Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, it’s a neurodegenerative disease associated with a build-up of certain proteins and chemicals in the brain, which causes the brain atrophy and brain cells to die. This leads to dementia symptoms that worsen over time. […]
Year: 2022
Can Aspirin Be Used for Rooting Plant Cuttings?
There’s a gardening myth that Aspirin tablets can be used to stimulate rooting in plant cuttings, but is it true? There’s a saying that “a little science is a dangerous thing“, and as we’ll see when we dissect this myth, it’s based on some partial […]
How to Deadhead Roses to Keep Them Blooming
Deadheading is a pruning technique for removing flowers once they’ve finished in order to encourage plants to direct their energy into producing new flowers and extend their flowering period, rather expending their energy reserves on old spent flowers to produce seeds. Removing spent flowers is also […]
Community Announcement (Australia) – Hort People Green Industry Job Board
Announcing the Hort People website, an Australian green industry job board where employers can advertise jobs and job seekers can find work at https://hortpeople.com NOW HIRING! HORTICULTURISTS, GARDENERS, LANDSCAPERS, TEAM LEADERS, STUDENTS & BEGINNERS. Hort People is run by Daniel Fuller, the host of the […]
Gardening Calendar (Australian Temperate Climate) – December
December is the first month of summer, and with the warmer weather gardens explode into life – lush, abundant and awesome to behold. With the days getting longer as we progress towards the longest day of the year, the summer solstice, there’s more time to […]
How to Stop Plant Pots Blowing Over in The Wind
If you grow plants and trees in pots, some will eventually grow large enough to become rather top-heavy. considering that most potting mixes are fairly light, they need to be for proper aeration and drainage, they may not provide sufficient weight to prevent tall or […]
Are Paper Wasps Beneficial in the Garden?
Paper wasps are beneficial insects that are a natural part of the native ecosystem and play an important role in pollination and pest population control. Paper Wasp Identification There are many species of paper wasps worldwide, so they do vary in appearance, but the distinctive […]
What Are Crane Flies and Are They Harmful?
Crane flies (Family Tipulidae) look like giant mosquitoes, being up to 3cm (1-1/4″) in length, with a long slender abdomen, very long thin legs, narrow wings, and long antennas with multiple segments per stalk. They can be brown, green or white in colour. They’re sometimes called […]
The Best Ways to Fill Space in Tall Plant Pots That Are Too Deep
Tall plant pots can look quite elegant indoors or out in the garden, their shapes serving as visually appealing aesthetic design elements. One of the downsides though to using such deep pots is the large volume of growing medium (potting mix) that it takes to […]
Gardening Calendar (Australian Temperate Climate) – November
It’s November, the last month of spring, the weather is moderate, deciduous trees are in leaf again, days are warm and there’s lots of green growth in the garden. The changeable and windy weather from October continues, but now there’s also the possibility of very […]
Seven Good Reasons Why You Should Mulch Your Garden!
If we look at a healthy natural environment that hasn’t been damaged or subjected to human disturbance, we find that nature goes to some effort to protect the soil, which is not ‘dirt’, but a complex living ecosystem, known as the soil-food web. Layers of natural […]
Are Dandelion Flowers, Seeds, Roots and Leaves Edible?
Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) are perennial plants from the Asteraceae (daisy) family, that are native to Europe and Asia. They’re often described as ‘edible weeds’, which is a rather disparaging term, considering that the plant has been used for culinary and medicinal purposes for many centuries […]
4 Ways to Take Better Care of Your Lawn and Gardening Equipment
This post is contributed and may contain affiliate links When it comes to keeping your lawn looking great, there are a few simple things you can do to make the process a little bit easier. From taking better care of your lawn mower to watering […]
Can Citrus Trees be Grown from Seed?
Citruses are flowering trees and shrubs from the rue (Rutaceae) family and are native to subtropical and tropical regions of South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Melanesia, and northeastern Australia. Plants in the genus Citrus provide a wide assortment of fruit types, including important crops […]
Gardening Calendar (Australian Temperate Climate) – October
October is the mid-spring period, flowers bloom in abundance, the warmer weather with rain bringing ideal conditions for lush plant growth. The cold weather hasn’t quite finished yet, cold nights and even frosts can still be expected, along with strong winds, so it’s important to […]
The Best Ways to Trap Rats and Mice That Really Work
Non-native, feral rodents, such as the Black Rat, aka Roof Rat (Rattus rattus), Brown Rat, aka Ship Rat or Norway Rat (Rattus norvegicus) and House Mouse (Mus musculus) are destructive pests that can cause considerable damage to a home and garden if they’re not controlled. […]
How To Tell If You Have Rats and Mice in Your Home or Garden
How do you know if you have rats or mice, or some other pest problem? Correct pest identification is important for deciding on an appropriate course of action. Visual identification is not easy because rats and mice are nocturnal, meaning they are most active at […]
10 Ways You Can Use Your Garden to Make Some Extra Money
This post is contributed and may contain affiliate links If you have a green thumb and love spending time outdoors, why not put your skills to good use and earn some extra money? With a little effort, you can turn your garden into a veritable […]
Gardening Calendar (Australian Temperate Climate) – September
It’s September, the beginning of spring, the time of new life and renewal! The weather is starting to warm up, but there are still cold days, rainy weather and winds to contend with. Early spring is the best time to mulch garden beds, as the […]
Will Queensland Fruit Fly Traps Attract More Pests Into My Garden?
Despite the unfounded concerns of some gardeners, setting up Queensland fruit fly traps will not attract more of the harmful female pests into your garden. These traps do work effectively to reduce the numbers of the pest already there, and are best installed at the […]