A living family heirloom
A living family heirloom
George Scott's grandmother, Euphemia, never threw anything away, something for which George and his wife, Mary, are grateful. Family papers include not only a coloured concept plan drawn up...
Gillian Vine
Enjoy a Tasmanian delight
Enjoy a Tasmanian delight
We're told that Tasmania is just like home. It is and it isn't. It is because some natives, such as tree ferns, are similar to ours and many introduced plants do as well in Tasmania as in Otago and...
Enemies in the ranks
Enemies in the ranks
I always thought oka (yams) and artichokes were bomb-proof, resistant to every pest around, but this past season, I've learned otherwise. New Zealand's major lawn and pasture pests, native...
Trees of curious character
Trees of curious character
Ruth Ahern has knobbly knees - and she loves them. Her "knees" are at the base of a swamp cypress (Taxodium distichum var. distichum), one of many large trees in her 1ha Waikouaiti garden...
Awesome by nature
Awesome by nature
Startled by the click of my camera, a New Holland honeyeater flicks its tail and flies off a railing at Inverawe, then settles to some serious foraging in a patch of Correa reflexa a few metres...
A growing enthusiasm
A growing enthusiasm
When southern gardeners were huddling inside last month, Andrew Steens was planting out lettuce and spinach seedlings, and putting in his first early potatoes. That is one difference between...
Answer lies in the soil
Answer lies in the soil
Mild days over the next few weeks often have cold southerlies snapping at their heels, so instead of rushing out to sow seeds - except perhaps some late broad beans - concentrate on getting your...
Microgreens: a growing trend
Microgreens: a growing trend
Four years ago, when she went with her sister to the "lovely" Blenheim farmers' market, Fionna Hill bought some microgreens and discovered a new way to eat vegetables.
Small but perfectly formed
Small but perfectly formed
Having drifted around Ellerslie, with its acres of space, 2ha did not sound much land on which to stage a festival of 31 gardens and dozens of other displays. What's more, the third Singapore...
Foray in brick
Foray in brick
Laid out in 1935, during Alfred Buxton's second foray into South Otago, Lesmahagow, in Benhar, retains original elements, including some fine trees, part of the orchard and the remains of a grotto...
Auction a lily-lover's delight
Auction a lily-lover's delight
Lilies are the world's most popular cut flowers, beating roses into second place. Tomorrow, the Otago Lily Society is auctioning dozens of bulbs, including some rare and unusual species. Gillian Vine reports.
Gem emerges from the jungle
Gem emerges from the jungle
In the first of an occasional series, Gillian Vine looks at gardens landscaped in the first half of the 20th century by Alfred Buxton.
Austere beauty of a winter landscape
Austere beauty of a winter landscape
Even when it is freezing or raining, the Dunedin Chinese Garden looks appealing, as clever planning - based on the centuries of experience of Chinese gardeners - highlights the elegance of bare...
Reap so you can sow
Reap so you can sow
Growing from seed is less expensive than buying plants ready to go into the ground.
Harsh climate no match for passion
Harsh climate no match for passion
Fifty years' work has gone into Brooksdale, a splendid West Otago garden. Gillian Vine reports.
Gardens in NZ through the years, weeds and all
Gardens in NZ through the years, weeds and all
When considering the history of gardening in this country, most people start with the major wave of European migration and what it has done to our landscape.
Autumn's giant bloomers on show
Autumn's giant bloomers on show
The national chrysanthemum show is being held this weekend in Dunedin. Gillian Vine gets a few tips from a father and daughter whose exhibition blooms can be as big as a dinner plate.
To Shanghai with love from Mosgiel
To Shanghai with love from Mosgiel
Plants from a Mosgiel nursery will supply the "wow" factor at Expo 2010 Shanghai, China, which showcases 200 countries in the biggest world expo. Gillian Vine reports.
Fuchsias have day in sun
Fuchsias have day in sun
A Dunedin gardener tells Gillian Vine that "it's time to say it for fuchsias".
Let's Grow Native challenge
Let's Grow Native challenge
The Dunedin City Council is marking 2010, the United Nations' International Year of Biodiversity, by supporting a series of community events.