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Gardening / Delights of being in the garden
Cistus “Nightfall”… responded beautifully to a hard prune. THIS is a delightful time in the garden with a succession of flowering shrubs complementing the burst of colour from perennials. Cedric...
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Gardening / When the rain comes…
A spectacular showing of Cornus capitata. REGULAR rain has been hugely beneficial for gardens and, combined with mild weather, many shrubs are flowering better than for several years. Cedric Bryant....
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Gardening / Make Christmas a living thing
I’M old school when it comes to Christmas trees and always prefer a living tree. Our current potted Christmas tree has grown in the last 12 months and, after this Festive season, will need repotting...
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Gardening / When Lindsay called the PM
PM Ben Chifley plants a tree on September 12, 1949, signalling the start of the Botanic Gardens in Canberra.IN 1949, an evening phone call from director of Parks and Gardens Lindsay Pryor to the then...
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Gardening / Beware the care for summer plants
WHILE garden centres brim with wonderful, tempting plants to buy, remember it’s high summer and planting shrubs and, even more so, perennials need extra care. Cedric Bryant. Often February is just as...
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Gardening / Time to plan for winter blooms
I had to share this photo of a Buxus sempervirens or box hedge plant in an English garden… to think we consider it a dwarf plant.AUTUMN, glorious autumn, the perfect time in Canberra! Despite being the...
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Gardening / Thyme for a ‘living’ mulch
White-flowering carpet thyme, Thymus serpyllum. MULCH, mulch, mulch… that’s the constant message with our extreme evaporation rate that starts in late spring and lasts to late autumn. Besides the many...
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Gardening / Making flower wishes come true
Hydrangeas for a long-flowering display at All Saints Church, Ainslie. SHRUBS that flower for an extended period is the wish of all gardeners, despite the fact most shrubs flower for only a relatively...
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Gardening / Risky business of being in the garden!
Mop Top Robinias… the top part doesn’t have thorns, but the roots sucker like mad if the ground is disturbed. MY original Swiss-made Felco secateurs are the best in the world. They are more than 40...
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Gardening / In praise of ‘naked ladies’!
Belladonna lilies… they relish full sun for the bulbs to ripen. BIG, bold and beautiful is the only way to describe belladonna lilies presenting their huge flowers at this time. Cedric Bryant. Still...
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Gardening / Hard talk about landscaping
An entertainment area ready for the first party… the low wall provides room for an extra 20 people. AUTUMN is planting time but while it’s still early days of the new season, it’s also a good time to...
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Gardening / Meet an old face for the garden
Persicaria pictured at the UK Royal Horticultural Society’s Wisley Garden… grown in Britain since the 1400s.I’M always on the lookout for plants that are a bit different to recommend for home...
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Gardening / The Old Dart goes bush
The brilliantly coloured flowers of Corymbia “Summer Red” photographed recently at the Botanic Gardens. AUSTRALIAN native plants are in huge demand overseas, especially from florists in the UK and...
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Gardening / Leaves, leaves, glorious leaves
Time to choose trees for autumn colour. THIS week is all about leaves, glorious leaves, an inescapable part of autumn in Canberra. Cedric Bryant. While it’s also a season considerably more predictable...
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Gardening / Great time to get a lawn started
A cool lawn for the family to enjoy.KEEPING a lawn green can be a battle in most of the country with high temperatures combined with ever increasing water rates, particularly in Canberra. Cedric...
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Gardening / Perfect time to divide perennials
Some trees refuse to lay down and die… I had to bring you this picture of a fallen eucalyptus on a friend’s property near Gunning. Having fallen over, in turn it’s created a mini-forest of substantial...
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Gardening / Conifers get some good press
Dwarf conifers at Cockington Green Gardens… a great place to see conifers in Canberra, from miniature to dwarf and slow-growing conifers. CONIFERS are among the oldest living plants in the world....
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Gardening / In awe of colourful autumn bulbs
Nerines for autumn colour and a fragrant cut flower. WITH spring bulbs flooding the garden centres for planting now, it’s easy to overlook the wide range of autumn-flowering bulbs. Autumn-flowering...
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Gardening / Colour to brighten dreary days
Plant hollyhocks and lupin seedlings for spring colour. ENTERING the second month of autumn as the leaves fall in earnest and the landscape is looking bare, we look for colour in the garden to brighten...
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Gardening / Winter’s most beautiful, flowering plant
Cedric’s Camellia sasanqua “Hiryu” hedge in winter. I DON’T know of a more beautiful plant flowering most of the winter than the Camellia sasanqua. Cedric Bryant. This beautiful shrub is a present full...
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