Gardening Australia

Where would we be without our local botanic gardens? They’re places where we can connect with nature and learn about plants in a totally informal way – while strolling, picnicking and relaxing alongside some of the best horticultural displays in the world. They are living, breathing green spaces and they play a huge role in the lives of our cities and regional centres. It’s Botanic Gardens Week this month (May 19–25) and the focus is on the role of these precious places in safeguarding plant species for future generations. Botanic gardens around Australia will be showcasing their ‘Big 5’ show-stopping plants. To mark the occasion, we asked horticulturists at Kings Park and Botanic Garden in Perth to nominate their Big 5, and they selected some wonderful native species. AB Bishop…

Autumn is a great time to see gardens such as The Stones in central Victoria. See over for details about this wonderful open garden and other must-see events… YOU'RE INVITED The Stones, an eclectic garden at Clydesdale in central Victoria, will open to the public on the weekend of April 26 and 27. Set around an 1850s stone farmhouse, this ever-evolving, tough-climate garden will be ablaze with vibrant autumn hues. When Jeremy Valentine and Grant Francis purchased the property in 2013, the garden had some well-chosen plants that had been put in by the previous owners and a few even older nut and fruit trees. It has since blossomed into an expansive garden filled with swaying grasses, cacti and other hardy plants that withstand winter frosts and the dry heat…

Leptospermum grandiflorum ‘Bicheno Part-time Pink’ (right) is a form of the autumn tea-tree, a shrub from eastern Tasmania known for its flowers and fruit, which are larger than are normally found on tea-trees. Growing to about 3m high and with a bushy habit, it makes an ideal screening plant, while a profusion of pink flowers add welcome colour as the weather cools in autumn. Banksia marginata ‘Minimarg’ is a compact, low-growing (1m x 1m) form of the silver banksia. It has two-tone leaves – deep green, with a silver underside – and its yellow flowers, which appear from winter all the way to summer, are a magnet for pollinators. This mounding plant is easy to please, thriving in a range of soil types and climate conditions. Yellow hakea (Hakea nodosa)…

THE ROSE BOOK Phaidon This sumptuous book explores our enduring fascination with the rose flower through more than 200 exquisite photographs. Curated by a panel of experts, the images range from striking artworks to ornate gardens – even a dress made of giant 3D-printed plastic petals. Essays by Amy de la Haye, Victoria Gaiger and Kristine Paulus offer additional insights into the rich history of the rose, its profusion in fashion and its popularity as a perfume. The reference section includes a handy glossary of rose types. We have two copies of this luscious book to give away. For details see page 87. A HEIDE HARVEST Alice Crowe and Maximilian Thames & Hudson Australia In 1934, John and Sunday Reed established the Heide art enclave in outer Melbourne. Heide was…

Visiting botanic gardens anywhere in the world brings a sense of calm and joy. They offer serene landscapes to relax in, themed gardens for inspiration, and a chance to discover diverse plant species. Kings Park is unique. Spanning 400ha, it features predominantly Western Australian plants, with the 17ha Western Australian Botanic Garden (WABG), showcasing more than 3000 species of the state’s flora. Sue McDougall, Director of the WABG, says a key focus of the garden is giving people the confidence to grow plants they may be unfamiliar with. “Whether it’s home gardeners or local government learning about and using these plants, it shows how it’s possible to develop beautiful and biodiverse ecosystems within urban and regional areas. Botanic gardens give people confidence to be able to grow these plants.” As…

If you’re like me and have a mad passion for bulbs – and bulb-like corms – I urge you to add the beautiful babiana to your garden. These easy-to-grow perennials can be planted now and will reward you with large, bold flowers in spring. There are more than 90 species of babiana, mainly originating in southern Africa. Most are small-sized plants with distinctive pleated leaves. The best-known species are winter-growers with violet to purple flowers that appear in spring before the plant becomes dormant in summer. Their other common name, baboon flower, comes from the fact baboons eat the corms, so be sure to protect your plant from any roaming primates! To entice you further, here are a few of my favourite babianas: ● B. villosa This species bears clusters…