Winter can be a challenge, but it sure puts a rosy hue in your cheeks when you rug up, brave the elements and go about doing some of those winter gardening tasks which have been beckoning from outside. Enjoy a warm drink – and the satisfaction of a job well done – when you come inside.
28th June to 11th August, 2019
An exhibition by The Hills Ceramic Artists: Babette Bruders, Amanda Christians, Glenn England, Lee Goller, Claire Johnson, Lynne Lindsay, Heather Thomas, Jenny Rowe, Sharon Twining, Juliet Widdows.
The exhibition ‘Seasoned’ contemplates the turning of nature’s seasons: – from winter’s scarcity and the budding enthusiasm of spring, to summer’s lazy heat and autumnal festivity.
More pictures and info at http://gallery.baag.com.au/?p=4117
A healthy garden is full of life, from deep in the soil to the tree tops there should be fungi, bacteria, spiders, insects, worms, and innumerable other living creatures. These all cohabit in a generally harmonious way. Sometimes, however, a problem arises and the balance is temporarily upset. Reaching for an insecticide spray when aphids appear on your tender rose buds will often make the problem worse in the long run. Most insecticides are not prejudiced, they will kill everything, both the aphids and their natural predators.
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Beneficial insects are insects you want in your garden, either for pollinating or for predating on pest insects. To encourage them into your garden you can provide them with nesting and hibernating sites, if a garden strewn with dead branches isn’t your thing, you may prefer to add in an insect hotel. These are particularly useful for solitary bees and solitary wasps.
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Don’t throw your old plastic pots out, bring them back to us and we will recycle them for you. You’ll find our Pot Recycling Bin at the end of the driveway, on the corner just before you turn into the Landscape Supplies Yard. Any plastic pots the carry the recycling logo with the number 5 can be placed in here. (Please don’t drop terracotta or other types of pots off as these can’t be recycled).
We also recycle your used (soft plastic) potting mix and BAAG yard bulk bags. There is a container for them next to the pots.
Anyone who can re-use these pots please help yourselves to as many of them as you like. We suggest that you give them a good wash in hot, soapy water before re-planting anything into them.
Every garden is its own (or is a unique but connected) ecosystem containing an extraordinary array of living organisms including plants, fungi, bacteria, microbes, insects and animals that all impact on the health and resilience of the living network. We are each the stewards of our gardens, the actions that we take can positively or negatively impact on this ecosystem.
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7th to 23rd June, 2019
We’ve got a very creative and capable team at Bulleen Art & Garden. This exhibition showcases some of their talents in areas you may not have been aware of. Come and see another side of the people who help you at Bulleen Art & Garden!
More pictures and info at http://gallery.baag.com.au/?p=4120
To combat the appalling white fly invasion that was tormenting Melbourne gardeners in summer 2013 we introduced a parasitic wasp and a mite. They are susceptible to certain sprays – so we eliminated those pesticides to give them every chance to do their work. We saw a definite improvement in white fly control.
We used Montdorensis mites from and Encarsia formosa (parasitic wasp)
In 2015 we engaged the services of IPM Technologies and jumped feet first into managing our pests in a sensible and intelligently planned manner. This was a bit nerve wracking as it meant a lot more monitoring of pests and NOT reaching for the spray pack. Angelica from IPM Technologies regularly inspects the nursery and is the source of amazing photos of what is going on around the nursery. At this point we have not sprayed the roses at all (unheard of!) and spray once for Pear and Cherry slug. We introduced a predatory mite (Persimilis) into our poly tunnel which rapidly cleared up a burgeoning spider mite infestation before it became a problem. Apart from that, it has been a matter of watching and waiting and allowing the natural predators which were visibly there, to build up in numbers and control the aphids on the roses and hellebores, and the white fly on the shrubs and trees.
In 2019 Jen and Claire went to an industry training morning on IPM and came back fired up to increase the focus on our natural predators. As a result we have more insectory pots around the nursery planted with native species. These act as breeding grounds and food sources year round for our beneficial native insects.
I have been lucky to have been able to spend much of my working life surrounded by plants; studying and working in the natural environment, in local gardens and in garden centres. Like many of us, I love the opportunity to get out of the city and into the wilderness, regrettably these days it doesn’t happen quite as often as I would like. Fortunately Melbourne has been gifted with an amazing combination of parks and reserves that provide us relief from our increasingly busy lives and a sanctuary for many native species that share our city and surrounds.
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A few years ago I wandered into the Wolf Bar in Carlton and was enveloped in the warm and heady nostalgic aroma of mulled wine. It shot me straight back to university days in the 70s and 80s, and every June since has seen me reaching for cloves, cinnamon sticks and red wine. I just love this time of year: the satisfaction of a major clean and tidy up in the garden, planting for spring with all the hopes and promise ahead, the camellias in bloom and debating squeezing in just one more gorgeous tree only available in the bare root season. It may be getting chilly, but now I have my mulled wine. Read on!
What is a community garden and what’s the fuss about? There are many fabulous advantages for your community to have a shared garden. If you’re curious, or thinking about getting involved, here are a few aspects of community gardening you might find interesting.
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Greg Yeaman, Deb Staun, Deanna Roberts, Steve Burton, Anne Watling, Meredith Merrall, Linda Moore and Aleida Wright
26th April to 1st June, 2019
The Treefern Potters are a diverse group of ceramic artists with their origins in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges. They came together through various pottery classes and community groups and they are bound by a common addiction to clay!
More pictures and info at http://gallery.baag.com.au/?p=4087
When I feel blue, or need a distraction from the stresses of life, I head into the garden! Time slows and my mood becomes lighter when my fingers are in the dirt and the intricacies of the world beyond my back door come to life before my eyes. There are many health benefits to be had from gardening. Here are a few of my favourites…
Autumn foliage at its most stunning. The cold days and nights bring out the deep reds, translucent oranges and butter yellows in our wonderful deciduous trees. Take the time to enjoy autumn’s late flowering salvias, wonderful quince fruit (with their heady scent) and savour the late season apples. Take a bolt to the Dandenongs and combine autumn colours with early flowering camellias. I just love this last hurrah before winter. So rug up and enjoy May in your garden!
Another day at the Arty Farty Festival in partnership with the Banyule Sustainability Hub where BAAG staff members Kat, Nicole and Amy did a workshop of how you can grow your seeds in pots made from old newspapers, and reducing waste overall by growing some of your herbs and vegies from seed. We love supporting this festival not only because it is out local community, but also because it is artistic, creative and fun!
Great to see lots of our friends down there who called over to say hello, and we made lots of new friends too, including Sam, who had the amazing Butterfly Adventure tent in a stall next to us.