Plant Life

As gardeners, many of us are not satisfied with what traditionally grows in our climate, and often want to push the boundaries and grow something a little more exotic.

The native plant collection at Dunedin Botanic Garden is like a three-dimensional plant identification book.

In the morning winter sun, the sand coprosma in the Dunedin Botanic Garden rock garden glistens with tiny translucent berries.

This season's lingering autumnal colours highlight just one of the features of Cotinus 'Grace'.

Want a quick tropical escape without having to travel abroad?

In the lower garden of Dunedin Botanic Garden, the camellia collection borders are settling in for the winter.

It is not uncommon to hear people say that they don't like deciduous trees in winter because "they look dead''.

At this time of year, many of the plants in the garden are looking a bit sad, dying down for the winter, or going dormant, but another group comes into its own.

Often overlooked until the flowers are swarming with bees or berries form, Cotoneaster can be very useful in the garden for growing in challenging soils and conditions.

Autumn is when many of the old-fashioned roses produce attractive, colourful fruit referred to as hips.

In the cooler southern parts of New Zealand, Clerodendrum isn't that well known.

As a native of the European Alps at altitudes of up to 2000m, the common rowan tree, Sorbus aucuparia, is also known as the mountain ash because it has similarly divided foliage to the common ash, Fraxinus excelsior.

Plants in the garden are telling us that autumn is here.

Native coprosmas are greeting the autumn with their small, exquisite fruits.

I associate the smell of Douglas fir with Christmas, as it was our annual ritual to prune a branch from the tree in our backyard to use as a tree.

Pineapple (Ananas comosus) has long been eaten by humans.

The woodland garden is a recognised genre in horticulture.