I has some beautiful Dahlias in large outdoor pots and they have finished their bloom. I want to keep them and replant this next season but I don’t know the best way to handle the bulbs/tubers to make them ‘happy’ any suggestions?

i would like to know how to remove the dried up flowers.

I live in a very windy desert area and it has spread to several expensive Gardens. I have thought about putting some of the pebbles with white glue next to the plants. What do you think?

There is a strong belief among many people, that Australian Natives are beautiful but have no perfume. A stroll through the bush will dispel that rumour easily.

The fragrance of crushed leaves and scented blossoms can be almost overpowering at times. But many of the natives have a more subtle fragrance; you have to be close to them at the correct time to appreciate the flavours and scents.

The perfume of native plants is often produced at different times of the day or night. Perfumed native flowers include many of the Grevilleas (some like G. biternata and G. G. buxifolia have a strong honey-like perfume others like G. buxifolia have a light fragrant perfume), Boronias ( e.g. B. floribunda, B. serrulata and B. megastigma), Sowerbaeas (Vanilla Lilies), Xanthoreas (Grass Trees), Banksias, Eleaocarpus reticulatus (Blueberry Ash) which has a strong almost aniseed scent, Hakeas, Pittosporum undulatum (Native Daphne) — the perfume of this species may becoming overpowering in the evening –, Leptospermum species (e.g. L. flavescens), Homoranthus species (which has a Baked Biscuit scent) and Hymenosporum flavum (Native Frangipani). Many of the white flowering Eucalypts, Melaleuca and Callistemon species have a strong honey scent.

There are a number of fragrant orchids particularly the Dendrobium species: these tend to be strongest from early morning to the early afternoon. While some of the Cymbidium species such as C. suave have a good perfume during the middle of the day). The Sarcochilus species have what is best described as a spicy aroma.

The aroma released by some plants foliage is not revealed until it has been disturbed, crushed or brushed against. These include the Backhousia citriodora (Lemon Myrtle) which is probably the best of all native lemon scents and is also used commercially as a cooking ingredient, while the foliage of B. anisata is strongly scented like aniseed; Eremophilas, Eriostemon species, Prosantheras,

Leptospermum petersoni (Lemon-scented Tea-tree — also good as a hedging plant), Darwinia citriodora (a light lemon scent) and some Melaleucas (Paperbarks) also have scents.

Of course you can’t forget the Eucalypt family with its famous eucalypt scent, which is redolent of our bushland. But now many other countries are growing vast plantations of them for timber, firewood and revegetation programs on every continent bar Antartica. One species, the E. citriodora gives off a strong lemon-come-eucalypt scent while Agonis flexuosa has a combination of eucalyptus and peppermint scent.

Calomeria elegans has been used as a substitute for lavender. Some species of Boronias also have strongly scented foliage.

And let’s not forget the grassy type plants, the lomandra’s and the Grass trees, both of which give a lovely honeyed smell when in flower.

So why not think about using some fragrant native plants in your garden. Not only will you get the benefit of supporting your local environment. But you might also get other benefits, like attracting birds, other wildlife and butterflies to your garden.

I’ve seen one on ebay and looking at the history they get bid pretty high. What do you consider a fair price for this plant before dive in to the bidding. Thanks!

I just started gardening from last spring and I planted a lot of beautiful Dahlias. Someone told me that I should dig out the tubers before winter comes. When should it be? Thanks.

There are many people who love to spend most of their time in the garden. The concept of a garden office or garden studio is perfect for such kind of people. In today’s world many people work from their own home. It becomes very convenient for these people to own their own garden office. However, everyone may not have ample space for his or her garden office. In that case, they can take professional help to create their own garden office within a small area.

If you want a robust and secure garden office or garden studio you simply must purchase a product from a specialist company such as Garden Lodges. People who want to build their garden office within a small space normally resort to this method. People who generally work from home prefer using a garden office instead of a spare room. However, there are certain details that one should keep in mind while creating a garden office.

For creating a garden office or garden studio, it would be best if one has sufficient space. He should take into account all the requirements for building a garden office or garden studio. Proper insulation and security of the modular garden office has to be considered.

People often like to own a garden studio. Garden lodges are market leaders in this field. A person can design his garden office or garden studio as per his choice. He can opt for designing a traditional kind of a garden office or garden studio or opt for the modern type of garden office. However, a person has to take into consideration a lot of details while creating a garden studio within a small place.

People who have limited space to build their garden office or garden studio generally purchase smaller buildings. The most modern equipment can be installed into a garden office or garden studio. Micro pods from Garden Lodges based in the UK can also be used.

Apart from the wide range of professional services available, you can get all the information about a garden office or garden studio from gardenlodges.co.uk.

My fiance and I always buy passes to go to Busch Gardens in the summer, but this summer will be the first that we have a dog. We don’t want to leave her all day at our house because she would be inside for 12+ hours (not okay). Is the kennel facility at Busch Gardens Williamsburg sanitary/not too hot/safe for a dog to be in for a day?

