We are in for another very hot summer in Melbourne at least (if the rain stops!) and it is time to make sure that your house is protected from the heat and glare. Even on the hottest days I find air-conditioning annoying and noisy and I also feel some resentment for the massive addition to my carbon footprint. Read the full story

Think about the uses of a coconut and you will regard this tree, that grows like a weed in the tropics, with awe. Read the full story

The Maqui berry is yet another South American wonder food, and has at last come to the Western market following in the footsteps of the açai and pomegranate for its high beneficial properties. Read the full story

Tom Szaky is a battler who started refilling recycled plastic water bottles with worm castings tea to sell as fertilizer. But then he had a huge vision. The lightbulb over his head went off when he thought about the fact that ‘No animal in nature leaves garbage. Only man leaves garbage. So let’s deal with it’ and from there he expanded his tiny home-based business to work out the technology to recycle almost every piece of rubbish to give it a second life. Read the full story

Green ant lemonade

I was introduced to the wonders of this drink in Townsville under the tuition of the legend of Bush Tucker, Les Hiddens.
In his backyard, he had examples of nearly all the bush tucker he recommended to people. Read the full story

GARLIC is not just for repelling vampires but is the base of really effective insect repellent. Read the full story

The noni plant (Noni – Morinda citrifolia) is a small evergreen shrub or tree that grows from three to six metres in any mild tropical area.  It’s a pretty  bush, and the fruit looks like a huge green-white mulberry that never goes red. I love the bush until  the fruit is ripe and begins to drop all over the place and then, beware, the stench of blue cheese will permeate the garden!  A few of my neighbours have them growing and swear by the juice to prevent and cure arthritis but you have to be brave to drink it. Read the full story

In Australia, it is illegal to cultivate and use Marijuana but the plant itself does have some brilliant uses such as cleaning up the soil – it was actually used in 1998, Phytotech, along with Consolidated Growers and Processors (CGP) and the Ukraine’s Institute of Bast Crops, planted industrial hemp, Cannabis sp., for the purpose of removing contaminants near the Chernobyl site. Read the full story

I adore Hummingbirds, and I know fellow writer Wendy LOVES them too. So Wendy, this is for you! Read the full story

Lemons are in season and trees are overflowing! So what should you do with them? Well we have lots of tips and recipes for your lemons, so read on! Read the full story

This is just beautiful and I want full reports from people who have been to see the new Paddington Reservoir Gardens in Sydney. You have to check these pictures out – it is NICE! Read the full story

Don’t ignore the ubiquitous sprouts or microgreens when you are wondering what you can grow in your tiny apartment!  You can grow sprouts in an little corner of any room, even the kids’ rooms and snip the green tops off for the trendy ‘micro-greens’ as you need them. Read the full story

It might feel counterintuitive, but the more varieties of vegetables, plants, and insects that are included in a garden, the less vulnerable any single crop becomes. Read the full story

My office desk looks out across a field of banana palms and, as we have one measly (but healthy) specimen in our garden, I was thinking back to Singapore days and how much I loved Fish Head Curry served on a banana leaf. Read the full story

8 Low tech ways to solve household problems:

Problem: No fridge, no power Read the full story

We have just planted a large, clumping bamboo in a huge replica of the common or garden terra cotta pot by our neighbour’s fence.  Read the full story

Winter may be upon us but there are always pesky insects around to annoy us! I am a personal magnet for mosquitoes and unfortunately they LOVE my ears! BUT, never fear – we have found some fabulous natural insect repellents for you (oh, and for me too!) Read the full story

I just thought this needed to be posted!  We should all be thinking about fires now while it is still cool.  Get out with the scythe, tractor, mower, whipper snipper etc. etc. and clean up the areas around buildings.  The results of this competition may save lives! Read the full story