Gardening Australia

Australia’s number one monthly gardening resource, ABC Gardening Australia magazine is packed with step-by-step advice and stunning design ideas from its popular team of experts. Whether you are a novice gardener or have a green thumb and years of experience, you’ll find the advice you need.

Welcome

STAY IN TOUCH

PLANTS • This month’s pick of the bunch for garden lovers nationwide

PRODUCTS

Gardening Australia

BOOKS

FEBRUARY • Your guide to garden shows and events around the country this month

colourful CORDYLINES • These lush-looking shrubs bring year-round colour and interest, and demand little of the gardener, writes STEVE FALCIONI

pest watch

top PICKS

MIX IT UP IN POTS

fresh as a daisy • Michaelmas daisies are easy-care, come in short and tall forms, and give you a gorgeous pop of colour from summer through autumn, writes JANE EDMANSON

where to BUY

top PICKS

drop gorgeous -dead • Maidenhair ferns have a reputation for being divas, and failing at the slightest provocation. PHIL DUDMAN describes how to keep yours from throwing a hissy fit

PERFORMING CPR

taking the BAD with the GOOD • The owners of this property in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges have accepted climate extremes and fluctuating rainfall to create a garden that says ‘live in me’ rather than ‘look at me’

‘SUMMER DORMANCY’ & other survival tips • Elise has a few tricks up her sleeve to help plants survive climate extremes

WHEN THE going GETS tough... • Drought is hitting hard in many parts of the country. JENNIFER STACKHOUSE reports on how gardeners in eastern Australia are keeping the gardening spirit alive while water is scarce

HOW TO KEEP GARDENING through the drought • We can’t make it rain, but we can still garden, even when there’s a drought. Here are practical ideas to help get you and your garden through the dry times.

MORE INFORMATION

BROWNED off • Keep the lawn going or let it die? What about flowers and vegetables? Trees? As gardeners feel the heat around their use of resources, TIM ENTWISLE delves into the complex subject of gardening in a time of water scarcity

PLANTING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

THE BEST GRASSES TO GROW

SAVE it for a rainy day! • Your favourite or high-performing plants can live another day when you collect seed and store it for the future. It’s a good way to build up stock that you know does well in your conditions. It also allows you to save a bit of the garden when hard times hit and the garden can’t be kept alive, or when you move house and want to take a piece of your past with you. MICHAEL McCOY outlines the benefits of seed saving and kicks off some ideas and anecdotes from presenters and contributors who love to save seed

COLLECT AND GROW CLIVIA SEED • If you grow clivias, or know someone who does, why not gather some seed from the plants, and use them to create a stack of new clivia plants to fill shady spots in the garden, or to share with friends? JUDY HORTON demonstrates a simple and effective method for germinating the seed.

Fruits of the DESERT • Few food crops carry fruit to harvest in a true drought, but a handful can provide juicy fruit with just a little water or, in some cases, none at all, writes JACKIE FRENCH

BED & breakfast • Put out the welcome mat for native bees with a B&B that doesn’t just look good, but meets their needs. SOPHIE THOMSON shows you how to build a hotel that enjoys full occupancy throughout the year

THE BLUE-BANDED BEE

the gardener’s bucket list NEZU MUSEUM in Japan • In fast-paced Tokyo, find your zen in this tranquil museum garden designed to be enjoyed by all

WHILE YOU ARE THERE

FEBRUARY a month in the...