Fast Backyard Makeover on a Budget
A full backyard transformation does not need a landscaper. Buy small, buy fast growers and stage the spend over two seasons.
Resource Centre
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Tall Screening Plants to Block a Two-Storey Neighbour
Blocking a first-floor window takes four to eight metres of dense foliage in the right place, not just fast growth. The species that get there, and the spacing that works.
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Port Wine Magnolia (Michelia) Care Guide
Michelia figo flowers smell like ripe fruit and the shrub clips into a dense evergreen hedge. Where it grows in Australia, how to plant it and when to prune.
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Silver Birch Care Guide for Australian Gardens
Silver birch is a cool-climate tree with shallow roots and specific needs. Here is where it works in Australia, how to plant it, and what to grow instead if it...
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Heliconia Care Guide for Australian Gardens
Heliconias give the biggest tropical payoff of any plant we sell, provided they get warmth, food and water. Here is how to choose and grow them in Australia.
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Lavender Care Guide for Australian Gardens
English, French, Italian and Allardii lavenders behave very differently in Australian conditions. Here is how to choose one, plant it and prune it properly.
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Peace Lily Care Guide for Australian Homes
Brown tips, no flowers and sudden wilting are the three peace lily complaints. Light, water quality, winter temperature and pot size fix all of them.
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Fortnight Lily (Dietes) Care Guide
Dietes flowers in waves from spring to autumn on almost no water and tolerates clay, sand, salt and frost. Position, spacing, feeding and the pruning mistake to avoid.
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Rose Care Guide for Australian Gardens
Roses are easier than their reputation once the calendar is Australian. Position, the winter prune and deep watering do most of the work, and the rest is variety choice.
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Metrosideros Care Guide: The New Zealand Christmas Bush
Metrosideros flowers scarlet at Christmas and shrugs off salt and wind. Here is how to choose between the tree forms and the compact hybrids, and how to keep both healthy.
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Hellebore Care Guide: Growing the Winter Rose
Winter roses flower in shade from May to September. Which types suit your climate, where to plant them, and the one annual pruning job that matters.
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Water Gum (Tristaniopsis 'Luscious') Care Guide
The default choice for driveways and narrow front gardens. How big Luscious really gets, how far apart to space it, and the two summers that decide everything.
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Nandina Care Guide: Growing Heavenly Bamboo
Nandina is not a bamboo, does not run, and colours scarlet through the cold months. A guide to the dwarf cultivars and the one pruning job that matters.
