SUCCULENTS Fashions for plants come and go. At one stage, cottage garden plants were all the rage. Native plants have become more popular recently, as have succulent plants. Succulent plants are a group of plants known as xerophytes, or “dry plants”. Succulents store water in their stems or leaves, and can therefore tolerate very dry…

Now summer is almost here we are having cold snaps followed by warm spells. All the rain means our lawns are greener than ever. Plants like roses are thriving with the moister conditions too. So what is a good plan leading to holidays? Lawns: if you haven’t fertilised your lawns yet, then  apply a slow…

Deciduous Trees and Shrubs: At this time of year, those deciduous trees and shrubs that lose all their leaves at once are most noticeable. For example, liquidamber has leaves that are very intense red in late autumn. It forms a strong contrast to the greens of the native trees, and provides a focal point of…

I often get asked about how to control weeds in the lawn, especially when you have weeds such as clover or hydrocotyle, which are very difficult to remove manually.  You may decide to resort to herbicides. As a rule you have to be very careful with herbicides around desirable ornamentals, especially when using chemicals like…

Well the year is just about over. I thought I would avoid talking about the weather, but it always seems to have a big influence on plant growth. We are now having strong, drying winds and long dry spells with occasional downpours. Often bigger trees miss out on lighter rains, as the top part of…

We redid this garden with broken down retainer walls, fences and steps, and a disconnected deck. We built new walls, steps and fences. The new deck and extended fence will be done next. Broken steps, walls and fences and poor access and use of space. The deck is old and disconnected. New walls, ,steps, lime…

A lot of my clients ask about how they can attract more birds into their garden. Having just walked down my path, there are some birds that I would prefer weren’t in my garden. They are the ones that spread mulch and soil all over the path in their search for food. They are usually…