Kowhai blooms part of spring’s delights
One of spring’s many joys is the mass golden flowering of kowhai trees around our streets, parks and gardens.
Garden Life
Early blossom banishing winter blues
Early blossom banishing winter blues
Early blossom lifts the jaded winter heart. Two classic main stars at this time are Prunus and Magnolia.
Colour, shape and texture appeal
Colour, shape and texture appeal
In 1999, opportunity knocked on an undeveloped space in the Dunedin Botanic Garden between the rock garden and the arboretum.
Taste of the tropics under glass
Taste of the tropics under glass
Heliconia have one of those iconic flowers that come to mind when we think of the tropics.
Big-leaved perennial provides impressive presence
Big-leaved perennial provides impressive presence
Whatever sort of garden idea or theme you have in mind, a choice from New Zealand’s flora always adds something special.
Triple colour drop from single bloom
Triple colour drop from single bloom
If you’ve become addicted to gardening and want to learn about plant nomenclature, that is, the botanical naming of plants in Latin, it’s hard to know where to start.
African birds in garden’s aviary
African birds in garden’s aviary
Dunedin Botanic Garden has recently welcomed a new flock of African fire finches to the aviary.
Rhododendrons to suit available space
Rhododendrons to suit available space
One of the beauties of rhododendrons is that if you want to grow them, there are species to suit any size of garden.
Mindfulness in the garden
Mindfulness in the garden
It is easy to forget that we are part of the natural world. Gardens provide us with a chance to ground ourselves. But how do we do this?
Elegant, peculiar, surprising and soothing
Elegant, peculiar, surprising and soothing
Witch hazels are old-fashioned garden favourites, blooming now around Dunedin Botanic Garden. They are deciduous shrubs from woodlands and river margins in North America, Japan and China.
More to roses than just blooms
More to roses than just blooms
Roses have a beautiful long flowering season with abundant flowers and that can be enjoyed outside or picked for indoor displays. But roses can provide us with much joy throughout the whole year.
Odd plant likes it hot, cold
Odd plant likes it hot, cold
It is a fairly weird and wacky plant, the Dioscorea elephantipes.
Camellia collection in botanical order
Camellia collection in botanical order
Dunedin Botanic Garden's comprehensive camellia collection has a strong emphasis on health, landscape design and education.
Scent bonus with winter treasure
Scent bonus with winter treasure
Winter may be the so-called dormant season in the garden, but there are still treasures to be found, not least being the scent from a variety of different plants.
Daisies huge varied family
Daisies huge varied family
One of the biggest families in the plant kingdom is the daisy family. The world has more than 32,000 different species distributed widely.
Native mistletoes conserved in garden, dwindle in wild
Native mistletoes conserved in garden, dwindle in wild
During winter, when deciduous trees around Dunedin have lost their leaves, blobs of incongruous evergreen foliage can be spotted high up in bare branches.
Fiery foliage from long-esteemed plant
Fiery foliage from long-esteemed plant
Early morning dew glistens on the eye-catching multicoloured autumn foliage of dwarf heavenly bamboo. In shades of plum, red and green, Nandina domestica Nana Purpurea stands out from the crowd.
Perennial mainstay
Perennial mainstay
Penstemons would have to be one of the mainstays of a perennial border, for good reason. For a start, they have a large variety in colour. The hardest thing is choosing which cultivars you want to...
Spiky pods’ flesh widely useful
Spiky pods’ flesh widely useful
The winter garden glasshouse may be closed for now but as life grows on there are still many interesting plants to share with you.
Aviary still a popular daily destination
Aviary still a popular daily destination
"Sid" the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo has noticed a reduction in his adoring fan base over the past few weeks.