Best gardening books for Christmas
This year’s crop of garden books has been a good one, offering plenty of choice for holiday reading or gift-giving.
This year’s crop of garden books has been a good one, offering plenty of choice for holiday reading or gift-giving this Christmas.
Inspirational books covered in this column through the year include With Nature by garden designer Fiona Brockhoff (Hardie Grant, $70), Garden of Your Dreams by Charlie Albone (Murdoch Books, $40), Dream Gardens by Michael McCoy (Hardie Grant, $70) and Craig Miller-Randle’s Green Thumb: A Practical Guide to Winning Over Your Indoor Plants (Plum/Pan Macmillan, $45). Indoor plant parents will also like The Plant Rescuer by Sarah Gerrard-Jones (Bloomsbury, $40); subtitled “The book your houseplants want you to read”, it’s full of detailed care information that is relevant despite the book’s British origins.
On the practical side, the collected wisdom of the Country Women’s Association of Victoria is in Thrifty Gardening (Murdoch Books, $25), including seasonal tasks, money-saving tips, and of course recipes using your produce. If creating a sustainable water-wise garden is on your agenda, you’ll love Futureproof Your Garden by Angus Stewart and his daughter Emma (Murdoch Books, $45). It includes illustrated step-by-step guides for DIY projects such as wicking beds, capillary watering and making biochar, as well as tips on design and plant selection, and a plant directory.
Grounded by soil scientist Alisa Bryce (Text, $35) is an entertaining delve into the surprising world of soil and its influence on what we taste, our health – and, curiously, how crimes are solved. Another good read, even for non-gardeners, is botanist Tim Entwisle’s memoir Evergreen: The Botanical Life of a Plant Punk (Thames and Hudson, $40). The director of some of the world’s finest botanic gardens – Sydney, Kew and now Melbourne – Entwisle suggests such places are a cure for many of the world’s ills, while sharing how he blended his love of nature, science and learning into his dream job. And for flower lovers, there’s All About Roses by Diana Sargeant (New Holland, $35), a down-to-earth guide to growing healthy roses without chemicals by an Australian expert.
Other Christmas presents? Any gardener would love an Australian-designed crystal rain gauge of marine stainless steel and glass; it’s easy to read, stylish and records up to 200mm of rain ($120, crystalraingauge.com.au). Other gifts that keep on giving are membership of not-for-profit The Diggers Club, subscription to a garden magazine or a gift card from a good garden centre.
For aficionados, the ultimate gift is a ticket to the Australian Landscape Conference, to be held in Melbourne on March 17-20. In addition to a stellar speakers list of top-shelf international and local designers, horticulturists and landscape architects, there will be provocative discussions, masterclasses and garden tours (outlandishventures.au).
Q&A
Can you offer any advice on how I might eradicate onion weed from my garden?
Jan Greb, by email
Hand-digging these deep bulbs makes the problem worse, as this dislodges the many tiny bulblets from the mother bulb. Glyphosate (Roundup, Zero) works best when plants are at flowering stage. Paint it on carefully, or use the wipe-on gel if close to other plants. Always snap off flowers before seeds form. The most effective technique is suppression – lay newspaper, six to eight sheets thick, around plants. Overlap well so there are no gaps. Wet it as you go to stop it blowing around, then cover with mulch.
Can I prune my 3m-tall and wide murraya into a smaller shrub?
Colleen Atkinson, Adelaide
Murraya responds well to hard pruning, even into thick, old trunks and branches. The ideal time is in spring, at the beginning of the growth period. You can do it now but be prepared to keep it well watered in your hot, dry summers. Mulch will help, as will some organic-based fertiliser to help fuel re-growth.
Send your questions to: helenyoungtwig@gmail.com or Helen Young, PO Box 3098, Willoughby North, NSW 2068. The best question for December/January wins $200 worth of Neutrog products including POPUL8, Kahoona, Gyganic and Seamungus. November’s winner is Robyn Benken of Perth for her question about sustaining pot-bound plants.