If you are looking for ways for you or your children to provide cheap presents for the extended family, or just like to give gifts that have a personal element to them, then here is a suggestion or two for you.

If you are looking to make a present for the gardener in the family or someone who has recently moved into their own home, someone in a flat or unit, or a person who can’t manage a full sized yard, or a family member who loves to cook with fresh ingredients, etc. Then why not consider giving them something from your own garden? Here I am talking about plants that you have divided off from your own garden plants.

There are many plants growing in the average garden that can be divided, or that have naturally self layered themselves. Where you could go along and take a rooted section, pot them up and with a bit of dressing up of the planting container, you could produce a really nice gift for someone you care about.

These plants include many herbs as well as perennials or shrubs and even some trees which manage to send out self-layering branches or suckers from the root system. Some perennials or bulbs will increase their size or number of bulbs over time. Chance seedlings coming up in the wrong place for you, can easily also be used. All of these provide you with an opportunity to cheaply create a wonderful present for someone else.

First things first you will need to obtain a number of pots either plastic ones left over from additions to the garden population, or from someone you know, or you can go out and purchase a pot plastic/ceramic/terracotta etc., to suit your needs. If the person you are giving the plant to is not a real gardener, then you might consider getting a pot with a waterwell in the base to increase the plants’ chances of surviving.

Next, you need to begin looking for your plant material, so take a careful look around your garden at the soil level. Check out which plants are showing multiple stalks growing out of the ground. Or those sprawling plants where a branch has leaned over on to the ground and taken root along the branch, maybe one where a branch has become buried under the mulch.

Or one where there is a sucker growing from the soil a short distance from the parent plant. Another possibility is seedlings growing in the garden a distance from the parent plant material. Maybe there is a clump of plants or a big patch of bulbs where you can do some dividing.

Many of these plants benefit from being divided up or being allowed some more growing room in the particular area where you have taken away some material.

Different parts of Australia will have a differing range of plant species, which lend themselves to this form of self-propagation. If you can’t find any plants that are doing this in your own garden, why not look at a friends or neighbours garden. Or you could maybe join forces and give a joint present using plants from another family member’s garden. Or another possibility is to buy a plant in a pot that has several plants already established in it.

Divide that up before you use half in your own garden, and still have half to repot and give away. Even if you are not confident about your gardening skills you can still pick up cheap plants at the local market, school/church fair, garage sale etc. Repot them into a bigger or nicer pot for a fairly cheap present.

Another possibility is to multiplant a few different plants into a long or large round tub. This will create an instant garden on the move. Some themes you might consider here is herbs, indoor foliage, bulbs, annuals, alpine/rock, cacti/succulent or even patio gardens mixing annuals and perennials.

It is best to moisten the ground around the plant that you are going to work on well before you do the dividing, as this allows you to remove the maximum amount of root mass during the dividing process.

The first step is to divide the clump or cut away the joining branch to make the separate plant available. Then using a spade, fork or gardening trowel, dig as far out from the potential plant as practicable, because this will give you the biggest root mass possible.

Go down as far you believe you need to, (this will depend on such circumstances as size of new plant, species of original plant material, type of soil, other plant or landscaping material around the area, etc.). As gently as you can dig out the new plant. Shake off any excess soil and refill the resulting hole in the ground if necessary.

Prune back the foliage of the new plant to roughly equal size of the root mass, trying to protect some of the new foliage growth. Repot as soon as practicable, so that the roots do not dry out and die.

Another thing to consider is what sort of pot you are gong to plant into; if it is only a plastic pot then you do not need to prepare it beforehand. However if you are looking at painting it, then do this before you get digging.

When painting up pots, you will need to do some preparation work for the paint to stick properly. Plastic pots should have their surface roughened up with a bit of sandpaper. While some terracotta pots should have a primer applied to the outer surface before you paint them. Try not to get primer or paint onto the inside of the planter, because while most wont, there are still some paints which contain chemicals that may affect or contaminate the soil and plant over time.

Other possibilities for decorating up pots include simply gluing on bits and pieces including stones, tiles, buttons, sticks, shells, ornaments, ribbon, stickers and decals, etc. Other ways of decorating up a pot for the initial presentation is to wrap up just the pot (not the actual plant), using either wrapping paper, cellophane, material, a cheap teatowel or even hessian. Hold these wrappers in place with string, ribbon, bandana, scarf, etc.

Other possibilities for adding value to the potplant is to provide some growing information and name tags for the plant/s included. Other little quirks you might add include a personalised name tag, (Hi, my name is David the Diffenbachia . . . ), or a little watering indicator, miniature hand tools, small amounts of fertiliser, pot ornaments, watering can etc.

So as you can see, creating a very personal gift for just about anyone can easily be within the grasp of anyone. Why not go out into your garden and start thinking about what presents you can be preparing for Christmas this weekend.