.
The etiquette of bush tucker foragingIt’s no longer viable to forage for bushfood. Yes, that’s a hard truth to hear, especially for us nature lovers.
Music making treesOne of my very favourite records is a 1965 recording of the Elgar Cello Concerto in E Minor played by Jacqueline du Pre with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbirolli, himself a cellist. This is regarded by many people to be the benchmark performance of this much-loved work. The fact that this concerto is played so beautifully on an instrument crafted from wood only occurred to me when Ray Steward OAM took us on his excellent tree walk in the Australian Plant Communities on 23rd July 2013.
Virginia Woolf’s Garden – a book reviewCaroline Zoob and her husband, Jonathan, rented Monk’s House, Rodmell near Lewes, East Sussex, from the National Trust for 10 years. This had been the home of Virginia Woolf and her husband, Leonard. They bought it in 1919 and took to the garden with passion. With Virginia’s help Leonard turned an ordinary cottage garden into something special.
Hillwood Estate, Washington D.C.On a cool misty November day, we drove into the Hillwood Estate and Garden car park and were soon registered at the Visitor Centre. The Estate is not a massive tract of land, but it is filled with many treasures, both in the house and in the garden. Outbuildings also house many treasures.
War Gardens – a reviewThis book and its theme are timely and poignant. We won’t stop waging wars. Some parts of the globe have long histories of it with competition for resources, land, water, trade and souls. Dwindling water supplies suggest more will come. We also won’t stop gardening – for food, shelter, beauty, solace – and this book is revealing on why. What gardening does for us – something that seems worth pondering and talking-up, as peace-fostering.
Keteleeria, a rare Asiatic conifer in Australian shrubberiesFor one raised and used to living in cooler, moister climes, living in Sydney can bring on ‘conifer-depletion syndrome’. Continue reading
I love a sunburnt country…but wish it would rain some more – a sequelIn February 2018, I was bemoaning the loss of some long-established plants in my predominantly native garden in the Hunter Valley.
The Gardens of the MonaroGardens in the Monaro area of southern NSW need to be resilient and tolerant of droughts, frosts and snow. Here is the story of three gardens. Continue reading