Easy-care plant often overlooked
Bergenia, or elephant’s ears as it’s often called, is an old-fashioned plant that seems to have been around forever and it’s likely you will find a patch flowering in many mature gardens.
Garden Life
The deformed beauty of tree burrs
The deformed beauty of tree burrs
Do you have a tree in your garden with a large knobbly lump?
Drawn to alluring scent of ‘Illicium’
Drawn to alluring scent of ‘Illicium’
As you walk along the pathway from the pedestrian entrance off Great King St in the Dunedin Botanic Garden there are two lush evergreen shrubs of Illicium majus with highly scented flowers.
Spring, summer sun brings dove displays
Spring, summer sun brings dove displays
At the Botanic Garden Aviary, there is a small number of the gentle Barbary dove, a domesticated form of the African collared dove.
Tāwhiri karo, a rogue, dynamic ‘Pittosporum’
Tāwhiri karo, a rogue, dynamic ‘Pittosporum’
New Zealand has many interesting pittosporum species that deserve to be more widely recognised and cultivated.
Balch’s Island to feature during tour
Balch’s Island to feature during tour
Balch's Island is a garden bed just east of the "Cherry Walk", which is named after Robert Balch, a deputy director of the Dunedin Botanic Garden between 1946 and 1969.
Strong scent can cause irritation
Strong scent can cause irritation
Umbellularia californica is the sole species in its genus, belonging to the laurel family Lauraceae and found naturally from Oregon to northern Baja California.
Coffee beans a feast for the eyes
Coffee beans a feast for the eyes
For many, having a fix of a strong cup of coffee is an important part of our daily routine.
Lower garden a treat, even during winter
Lower garden a treat, even during winter
Whichever route you take a leisurely walk through, the lower garden at this time of year can still be a treat.
Holly hedge helps create sheltered inner sanctuary
Botanic garden’s holly hedge helps create sheltered inner sanctuary
Along the northeastern boundary of the lower garden, a long holly hedge protects the garden from the busy world outside.
Walls play an important role in gardens
Walls play an important role in gardens
Walls are often built to determine boundaries, establish terraces across sloping ground and as purposeful elements of garden design.
Citizen science survey chance to test skills
Citizen science survey chance to test skills
It's that time again to join thousands of others around New Zealand in putting your observational skills to the test with the great New Zealand Garden Bird survey.
Ornamental features elevate conical conifer
Ornamental features elevate conical conifer
Picea smithiana is a graceful conifer which can reach heights of around 50m.
A memory of the moa
A memory of the moa
A small, slow-growing tree, Pseudopanax ferox reaches 3.5m-7m in height, its trunk expanding to 10cm-20cm in diameter.
Parataniwha ‘hides’ under bridge
Parataniwha ‘hides’ under bridge
Elatostema rugosum, sometimes referred to as New Zealand begonia, is a herbaceous native groundcover belonging to the nettle family.
Tough native shrub most enchanting in rainy weather
Tough native shrub most enchanting in rainy weather
Muehlenbeckia astonii is a medium-sized divaricating shrub endemic to New Zealand.
Taro leaves lift the tropical vibe of the winter garden
Taro leaves lift the tropical vibe of the winter garden
Two tropical plant species planted in the central house of the winter gardens are renowned for their large, showy leaves. These are taro, Colocasia esculenta and, arrowhead elephant’s...
Wild rosemary ideal for dry climates
Wild rosemary ideal for dry climates
Eriocephalus africanus is a fragrant grey-leaved shrub native to South Africa.
Quality equipment makes job easier
Quality equipment makes job easier
Having the right tool for the job is essential and this applies to horticulture as much it does for any other trade.
New Zealand’s very own native palm tree
New Zealand’s very own native palm tree
When you think of palm trees, New Zealand’s South Island may not be the first place you would expect to find any.