Even on a cold late autumn day I’m stopped by the scent of a bed of Palma Violets planted along a path which leads from my study to the nursery. Palma violets “... possess a delightful fragrance reminiscent of ordinary sweet violet perfume mixed with that of wallflowers”. more... about Parma Violets
There can hardly be a more useful, more obliging perennial than the winter flowering Iris unguicularis which starts to bloom in May and carries on its display well into September. The clone most commonly found in gardens is known throughout the horticultural world as The Algerian Iris. more... about Iris unguicularis
It’s only during the last few years that I’ve started growing Zauschneria’s again. I grew them for a while thirty years or more ago whilst still living in the Dandenongs. They were plants I raised from seed and might not have performed well or, more likely, I could well have found the flower colour too strident. more... about Zauschneria: Californian Humming Bird Trumpets
Yesterday, the 29th of January, I picked my first cantaloupe of the season. Three of my grandchildren were visiting and we, mostly they, soon polished it off. more... about Melons
The New Mediterranean Garden at Lambley is taking shape. We started making it just before the drought broke two years ago. An incredibly wet spring followed by 300ml of rain in a few days during January and 100ml in a few hours during early February nearly washed the garden away. more... about Lambley's New Mediterranean Garden
Allium giganteum is by far the most telling of all the ornamental onions. It has cricket ball sized heads tightly packed with hundreds of glistening amethyst-mauve flowers set on a 120cm or moretall stem. It flowers here in late November and early December here a month later than the other large drumstick Alliums. more... about Alliums continued
This is in every way such a wonderful book that it should be in the library of every person with an interest in gardening, botany or shamanism. Huanduj Brugmansia is the new book on the genus by Alistair Hay, Monika Gottschalk, Adolfo Holguin more... about Brugmansia book review and a tribute to Arnold Teese
