Gillian Vine

Hedges have plenty of appeal, Gillian Vine says.

August is Bee Aware Month. Gillian Vine raises her awareness.

Lovers of the romantic will be hooked on the folly in a Southland garden, says Gillian Vine.

A multi-layered teen fantasy novel by award-winning New Zealand writer Elizabeth Knox, Mortal Fire is a fascinating blend of conventional plot and magical mystique.

Winter-flowering shrubs may have fantastic perfume, Gillian Vine says.

How a couple turned a coal pit into a park impresses Gillian Vine.

Dianthus are making a welcome comeback, says Gillian Vine.

An Invercargill garden catches the attention of Gillian Vine.

Looking forward to spring, Gillian Vine opts for pulsatillas.

A South Australian garden, Al-Ru, is a surprising oasis of green, as Gillian Vine finds.

Lynette Robinson's memoir, Where the Rainbow Fell Down, records her view of her dysfunctional family, poverty and her relationship with the Catholic Church.

Working bees are the model for Permablitz, which is converting backyards to vegetables beds. Gillian Vine reports.

Many international flower shows feature new plants. Gillian Vine looks at this year's Ellerslie line-up.

It's not to late to sow winter vegetables, writes Gillian Vine.

Discreetly tucked away behind the garden centres' heaps of daffodils and tulips are likely to be the bulbs available in smaller quantities - snowdrops, snowflakes, camassias, tritelias, dog's-tooth violets and maybe even a few of the pretty little Mariposa tulips (Calochortus).

There's a fashion at the moment for books recording a year in the writer's garden. New Zealand Gardener editor-at-large Lynda Hallinan is the latest to tap into the trend with a record that progressed from scrawled notes in garden diary to the publication of Back to the Land.

She misses out on tasting the cherries but Gillian Vine still gets excited by an English fruit collection.

More vegetables, fewer flowers, impressive floral art, the first school entry, excellent sculpture and a massive photographic section were some of the impressions of this year's Ellerslie International Flower Show in Christchurch this week.

In South Australia, there is a push to have more community gardens so that people will eat more fruit and vegetables.

Formerly unused land at a Dunedin school has been turned into a productive community garden. Gillian Vine reports.