Homes

When your life is hectic it’s time to just sit and enjoy your garden — a place of serenity where the bustle of the outside world is stilled. Or at least that’s what a garden can be like. Too often, though, the thought of ‘time in the garden’ means weeding, watering, mowing — the very […]

According to new information released by The World Health Organisation, the air we breathe in our own homes could be more harmful to our health than the pollution we’re exposed to outdoors. The World Health Organisation believes indoor air pollution is one of the top 10 risks for global disease, with recent Australian studies continuing […]

Ever looked up at a block of flats, all bare and boring…and seen one that looked like a small piece of paradise among the concrete? Anyone can have a glorious balcony or patio. It just needs a bit of planning- and five minutes work a week. Choose the right plants. Balconies get hotter, colder, and […]

In old gardens- ones planted at least thirty years ago- you’ll often find a strange tall tree, with big leathery leaves and clumps of round orange fruit each spring, much loved by birds and flying foxes. Often new owners will cut the tree down and plant a nice gaudy azalea in its place, or at […]

One dreary winter’s day… One dreary office desk… Add one pot of bright pink cyclamen… Okay, you won’t get a miracle, but I bet you’ll get at least a smile every time you look at those ridiculously pink pink PINK blooms peering up over the leaves. Winter flowering cyclamens brighten up any office desk, kitchen […]

Camellias are perhaps our best loved winter bloomer, cheering up many a grey winter day. But often gardeners wonder why next door’s camellia is covered with blooms, while their’s rarely has a flower, or looks brown leafed and dingy. The answer? Many gardeners don’t know what sort of camellia they’re growing. But a camellia is […]

A gorgeous garden costs money – or does it? All our garden plants once grew wild – and managed to create new plants all by themselves. Some of today’s plants are hybrids – if you collect their seed they won’t grow like their parents. But a surprising number of common garden plants are veryeasy to […]

Images courtesy of Kerrie Hess.

A look at the interior designer and architect's best work.

Want a gorgeous big flower that blooms in sun or light shade, doesn’t need watering, pruning, weeding or feeding, and will refuse to die even if a semi-trailer backs over it? Then you need some agapanthus. Agapanthus are among the most generous bloomers about but… (there are always ‘buts’ in the gardening world!): ‘But’ number […]