THE GARDEN DIARIES
ALL ENTRIES GROWING HARVESTING SHARING
So you want to learn to grow flowers in Australia (but not, like, a whole farm)
Learning to grow flowers in your home garden isn’t the same as flower farming - thank goodness.
The Case for Growing Flowers from Seed (Even if You're a Complete Beginner)
Most beginner flower growers reach for seedlings. Here are four reasons why growing from seed is cheaper, more satisfying, and opens up a world of varieties your local nursery has never heard of.
Billy Buttons — The Australian Native That Went to Hollywood
Billy Buttons — the Australian native flower I spotted on a cafe table in The Devil Wears Prada II - and how you can grow them yourself
Where I source the seeds for The Flower Growing Year — and where you can buy them too
Where I source my seeds for The Flower Growing Year
How to grow nigella IN AUSTRALIA
How to grow Nigella (Love-in-a-Mist) from seed in Australia — the best time to sow, how to thin, and why autumn planting gives you the most flowers
Autumn planting for Australian spring abundance
Poppies and clarkia in spring from autumn planting
An Arguement For Growing In Pots
Pots are sometimes viewed as ‘garden cheating’. But they are both a fantastic place to start and a way to get the most out of your garden.
Ekkk! Floral Foam!
What is floral foam? And why don’t you want your kids anywhere near the stuff?
Help! How can I deal with pests like slugs and snails?
Feeling the slug and snail pressure? Get a bluey…
Celebrating Imbolc - it’s time to get planting
Start planting right now for summer abundance
How to get growing - food and flowers
Where to start if you want to grow your own food and flowers
No More Floral Foam at RHS events!
What is floral foam? Is it necessary in high-end floral design? And why is it so exciting that the RHS has banned it from all of its shows from 2021?
How to get the most from cut flowers
Fresh flowers should give you a week of joy in the vase. But there a few things you can do to ensure their longevity
How to grow zinnias
For anyone just getting started on their gardening or cut flower journey, there is perhaps no easier place to start than with zinnias.
Keeping seedlings growing in summer
It’s summer. It’s hot. We’re in the middle of a drought. There are water restrictions. How on earth are you meant to keep seedlings alive and thriving?
Great summer flowers for Australian conditions
If you’re anything like me, your Instagram feed will be full of images of frothy English, European and Northern American gardens. Cottage gardens, wildflower gardens, blousy vintage gardens and traditional borders - I absolutely adore all those whimsical floral styles! But our harsh Australian conditions can be tricky. Unless you live in Tasmania or high on the Great Dividing Range, many of the flowers I so admire are off limits. But there are still many beautiful traditional flowers that can grown very well here. Here’s five I recommend.
Growing Dahlias from seed
For the last few years, I have been supplementing my expensive dahlia bulbs with dahlias grown from seed. Dahlia seed is CHEAP - usually less than $5 for a packet of 25-50 seeds.