Garden Life

What do coriander, parsnip, celery and hemlock have in common?

Is it the blooming profusion of flowers that makes rock roses so attractive? These little tenacious beauties have so much more going for them than just flowers.

This beautiful echium begins life as a silvery rosette reminiscent of our native Celmisia. It takes one or two years to flower; if it lives for that long. It can be fickle here in Dunedin and die...

Some plants people either love or hate; Podophyllum 'Spotty Dotty' is one of those plants. Some people think it looks ghastly, while others go dotty over it.

Nearly everybody loves peonies, but not everyone in New Zealand can grow them. One of the many benefits of living in a cooler climate is the ability to grow plants that need lower temperatures.

In spring, the cycle of life starts anew and birds are busy breeding. At Dunedin Botanic Garden aviary some mothers are on nests, and there are signs others will start laying eggs soon.

The Rhododendron Dell at the Dunedin Botanic Garden is bursting with spring colour as the rhododendron season gets into full stride and spring bulbs continue to delight. However, it's also worth...

Did you know that our Australian neighbours have one of the most prized nut producers as a native tree? Macadamia is a genus of four species, of which three are edible. The fourth is poisonous.

A backyard visit from a kereru is always a delight. It is remarkable that these placid vegetarians, with their ungainly ways and appetising appearance, remain a common sight in urban gardens.

Adding a structural plant to a perennial border adds great textural contrast. Repeating the planting throughout the border creates a defining design feature.

Flower buds on Edgeworthia chrysantha have been causing great anticipation at Dunedin Botanic Garden over the winter months. This specimen, in the Otaru Teien border by the duck pond, is flowering...

Scent engages the senses; it is commonplace to be lured by a flower's fragrance, but what about its foliage?

From the beginning of time we have depended on plants and trees not only for many of our raw materials and food but for the oxygen we breathe.

Until recently, Dunedin Botanic Garden aviary was the last in New Zealand to hold a yellow-tail cockatoo, an elderly male bird.