Tulips, tulips and more tulips…
Floriade 2011 in Canberra is a spectacular and florally exciting display of over 210 different varieties of flowering plants. This years theme is ‘A Feast for the Senses’.
Vegies for the Body and Soul
Around the yard things are starting to happen. The flowers are out, the summer vegies are getting a growth spurt and new fruits are beginning to appear on the fruit trees. The sweet fragrance of the citrus flowers calls to me from across the yard.
Are You Going to Scarborough Fair…
I can’t help thinking about that song whenever I start thinking about my little verandah herb garden. Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme…
Light & leaves } terrarium by Kristýna Pojerová
Seems people are getting more and more inventive with terrariums with each passing day… I’ve been so in love with them since discovering the Tending to it range by Britton Neubacher, you might remember those on Cohabitaire a while back. These creations take the love to a whole other level – functional little farms by Czech [...]
Chelsea Flower Show } edible and ornamental
It’s that time of year again: new David Austin roses (this time the ‘William and Catherine’ was released!), ladies in hats and lots and lots of heavenly gardens. I can only judge by photos, but here are my two favourites…
Garden stalk
The best thing about living in a tiny apartment with no yard in a snooty neighbourhood is that you get to spy on lovely houses with beautiful gardens. So I’ve been out papping the neighbours and planning and dreaming of the garden I might one day have (only in my dreams will it be in [...]
Tending to it } Q&A with Britton Neubacher
I’m so very excited to bring you this Q&A with Britton Neubacher, the founder and creative mind behind Tend Living‘s glass orbs and living walls. Britton is a very, very busy lady so it’s a such thrill to have her here on Cohabitaire….
Psst… secret to gardening
Ok, so it’s not really a secret, but it will save you from possible gardening failure. Only a few short weeks ago did I plant a stack of seeds in my balcony garden and check out the sprouts I got already! These babies went through a heat wave including a day over 40C, and not [...]
Perfecto tomato pasta sauce
We’ve had a bumper crop of accidental tomatoes from our garden. My neighbour calls them volunteers because they just pop up anywhere, even if you don’t need them. It actually isn’t so much of a mystery where they came from, for they sprouted out of the compost we dug into our communal garden. Pretty cool [...]
Indoor jungle } estación de Atocha, Spain
Estación de Atocha was Spain’s first railway station, originally named Estación de Mediodia, but sadly burnt to the ground not long after it was built. They got it back up in 1982 – thanks to Alberto de Palacio Elissage and some other dude, Gustave Eiffel somebody – I think he built a tower somewhere else. [...]
Introducing Permaculture
Did you know the term ‘permaculture’ is a short for permanent agriculture? I did not, but now that I do it makes a little more sense (slightly). A definition from the Permaculture research Institute of Australia helps out a little more: “Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the [...]
Edna Walling inspiration
We can thank garden designer Edna Walling (1895 – 1973) for the kinds of organic, meandering gardens we know, love (and take for granted) every day. I have just finished reading The Unusual Life of Edna Walling by Peter Watts, and my entire perspective on gardens has been affected! Originally influenced by her English heritage, Walling came [...]
{wallpaper} Sunset basil blossoms
If you’re a friend of Cohabitaire from way back, you might remember this image from the first release of wallpapers. For those who haven’t seen it, this is one of my favourite photos, taken on my back balcony on a mild April evening earlier this year. I love the out of focus sunlight, dancing in [...]
Pickety pockety plants
Call me abnormal, but I’ve got a bad case of the warm fuzzies just looking at these wonderful plant pockets by the clever folk at the Woolly Pocket Gardening Company. How could anyone resist the[rss-cut] Wally modular planting system for growing vertical gardens? Not to mention the fabulous free- standing Islands and Meadow models for [...]
The secret life of ladybirds
Ladybirds, ladybugs, lady beetles…. I have a pleasant plague of these pretty critters on my mint at the moment. Besides the spotty wings, the thing I love most is their ravenous appetite for aphids and scale – these little killers can consume up to[rss-cut] 400 pesky pests a week! Farmers use them as a friendly [...]
Fishes and growths: Aquaponics
Glued to a recent episode of Costa’s Garden Odyssey I was particularly fascinated with a segment about Aquaponics. ‘Aqua what?’ I hear you say. For those as clueless on the topic as I was Aquaponics is ” the symbiotic cultivation of plants and aquatic animals in a recirculating environment.” These sustainably harmonious ecosystems work on[rss-cut] [...]
