Explore the concept of fungi as a collaborator in our gardens and natural environments within this extract from Liv Sisson’s fabulous book Fungi of Aotearoa: A Curious Forager’s Field Guide.

An extracted and vastly extended feature from my new book - sharing all the easy-to-action ways you can get creative with photographing your own garden.

The further I got into my own garden, the more I noticed others. I became a keen observer of public planting and a very nosey neighbour as I walked my local streets. What people choose to grow in your area is an encouraging signal to you of what your environment and climate can offer your own space.

Read on for the bare basic, but valuable discoveries I unearthed in visiting open gardens.

My gardening adventure has never been in isolation and beyond my growing pile of purchased books I have some favourite spots online that I find myself wandering to - likely in procrastination!

Explore the intriguing Japanese concept of the 72 micro seasons - a subtle and poetic dialling in on natures movement beyond the very broad four seasons.

Before I started gardening, one of the biggest hurdles in my head, was how could I possibly remember any plant names. For me it was right up there with understanding business accounting. Practically impossible.

But like everything unexpected about this whole gardening ride, the common names of plants I collected stuck in my mind like drops of sap, underlining the fact that we can learn anything if we have an interest for it! However, the botanical names were another level of mystery that I initially, and naively, shoved aside as unnecessary…. boy was that an oversight!

I’m pretty enamoured by the forms that seedheads take, and took a dive into discovering why their architecture is all designed for their preferred methods of seed dispersal.
This will have you taking a closer look at the seedheads in your own garden!

Summer is the prime time we worry about the survival of our plant children - but periods of dry can strike in any season and will constantly surprise us with it’s unpredictable rainfall.

Read on for my tips on creating and preparing a garden to cope with the dry as well as advice on getting the most out of your watering when it’s needed.

My entry into gardening was led by my visual needs and design experience - while many find their way into growing with the desire to provide their own food. Vegetable gardening on its own is by no means more noble and is perhaps misguided…..

After investigating the beautiful flowers used in Queen Elizabeth’s funeral wreath, I delved further into the emotive, sentimental qualities of plants, how they connect us to our past and act as living heirlooms.

After purchasing my first home with a garden just 6 years ago, here are some tips I have pulled together in hindsight.

Ideas and advice to approach your new bit of ground with basic knowledge and avoid costly mistakes!

It slowly dawned on me that a garden struggles to take its viewer on a journey without the helping hand of structural elements. Strong, solid accents that anchor the seasonal party plants to a space and offer us visual pleasure even when the floral and soft have gone to bed for the winter.

As I moved through my formative gardening years, I began to notice the plentiful opportunities to gather locally with other gardeners. While I have found massive benefits in belonging to various garden-based groups on Facebook, it wasn’t until I sucked up the nerve to attend my first meeting of the Canterbury Horticultural Society that I uncovered the real gold that I was missing out on.

As our weather gets more unpredictable and the need to protect our precious water resources becomes more important, some gardeners have explored techniques to create beautiful but dry gardens.

Read on for New Zealand examples and wise words from Jenny Cooper from The Blue House.

As I lament in all the garden jobs I have failed to do and cope with flooding, I uncover all the ways my garden forgives me for the delays and how it continues to enrich my life….even when I let it down.