The end of the school year often means madly grabbing that box of chocolates or bunch of flowers for your children’s teacher while racing about doing a million other jobs. Why not try something a little different this year and
More...Sustainable Living
A collection of factsheets that will help you on your journey to reducing your footprint. Every little bit counts!
Backyard Chooks
Sceptics say that you can’t have a garden with chooks. They dig up plants, they make a mess of mulch, they leave droppings around, but this could be said of many pets. My experience is that a garden just isn’t
More...Beneficial Insects and Mites – the BAAG experience
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
More...Benefits of being in the garden
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
More...Bokashi Bucket
Have you tried composting but always have putrid problems with it? Is turning over the compost regularly a pain to do? Do you wonder if there is a good way of getting rid of meat scraps or chicken fat? Is
More...Community Gardens
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
More...Friends of the Yarra Valley Parks
The Friends of Yarra Valley Parks is a group whose primary aim is to involve the wider community in conservation issues and activities within the Yarra Valley Parklands. They believe that the Yarra Valley Parklands has the potential to become
More...Green Roofs
Green roofs are rooftops equipped to grow gardens. They can grow food, be a place to relax in, help control internal and external temperature, or any combination of these. An additional benefit is boosting the productivity of solar panels during
More...Growing your own… Italian Style
When asked to reflect on a recent holiday in Italy, what immediately comes to mind is the everyday relationship that Italians have with their food. The word “passion” springs to mind. Seasonality is also a key issue and there you
More...Heritage or Heirloom Varieties
Do you remember the amazing flavours from your grandparent’s vegie garden? Why don’t tomatoes taste like that anymore? If you are bored by the tomatoes available from supermarkets, heirloom varieties could be just the thing you are looking for. Tomatoes,
More...Holiday-Proof Your Garden
Planning to get away for a break is a part of summer in Australia. But the last thing you want to happen is to go away on a holiday, only to find a dead garden when you return. So before
More...Insect Hotels
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
More...Make seedling pots from newspaper
Who feels like a bit of origami? Here’s a video I have uploaded to YouTube which gives you some step-by-step instructions on making your own seedling pots from recycled newspaper. The best thing about these is they can be planted
More...Ornamental Edible Gardens
Since Ancient Times, Edible Gardening and producing food was motivated by survival. The Egyptians, the Persians and the Romans developed ‘Paradise Gardens’ that became increasingly elaborate, intermingling ornamental and edible plants. In Medieval Times, Christian Monastery Gardens used function in
More...Permaculture
Feeling daunted by permaculture terminology? Wondering what it all means and whether you can have a slice of the Permaculture pie? Let us lead you gently through zones, elements and relative locations with our simple guide, leaving you feeling relaxed,
More...Permeable Surfaces
When water hits a non-permeable surface it will follow gravity to the lowest point, normally a drain. The water then flows down through the storm water pipes into channels and rivers and streams. In heavy downpours the speed this may
More...Raingardens
What is a Raingarden? Raingardens capture stormwater from hard surfaces and filter it through layers of sandy soil. These layers help to slow the rate of stormwater entering our waterways while also filtering out pollutants, excess nutrients and chemicals that
More...Reducing the heat with vegetation
As the temperature begins to rise and water conservation continues to impact on gardeners, people are watering less and are looking to find alternatives for vegetation. But by using some simple planting techniques you can help to decrease the heat
More...Renovating and sealing ceramic and terracotta garden pots
How to clean and disinfect old ceramic and terracotta garden pots Given enough time, even the best quality ceramic and terracotta garden pots can be marred by mould, dirt stains, watermarks and efflorescence (the salty white bloom that you sometimes
More...Starting a gardening group
I love working in the garden. However when you have limited time and/or small children, sometimes the hard yakka you want to put into gardening is pushed down the list of priorities after changing nappies, making a kite, sticking feathers
More...The Renter’s Guide to Produce Gardening
It can be tricky setting up a productive garden when you don’t own your own place. However it’s certainly not impossible – so if you rent and you’re dreaming of a bountiful yard full of homegrown produce, here are some
More...Use Quality Tools
Often when it comes to garden tools people think the cheaper the better. Like anything, you get what you pay for and you should always buy the best you can afford. Why? Well, there are a number of reasons, the
More...What is Urban Ecology? – A few thoughts from BAAG’s CEO
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
More...Why your garden matters!
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
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