Techniques | The Garden Clinic

How to: plant propagation

18 March, 2021 | Isla Barlow

Want plants for free? Winter is the right time of year to take cuttings from established plants to create new ones.

You don’t often see these plants for sale in commercial nurseries, so the best way to introduce them into your garden is to find a friend who is willing to share, and practice your propagation skills.

How to: propagate hibiscus

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Many of the most exciting hibiscus are found in gardens rather than in garden centres, so it’s handy to know how to propagate your own plants.

How to: prune a cloud topiary

18 March, 2021 | Graham Ross

After decades of admiring beautiful specimens of cloud-pruned trees in China and Japan, I finally decided to create my own cloud topiary. When our editors discovered what I’d done they asked me to write about it.

How to: prune angels trumpet

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Angels trumpets (brugmansia) are native to the subtropical forests of Brazil and Chile. There they grow beneath other trees in an unruly and tangled mess of branches, illuminated by those sensational flowers.

How to: prune climbing roses

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

The first thing to know about pruning climbing roses is not to do it in winter when you do your other roses. Here Robin Powell shares some of her other climbing rose insites

How to: rejuvenate the lawn

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

It’s time to refresh tired, stressed turf and transform it into lush, green lawn.

How to: remove rose suckers

18 March, 2021 | Sandra Ross

Rose suckers can overtake a precious rose if you don’t act early. Sandra Ross explains how to identify and remove them.

How to: repair a patchy lawn

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Autumn is a great time to oversow a balding lawn, grown patchy from the extremes of summer weather - and holiday entertaining!

How to: save your garden when off on holidays

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

We’re all going on a summer holiday - and the garden is staying behind! But with a little forward planning your garden can be just as lovely when you return as it was before you left.

How to: scare birds

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

This autumn don’t lose your precious fruit harvest to the birds. These are our favourite – proven! – techniques.

How to: set up a hen house

18 March, 2021 | Claire Bickle

Thinking about keeping chooks? Good plan. But before you put in an order for fluffy little chickens, get the henhouse right. Whether you are choosing a ready-made option, or building your own from new or recycled materials, here’s what you need to know to create a happy home for your hens.

How to: sharpen the pruners

18 March, 2021 | Shane Neill

A good crisp cut is one of the joys of pruning. Blunt tools not only deprive you of this simple pleasure but do a poor job and damage your plants.

How to: sow seeds

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Start planning in winter to sow seed for summer. There are two ways to raise vegetables from seed: sow them directly into the soil in which they are to grow; or raise them under cover in your house or greenhouse.

How to: stop snails invading precious pot plants

18 March, 2021 | Matthew Carroll

Keep both pets and snail-sensitive plants safe with these solutions.

How to: style an ikebana

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

The key difference between an ikebana approach to flower arranging and a Western style is that in ikebana the focus is on line and space rather than mass. Instead of adding more flowers to make it look better, ikebana is about what can be taken away. The space between the elements is as important as the elements themselves.

How to: style balcony pots

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

To make a balcony feel like a garden it needs to surround you with plants. Somehow you have to get some plants up at eye level, and even above it. A small tree would be just the thing, but on most balconies a pot big enough to support a large plant is just too heavy once it’s filled with moist soil - and a tree! A more pragmatic approach is to arrange smaller pots at different levels. You need to get those pots up off the ground to really appreciate your balcony garden. Here are a few ideas.

How to: take cuttings

18 March, 2021 | Libby Cameron

When you have an hour, take cuttings of favourite plants.

How to: use coconut peat

18 March, 2021 | Arno KIng

Need a lightweight, easily stored, highly effective potting medium? Look no further than this byproduct of coconut production, which has advantages for plants as well as gardners.

How to: use plants to deter pests

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Strongly scented herbs planted throughout the garden help put flying insects off their food – whether that’s your treasured plant, food crop, or body!

How to: use seaweed

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Seaweed is a versatile natural resource that does great work in the garden. We use it on a fortnightly basis to keep plants healthy.

How to: use seaweed in the garden

18 March, 2021 | Kirsten Bradley and Nick Ritar

In their new book ‘Milkwood’, permaculture gardeners Kirsten Bradley and Nick Ritar devote a whole chapter to the glories of seaweed. Beyond its uses in the kitchen, seaweed is great in the garden.

In my kitchen garden: Camden, NSW

18 March, 2021 | Mickey Robertson

Mickey Robertson’s kitchen garden at Glenmore House is as beautiful as it is productive, experimental and instructive.

In The Garden: December

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

Summer is upon us now and our gardens need special attension to survive the heat and prolonged dry weather. Here are some jobs to help get the garden through this challenging time.

In the garden: March

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

It’s time to get busy this march. Back by popular demand - our reminders of what to do in the garden this season.

June jobs

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

Time to get the early winter jobs done this June.

Know your: ferns

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Many ferns have a soft feathery quality that makes a great contrast with other plants - in the garden or indoors.

Know your: indoor plants

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Plants make indoor spaces beautiful and people happy. Here are a few easy-care options to start - or enlarge! - your indoor garden.

Lessons From a Master

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

10 top tips for better gardens from Fergus Garrett

Magic Magnolia Mulch

18 March, 2021 | Sandra Ross

Sandra's special recipe does magical things to sulking magnolias!

Meet: Graeme Parr: wisteria expert

18 March, 2021 | Sandra Ross

Oh hello big dose of flower envy. We'd do any thing for wisteria! Graeme has been growing wisteria for the nursery trade for 20 years. Here he shares his top tips for growing great flowering wisteria.

Moon Planting

18 March, 2021 | Robin Powell

Could a better understanding of the night sky be your key to a more productive vegetable garden?

Relaxed style

18 March, 2021 | Chris Pearson

Sydney-based designer Marcia Hosking gave a holiday vibe to this compact garden.

Rose Clinic

18 March, 2021 | Sandra Ross

Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment for all your rose problems

Spring jobs: November

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

The last of the spring blooms are falling. The mauve carpets of Jacaranda flowers are covering lawns and the throng of the crickets and songs of the frogs has begun. Here's a list of the last remaining spring jobs to be done in preparation for a big summer ahead

Spring jobs: October

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

October is an energetic month for gardeners but there’s much to appreciate on the way. Here's a list of October essentials in the mid-spring garden.

Spring Jobs: October

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Spring has sprung and the promise of new growth in the garden and stunning spring floral displays is exciting. Here's a swag of jobs, tips, tricks and things to look out for in the garden this OPctober

Spring Jobs: September

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Spring has sprung and Elizabeth Swane is excited about the promise of new growth in the garden and stunning spring floral displays. Here She has a swag of jobs, tips, tricks and things to look out for in the temperate garden this September

Toolshed

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Some gardeners are tool-lovers and their garden sheds are so densely populated they have to be thin as a rake just to get in the door. Others are tool-poor, making do with a pair of kitchen scissors and whatever they can scrounge from the brother-in-law. There is a middle way and here it is: our choice of the most useful tools in the shed, and how to use them.

Trace Elements

18 March, 2021 | Linda Ross

Gardeners are often advised to add nutrients and trace elements to the soil before planting, especially before planting edible plants. Why? Linda has the answers.

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