© Sophie Thomson | 8 Jan 2020 In 2016 and 2017 I was asked by the Department of Water and Natural Resources to provide several workshops for people whose gardens had been burned in the Pinery fires in South Australia. These talks, work I had done with the Sampson Flat fire recovery, and my more […]
Bushfire Garden Recovery Read More »
Rose pruning Many years ago, my mother told me a story about a public rose pruning demonstration with three esteemed rose gurus. It was held on a weekend in a public rose garden and she watched how each of them pruned their roses. Each of them had their own special of doing it and some
As the weather warms up and we spend more time outside in the garden, entertaining, pottering in the garden or just watching the kids play, the need for shade becomes very evident. Options for shade include natural shade created by plants and artificial shade created by shade cloth, umbrellas or sails. Natural Shade Trees As
Spring is the time of year in Southern Australia when gardeners are desperate to plant their tomatoes, but it really depends on the soil temperature in your garden and whether you are in an area which can be affected by frost. Tomatoes should not be planted until the soil temperature reaches a minimum of 16 degrees, and
Are we there yet? When to plant tomatoes… Read More »
In spring, my favourite climbing plant is without question wisteria. The sight of the massed purple flower is breath taking and the scent of the blooms almost intoxicating. Yet this climber can be feared for its potential vigour, with many examples of old specimens that have not been maintained running rampant in gardens across Adelaide.
Wonderous Wisteria Read More »
Understand your pests I regularly encourage gardeners to actively plant and garden to encourage butterflies and my garden is filled with delightful butterflies which flit about and delight us. However, there is one butterfly that I don’t appreciate and that is the cabbage white butterfly. It lays its caterpillars on many of my vegies and
Cabbage White Butterflies Read More »
This is a great way to create a weed free garden area which can later be planted, and if done properly, it is very effective. It is an ideal way to prepare bare ground for future planting, for making a new vegetable garden or for converting part of the front lawn into a garden bed.
It’s school holidays for many, however, this time there isn’t the same sense of excitement that there usually is. There is a tension and uncertainty that we as a community are all souldering and our kids are sensing it too. It is how we model ourselves at this time, and the atmosphere we create in
Fun in the Garden – Projects for Kids Read More »
One of the main pests at Sophie’s Patch at this time of year are snails, although there are a few slugs too. Not only do we have the common garden snails, but two types of white Italian snails. These tiny creatures are in very large numbers here and in many other rural areas. They can
The first day of winter marked the first significant frost this season at Sophie’s Patch and there have been more since then. Prior to this there had been some minor frosts in lower areas of the garden but last weeks finished off my summer crops. Frost can wreak absolute havoc on plants that are not